Are pickup trucks a safer driving option in Thailand?

[cat handler]

If you had a pickup like this you can over take the Merc with a refrigerator in the back

[SydneyGuy]

If you had a pickup like this you can over take the Merc with a refrigerator in the back

I prefer this one:)

[DavisH]

I bought the Nissan Navara NP300 for it's modern safety features, 4x4 drive system, excellent seven speed auto, driving position and best in class handling.

I have fitted a tow bar and adjustable height tow ball and STEEL nudge bar to the front.

Your never 100% safe driving in Thailand or any other country but a quality pickup well prepared and maintained helps mitigate the risk of personal injury; I've only used 4x4's / SUV or pickup for the last 25 years

Remember that installing aftermarket bull bars an affect crumple zone integrity. In the even of an accident your body absorbs more of the impact because the car itself cannot. In theory, pickups would be safer in an impact, providing the collision is with a smaller vehicle. But with the number of pickups on the road, you are just as likely to be crashed into by one of them (most accidents involve bikes and pickups in Thailand). Stability under hard braking / making sudden direction changes, is also a consideration. Pickups are heavy and have a high center of gravity, so are less maneuverable than smaller cars.

[jacko45k]

Better visibility and yes I believe a bit stronger.

Recent experience of being rear-ended by some dope on his phone..... the Ford was a little bashed up, the front of the BMW was a mess!

Can carry lots of stuff and handles the rural roads better.

I think a pickup is a great choice here.

[Phatbeets]

DELETED

Pains me every time I watch it

I drive easily a ten thousand of kilometers every year on German highways with powerful company cares like (BMW, Audis) with hella unlimited portion highways

and ...

yeah you dont bang with > 100 kilometer per hour too fast on a car. You see that car beforehand at least 15 sec before.

This guy is a killer.

Edited March 18, 2016 by seedy
language

[Kabula]

The higher the vehicle the greater chance it will roll over. No difference if a semi truck, a bus, or a car rear ends you at high speed. If you are concerned, stay in the city and ride the BTS! ?

[seedy]

Nonsense post - and Quoted Replies - Removed

[chilli42]

Force=Mass x Acceleration. Newton's second law, all other things being equal, is the determining factor.

[Don Mega]

If you had a pickup like this you can over take the Merc with a refrigerator in the back

I do laugh at the 500kg payload on those commodore ute things.

Full tank of fuel and 2 proper sizes aussies up front and that leaves you with about 230kg actual payload.

[thailand49]

Personally, I like driving a Truck in Thailand, A 4 door Automatic. Never had a problem in any whether condition because I do something in general driver here don't do and that is adjust my driving to the situation or condition at hand.

My respond for this particular video, at the speed the driver was going it wouldn't matter too much what you were driving.

[JoeW]

Get a Merc S class, it's so easy

The insane who rammed and killed two people (video above) is only slightly hurt.

(don't be fooled by the wrong time stamp in the video, it happened last Sunday)

The insane is in white shirt

That's the dad of the crazy guy no?

[JoeW]

I bought the Nissan Navara NP300 for it's modern safety features, 4x4 drive system, excellent seven speed auto, driving position and best in class handling.

I have fitted a tow bar and adjustable height tow ball and STEEL nudge bar to the front.

Your never 100% safe driving in Thailand or any other country but a quality pickup well prepared and maintained helps mitigate the risk of personal injury; I've only used 4x4's / SUV or pickup for the last 25 years

Remember that installing aftermarket bull bars an affect crumple zone integrity. In the even of an accident your body absorbs more of the impact because the car itself cannot. In theory, pickups would be safer in an impact, providing the collision is with a smaller vehicle. But with the number of pickups on the road, you are just as likely to be crashed into by one of them (most accidents involve bikes and pickups in Thailand). Stability under hard braking / making sudden direction changes, is also a consideration. Pickups are heavy and have a high center of gravity, so are less maneuverable than smaller cars.

Amen

[Fookhaht]

Personally, I like driving a Truck in Thailand, A 4 door Automatic. Never had a problem in any whether condition because I do something in general driver here don't do and that is adjust my driving to the situation or condition at hand.

.

I am very happy for a pickup when our local college town gets flooded in the rainy season with up to a meter-high of water.

Motorbikes and sedans are useless in that scenario.

[Thomas33399]

There are 2 factors involved in surviving an accident: active and passive safety.

Active safety is the way the car behaves to avoid an accident. Even though the later pick ups have more active safety engineering they are still inherently less able to avoid an accident. The brakes on the latest models are very much better than those of 10 years ago which are like trying to stop an elephant, but they are still less agile and cumbersome on the road than a well engineered small car.

Passive safety refers to the how well the car behaves in an accident. The best possible vehicles for this are European expensive vehicles like the one on the video clip which have far more invested in surviving an impact than other vehicles given that the vehicles are of similar dimensions. Given that most people cannot afford these vehicles, then the weight of the vehicles involved in the accident is a factor but so is centre of gravity as this determines how stable the vehicle will be. A bus or pickup (i.e. a small truck) is more likely to injure other drivers but also does not fare well as they lose control much more readily.

