Shocking footage from Thailand shows lorry crossing double lines on bend in the wet to overtake as cars approach

[trogers]

3 hours ago, trogers said:

He was driving Thai style - racing buffaloes!

 

 

[Thaidream]

My Thai wife is an excellent driver except she has no concept of a speed limit or road conditions. She wants to drive as fast as she can to get somewhere quick. Like most Thais she ignores the speed limit and tries to find a way to get to the head of the line at a red light. When questioned on this she states this is Thai style driving and she maybe right- but Thai style driving is one of the most dangerous in the World.

I doubt it will ever change until there is a real Government effort backed by the police to change driving habits. When in America, I don't speed because the cost of a speeding ticket is around $300 on average so that inhibits a lead foot. The real key is education- schools need to have a driver training program which educates Thai young adults on the proper way to drive a car and wht happens when you don't.  It will take several generations to change the Thai habits.

[kannot]

7 hours ago, Boycie said:

 

To be fair, it's not always the rider/drivers fault. The roads themselves can be a death trap. Wonder if this recent video will be next on the Mirror website?

 

<deleted> incredible!!!!!!! Just think if the council could be taken to court here, this would be stopped overnight, the roads  round here are  just like that too, I used to fix  them but got told "not  my job"

[kannot]

9 minutes ago, LennyW said:

Exactly.

if  only the  two could be combined, electrocuting the drivers would be a start?

[moe666]

happen to me last year around Nan, approaching curve and both lanes filled with trucks. No need to hit the breaks as to close, I nudged to the right and got by him without a scratch. The truck driver of course hits his breaks which pulled him inside the curve away from me. The head on crash I had earlier in the year gave me a bit of on the job training

[Cowboyshoe]

There is nothing 'shocking' about this to anyone who's been in the country for over a month.

Having been here for 10+ years I would classify this more as 'typical'.

[zaphod reborn]

The overpassing truck was operating within the Rules of the Road for Thailand.  The larger vehicle always has right of way.

[colinneil]

Shocking footage, at least he was driving in the correct direction.

Bastard who hit me was going the wrong way on a dual carriageway .

[Muzarella]

That's why to have a good car cam it is important in Thailand.

That car probably was a small car....It is was a truck its cannot escape from a bad accident....and with injuries.

[lungnorm]

4 hours ago, The man from udon said:

I tried to tell the wife what these yellow lines were for and what intermittent lines were for.she replied oh I thought it was to save paint.thank god she can't drive or ride else I would be a widow very quickly.

Widower I think

[monkey4u]

4 hours ago, Kerryd said:

In the rain, going up hill.

 

Pretty much a normal event that probably occurs dozens of times a day in Thailand. The only thing missing is a moto on the left side of the road, travelling in the wrong direction.

It would have been there but the rain stopped the rider

They didn't want to get their hair wet

[dcpo]

Must be bad spirits on that section of road.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

This is normal behavior here in Thailand. It just so happens that it was caught on video. If I ran a dash cam I'd be uploading crazy shit everyday. You have to EXPECT this on every corner to survive here.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

46 minutes ago, Boycie said:

 

To be fair, it's not always the rider/drivers fault. The roads themselves can be a death trap. Wonder if this recent video will be next on the Mirror website?

 

That is the craziest video I have seen. What is more shocking is that no one actually put anything in front of it to warn other. The all 'caring and sharing' community spirit.

[Toscano]

It is all good for population control !!!  I note 32000 accident deaths per 100,000 , a massive number , but the birthrate is very high in Thailand , so with a bit of luck it equals out .  What a terrifying experience for the car driver who filmed this huge lorry overtaking , miraculously they survived .

 

[fxe1200]

4 hours ago, doremifasol said:

The car driver is very cool....... didn't scream....didn't swear.....

 

Used to it........

 

....very cool, and listening to Jimi Hendrix

[SOTIRIOS]

...that attitude is rampant....

[Mansell]

Nobody educates them about the danger of passing on blind bends. I have seen the same in South America, and on a cliff road in Afghanistan. And of course Cambodia while riding my motorcycle and expecting to die at any moment.....that is why I didn't ride agin for a month in that country.

[cyberfarang]

4 hours ago, doremifasol said:

The car driver is very cool....... didn't scream....didn't swear.....

 

Used to it........

That`s probably because he had passed out from shock, I know I would.

[The man from udon]

3 hours ago, ezflip said:

I asked a dozen different Thai drivers (friends of the family) what the difference was with all the yellow separation lines painted on the roads and none of them knew apart from indicating which side was which. Lack of driving school is my guess... Learning from an uncle, father, brother, a relative, etc. only teaches them how to operate a vehicle but only a little bit about regulations.

The people who paint these lines have no idea what they are for,only the boss and he keeps it secret from the workers.

[kannot]

1 hour ago, zaphod reborn said:

The overpassing truck was operating within the Rules of the Road for Thailand.  The larger vehicle always has right of way.

crap

[The man from udon]

2 hours ago, yardrunner said:

Tell the wife what these yellow lines were for and what intermittent lines were for.she replied oh I thought it was to save paint.thank god she can't drive or ride

You have answered your own question, if she doesn't ride a bike or drive a car what need has she to know what the lines mean, Some years ago i had a friend in Leeds UK who did not drive and i gave him a lift home from another city with him directing me, came to a one way street(against my direction of travel) and was told to go down it, when i said i couldn't i was asked why not i walk down here every day

She did ride for a while before I met her but of course she had a accident.she won't tell me how long she did ride as I think she's embarrassed about it.ive tried teaching her again but it's like flogging a dead horse.i only want her to pick me up when I'm phished.

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Not shocking, just normal Thai style driving. I doubt it will be different in 100 years time

Thai version of George Jetson. 

[smudger1951]

As a retired coach driver I do wonder the consequences of a wider oncoming vehicle. Nowhere to go, a horrific prospect ! It does indicate a lack of insight for potential accident etc.

[Goingmad]

3 hours ago, whatproblem said:

No chance ,they wouldn't even breathalize the one who rammed into the back of me 2 weeks ago ,obviously drunk and keep smoking to try hide the smell ,smoked about one pack in the 1 1/2 it took for insurance to work out a scam

I'm sure the driver would see nothing wrong with what just happened.

[al007]

5 hours ago, Sphere said:

Bad publicity in the international press....time to hunt down the video uploader.

 

And probably so true, why not put the effort into finding the truck driver and prosecuting him

 

I too have a video camera in the front of my pickup, because I know as a foreigner we are often blamed when it is not our fault

 

Also when stopped by police, by the time the window has been wound down the camera is pointing at the window, and I gently point this out and the fact the conversation is being recorded, seems to avoid cash fines for some reason

[elgordo38]

Just now, Goingmad said:

I'm sure the driver would see nothing wrong with what just happened.

He has amulet insurance why worry. 

[connda]

It's only 'Shocking!" if it is unusual.  But it's the norm, therefore it's far from "Shocking!" 

[elgordo38]

4 hours ago, arrowsdawdle said:

What shocking? Anybody that has driven the two-lane blacktop in rural Thailand has seen this daily.

 

Thai traffic, just like Thai electricity, is different.

Both can be shocking at times. 

[kiwikeith]

6 hours ago, rkidlad said:

Where's the chief of police commenting on this? Why's he not threatening Thai people  about the laws against dangerous driving? 

 

 

 

Exactly, I would almost guarantee that if these trucks were filmed for another hour we would see the overtaken truck overtake the overtaker.

They sit in their cabs drinking caffeine drinks , chain smoking, talking on cell phones and playing me first in the traffic without any respect for human life.

Edited November 4, 2016 by kiwikeith