Have you adapted to local driving habits?

[Crazy chef 1]

I have to admit I have...

Most of the time a bit too fast...

Indicating is becoming the exception...

Never fasten my seat belts...

Under- or over taking- who cares...

And honestly I enjoy driving here...

But

I never drive drunked...

I have first class insurance ( which I will need sometimes)

I don't drive against the traffic...

And if I use mamas motorbike I wear a helmet...

Though how much do you guys have adopted to local driving customs...

[vento]

Pretty much the same as above. Except ubudne indikators, to Many moyirbikes around.

[vento]

Sorry i ment i blink when changing direction, actually i Think most locals do as well

[giddyup]

Sounds like you might be on the way to becoming another statistic.

[manarak]

yes, I adapted, although I still do many things like in the west.

things I now do the Thai way:

- driving the motorcycle between other vehicles and between the curb and other vehicles (in Switzerland, this is forbidden, which is totally daft IMO).

- when turning with the car into a street with traffic I inch forward Thai style

- I sometimes double park the car leaving the handbrake off

- I overtake left and right on the highway

things I still do as in the west:

- helmet

- indicators

- stop at red light or line and only drive off again when it's green

- I don't park where parkign is prohibited

- keep my distance

[worgeordie]

Yes,Ive developed eyes in the back of my head, and one on each side,

also more telepathic,I know what other drivers are going to do,before

they even know themselves,comes with driving here for nearly 30 years.

regards worgeordie

[NanLaew]

Never fasten my seat belts...

Seriously? With the way the enemy drives here, adding a bloody skid lid at all times is recommended IN ADDITION to a bloody seat belt. Being projected/ejected through the windshield would seem to have a higher likelihood in LOS.

For my part I will admit to undertaking, nosing out, cutting in and probably the one most annoying but most prevalent here of going around a traffic restriction to my direction of progress instead of giving way which in turn causes oncoming traffic to give way to me although their road ahead was previously unobstructed. As an experiment, a few weeks back I thought I would start behaving myself in that regard and if I came across a badly parked car on my side while in contra-flow traffic, I would give way to onward traffic instead of crossing the dashed white line. I gave that up within a few hours as it caused more grief than it resolved since the muppets behind me would simply pull out to pass me AND the obstruction and still force oncoming traffic to swerve or stop.

When in Rome, etc..

[pgrahmm]

Yes for the most part....Drive a few years in the Phils and this traffic is childs play....

There's always the unexpected but once I realized for the most part Thais drive their cars like they drlve their motorbikes some moves are less suprising....

I drive fast but controlled and not a traffic weaver....I don't stick around erratic drivers and don't tail gate or crowd.....In merge situations I standy ground unless the other driver simply will force through at all costs - then I yield.....Pretty close to 100% use of signals - habit....Seat belts - always & same on front seat passengers.....Back seat buckles up on highway speeds...

Sometimes after immediate arrival here or US the wipers tell me I haven't found the signal lever yet.....

[KhunBENQ]

I fasten my seat belts.

I refuse to transport passengers who don't.

I use indicators.

I switch on the lights early at dusk or rain, even if its forbidden (one of the most silly Thai traffic rules).

I got out (at least trying hard) on driving too fast (after an experience that fortunately cost me money only).

I undertake on double track highways because its not forbidden.

i undertake cars that indicate a right turn because its not forbidden.

I adapted to Thai style where there is no other chance, like turning into roads with busy traffic.

Can not wait for a gap big enough for "home country style".

I use the glacier method in extreme cases to cross into traffic. Impossible in "home country", you would be attacked/abused/bad mouthed.

I know ALL U-turns on my usual ways. I drive extremely cautious when approaching. Preferably on the left lane.

I accept above behavior and do not abuse/bad mouth/honk!

Drive passively, not show my superior knowledge of rules like they do at home.

Want to survive a few more years.

P.S.:

I ride the scooter in the village without a helmet

[NoshowJones]

I just try and use common sense all the time, I don't bother about rules, there is no point.

I just try and be prepared for the idiot drivers doing anything and adjust to suit, If I cause

people to come off their bike who are riding on the wrong side of the road because I refuse

to put myself in danger by getting out of their way, then great, it's a great feeling.

[giddyup]

Why would you adopt local driving habits when Thailand is #3 in the world for road deaths?

[NickJ]

Have you removed any mirrors on any vehicles? or adjusted them so you can watch yourself driving to see if your cool?

Do you text or talk on the phone while driving? Do you use emergencey blinkers to indicate going straight or honk when you pass? Do you believe that magical symbols made with gold leaf will protect you from death or injury?. Is a bowl of somtam worth your life so you drive like its the last somtam on planet earth?.........

Buckle up and slow down......

[BSJ]

I was a....creative driver and rider in Oz, so I fitted right in when I arrived in LOS!

[Crazy chef 1]

Have you removed any mirrors on any vehicles? or adjusted them so you can watch yourself driving to see if your cool?

Do you text or talk on the phone while driving? Do you use emergencey blinkers to indicate going straight or honk when you pass? Do you believe that magical symbols made with gold leaf will protect you from death or injury?. Is a bowl of somtam worth your life so you drive like its the last somtam on planet earth?.........

Buckle up and slow down......

May you read my OP again...NO nothing mentioned about those things...

[NanLaew]

Why would you adopt local driving habits when Thailand is #3 in the world for road deaths?

One SELECTIVELY adopts certain aspects if the local vehicular lunacy. Otherwise if not actually causing an accident, one will become the victim of one even sooner.

If you keep the speed down, wear your seatbelt and don't make sudden moves, I reckon you will fit in with the locals and be able to safely handle the unexpected.

[Rykbanlor]

I'm trying to type in an answer to your post, but traffics heavy right now, and I keep having to swerve to avoid trucks which makes it harder to key the buttons on my smart phone

[thehelmsman]

Still hit the wipers instead of blinkers at unoportune times. I still won't pass around blind curves or with close oncoming traffic, instead wait for safe conditions which is appreciated by all passengers. Now that rice is planted not so many cattle to avoid is nice, But still have the dogs sunning in the roads. Drive mainly in Issaan, where slow and steady is the best on the small roads. Once was t-boned by a herd of cows, they came out of a small path on the left at a full run.

Correct parellel parking still puts me ahead of most thai drivers. Pulling straight in to a parking spot is all they know it seems.

[geronimo]

I have been driving here for three decades and my number one rule is....

treat very other driver like they are incompetent!!!

[Ace of Pop]

Still hit the wipers instead of blinkers at unoportune times. I still won't pass around blind curves or with close oncoming traffic, instead wait for safe conditions which is appreciated by all passengers. Now that rice is planted not so many cattle to avoid is nice, But still have the dogs sunning in the roads. Drive mainly in Issaan, where slow and steady is the best on the small roads. Once was t-boned by a herd of cows, they came out of a small path on the left at a full run.

Correct parellel parking still puts me ahead of most thai drivers. Pulling straight in to a parking spot is all they know it seems.

. You must be a Jaguar Driver I never got the indicators sorted out here or anyplace much