Then there is the factor of being involved in an accident in the first place. It is here that Thailand rates so poorly as a country and being in a pickup or on a motorcycle greatly increases the chance of death especially at high speed as they are less maneuverable in both the formula one style driving and 'mai pen rai' style driving seen regularly.

The general attitude of a large percentage of drivers on Thai roads is totally irresponsible and is due largely due to the absence of law enforcement, both on and off the roads. The reason for the lack of enforcement is because Thailand is only beginning to emerge from a third world country status. This is heightened by the attitude of so many pick up drivers here as being able to aggressively dominate all other traffic. It is this feeling of dominance which must be a large part of the reason why people purchase these vehicles. This is obvious to all who drive on the roads here, especially motorways.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Thomas33399

[IMHO]

I don't know how anyone could suggest pickups are the safest option in Thailand, when nearly all of them have spawned SUV versions with superior handling, better safety tech, and even more mass

[Don Mega]

I don't know how anyone could suggest pickups are the safest option in Thailand, when nearly all of them have spawned SUV versions with superior handling, better safety tech, and even more mass

Is there much difference between the Wildtrak and Everest in safety tech ?

[Kwasaki]

http://m.iihs.org/mobile/ratings/mobileratings/tsps

http://www.autobytel.com/trucks/car-buying-guides/the-safest-pickup-trucks-for-2016-130048/

[IMHO]

I don't know how anyone could suggest pickups are the safest option in Thailand, when nearly all of them have spawned SUV versions with superior handling, better safety tech, and even more mass

Is there much difference between the Wildtrak and Everest in safety tech ?

The top-spec Wildtrak 3.2L 4x4 and top-spec Everest Titanium+ 3.2L AWD both have full airbag counts and the similar electronic aids (ABS, EBD, traction control, stability control, rollover mitigation, trailer sway control, lane keeping assist and frontal crash avoidance), but the Everest has better handling, and also better grip & control due to it's AWD system.

Unique to the Everest 3.2L Titanium+ are Blind spot warning, and Cross traffic alert.

Unique to the Wildtrak 3.2L is it's Driver alert system.

With the Ranger, as you step down from the Wildtrak to XLT or lower, you get just dual front airbags, and the electronic aids drop down to just ABS with EBD.

Stepping down grades in the Everest, you still get full airbags and most of the electronic safety aids - less Driver's knee airbag, Blind spot warning, Cross traffic alert, Lane Keeping assist, and Frontal crash avoidance.

If you want to count safety for other cars on the road, the Everest Titanium+ also has self levelling (and self cleaning) headlamps, with automatic high beam dipping.

Edited March 19, 2016 by IMHO

[Don Mega]

Cool. thanks for that IMHO, quiet the difference.

[uthaithanirules]

I think a tank would be the safest option

[hkt83100]

If you want drive a save car just buy a Marauder:

Full version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDoRmT0iRic

[CLW]

I heard Russian tanks are available at 2nd hand market 555

[hkt83100]

If you had a pickup like this you can over take the Merc with a refrigerator in the back

I prefer the classic version.

[55Jay]

It doesn't matter.

Just drive 60kph in the far right lane of a 120kph highway and other cars will avoid you, which is probably what the idiot in the black fast mover was doing in the OP video.

[Don Mega]

It doesn't matter.

Just drive 60kph in the far right lane of a 120kph highway and other cars will avoid you, which is probably what the idiot in the black fast mover was doing in the OP video.

To be fair to the person in the far right lane, he/she was prolly just rolling along at the speed limit without a care in the world.

[55Jay]

It doesn't matter.

Just drive 60kph in the far right lane of a 120kph highway and other cars will avoid you, which is probably what the idiot in the black fast mover was doing in the OP video.

To be fair to the person in the far right lane, he/she was prolly just rolling along at the speed limit without a care in the world.

Indeed. Was being facetious.

I just watched an extended version of the OP. Merc vs. a small compact Ford. Tragic.

Edited March 19, 2016 by 55Jay

[hugh2121]

Think you'd be pretty safe in a JCB, otherwise..............

[pgrahmm]

I always cringe when I see a sign like this on a small car like this or similar - Suzuki Swift et.al. knowing that that child seat is literally 8-14" away from a rear or side impact....

[JAS21]

It doesn't matter.

Just drive 60kph in the far right lane of a 120kph highway and other cars will avoid you, which is probably what the idiot in the black fast mover was doing in the OP video.

To be fair to the person in the far right lane, he/she was prolly just rolling along at the speed limit without a care in the world.

Surely the guy with the car cam was driving on the 'frontage' ... 'Parallel Road' and the Fiesta was driving in the Left Hand lane 'slow lane' of the Main Road.

Makes me think just to use the EV in future for all but local shopping trips ....

Edited March 19, 2016 by JAS21

[MikeOwen]

Mmm.....I thought that in the original report he was indicated as 34 years of age?

Uphill paper round !