Why aren’t Thai drivers getting the message?

[williamgeorgeallen]

recently i moved back to nz. i was driving around today thinking about how my driving styles are between here and thailand. in nz if some one needs to change lanes the indicator goes on and a gap opens, often there is a friendly wave to say thanks leaving everyone with a good feeling. in thailand many times i put on the indicator and all the cars bunch up meaning i need to initiate a lane change as i start indicating. it is simply impossible for driving habits to change in thailand unless the whole driving culture changes. it even sounds like the good general has given up on poor driving habits, stating that he will let the next govt deal with it.

[Searat7]

12 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Ban tinted windows on new car purchases and remove all film from cars within 30 days or face 5000 baht spot fines.

 

Once they are clearly visible, eyeball to eyeball and no longer a faceless part of an anonymous speeding car, they'll finally get the message.

In first world countries dark tinting is not allowed for driver's seat or seat next to driver

[clockman]

The same reason, there are no Thai Nobel prize winners!

[rtco]

Simple answer ... enforce the law and stop filling up your back pockets.

[zoza]

near everything that  should help influence safe driving is wrong in Thailand

take the advertisements and quite a lot show cars skidding and speeding

and it makes people think that speed and racing is what driving is all about.

you then have the face and the repression that is taken away when they get behind the wheel

they feel free to do what ever they want.

The R.T.P ok did anyone catch the minibus with bald tiers and their actions....enough said.

most people including the people who are supposed to enforce the law think there is nothing

wrong with driving the wrong way down a road during the night with no lights.

I hear the test is a joke and have heard that you can just buy a licence

and the people running the show do not take any meaningful action as it is mainly poor people

getting killed and injured....not a lot of hope for change I'm afraid.  

[fruitman]

56 minutes ago, Borzandy said:

How Thai drivers could get a message?

 

Maybe the same way as they got their driverslicense?

[monkey4u]

Its probably hard for them to think at all

They act as if they were brain dead from birth    

The parents should have dumped the child and kept the afterbirth

[Saastrajaa]

1 hour ago, Borzandy said:

How Thai drivers could get a message?

 

By checking the Line app on their phone while driving 

[worgeordie]

The message goes in one ear and out the other,Thai's don't

like to follow rules, laws,they just want to do anything they want,

and look what happens,it will be exactly the same the next long

holiday,thats why I try to keep off the roads at times like this

regards Worgeordie

[Lite Beer]

Get rid of those useless money making road blocks and have the police actually on the roads looking for dangerous driving.

Then hit the morons with large fines.

No good taking away licences as most don't have one anyway.

[trainman34014]

Can answer in one word.....''Attitude'.

[fruitman]

51 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

Ban tinted windows on new car purchases and remove all film from cars within 30 days or face 5000 baht spot fines.

 

Once they are clearly visible, eyeball to eyeball and no longer a faceless part of an anonymous speeding car, they'll finally get the message.

 

My wife has very dark windows and can't see anything at night through them, so she drives very very slow which is dangerous as well.

 

But in daytime she also needs her sunglasses in the car. So that's what they will wear without film. Better let them have real tanned windscreens but not too dark. The film blurs the view as well.

 

But has anybody thought about real drivinglessons like we have in the West?? I had 60 hours of lessons plus 20 sitting in that lessoncar while another student was driving.

 

Just look how Thai park their car, they obviously have never played with toycars being a kid, they have no idea what a steeringwheel can do...They even can't make a U-turn without needing 2-3 incoming lanes. That's why they like to park on the street, it's too complicated to park properly...also they can't use indicators, ohh why would you need those things?

 

But it has nothing to do with the police, glad that we agree on that part.....

[CGW]

"culture is the hardest thing to change"!

 

If they are serious, at this time they are not! they need to have a plan, yes a Plan, it wont happen in a three month period either.

Until they change peoples attitudes, which includes the so called police forces attitude to traffic crimes, nothing will change!

Conclusion - Nothing will change!

[BuaBS]

1 hour ago, Searat7 said:

1 hour ago, NanLaew said:

Ban tinted windows on new car purchases and remove all film from cars within 30 days or face 5000 baht spot fines.

 

Once they are clearly visible, eyeball to eyeball and no longer a faceless part of an anonymous speeding car, they'll finally get the message.

In first world countries dark tinting is not allowed for driver's seat or seat next to driver

Hey , come on now ! I love my tinted windows . We should have them in the "first world" countries too ( yes front windows too ).

You can't see the driver in driverless car in the nearby future.

Edited January 5, 2017 by BuaBS

[impulse]

A better question would be "Why aren't the RTP sending the right message?"

 

They're getting the message that's being sent.  It's okay to drive like a maniac- we're not even going to try to stop you.  We'll leave that to Mother Nature, who never lets you get away with breaking the laws of physics.

Edited January 5, 2017 by impulse

[off road pat]

2 hours ago, kenk24 said:

I once saw a study in USA that after passing an accident, witnessing the scene, drivers will be effected and slow down for an average of 7 seconds before speeding up again... 

they did the same study in Europe and came to the same results, but it was a couple of minutes not seconds....I guess....?!

[LivinLOS]

From the OP.. 

 

Quote

The United Nations agency averaged it out to 36.2 Thais and other Thailand residents per 100,000 dying annually. The grand total, on average – 24,237 people killed per year.

 

So thats a daily tally of.. 66 a day.. 

 

Quote

More than 3,500 road accidents occurred in the first six of the seven “watch period” days that started on December 29. In less than a week, 426 people were dead and 3,761 others injured. It was an appalling increase over the same period last year, when 380 people were killed and 3,505 injured in about 3,100 road accidents throughout the seven days.

 

So 426 for 6 days means 71 a day.. 

 

So the 'deadly' 7 days of danger claimed only 4 more lives per day than average.. And last years 7 days were WAY under the daily average... 

 

Or someones not really been paying attention to the statistics properly.. I know which one I think is true.. 

[kamahele]

The problem is enforcement. Anyone with a license knows the rules as they had to pass the written test.  However, there is a lack of enforcement, the reasons for which I won't go into.....

[TheFishman1]

The PM. Will put a stop to these numbers stay tuned TIT

[4MyEgo]

What's happened has happened, and we all agree its a SAD an unnecessary loss of life to say the least, education, strong police presence, stronger penalties, and public willingness can help, but I STRONGLY believe the government has to play a stronger roll in its "duty of care" to the road uses, i.e. a simple solution by putting in safety measures like guard rails or concrete barriers to stop vehicles going down such ditches which would be like speed in a projectile motion, i.e. launching the vehicle, at least with guard rails or concrete barriers the vehicle/s could minimise the impact and would certainly not come in contact with vehicles on the other side of the road travelling in the opposite direction via the ditch.

 

 

Edited January 5, 2017 by 4MyEgo

[marko kok prong]

same year after year,but it seems they are getting worse,they really want that official number 1 spot it seems [unofficially i would say they already have it], yet look at The Philippines 139th,why,well when i was there driving,common sense,patience,and a great deal more courtesy on the road was evident,and a lack of corner cutting

[CGW]

2 minutes ago, marko kok prong said:

same year after year,but it seems they are getting worse,they really want that official number 1 spot it seems [unofficially i would say they already have it], yet look at The Philippines 139th,why,well when i was there driving,common sense,patience,and a great deal more courtesy on the road was evident,and a lack of corner cutting

I reckon is more because they have a hell of a lot less (drunk!) motorcyclists, I lived in the PI & much prefer driving in Thailand, thats saying something! 

[jollyhangmon]

2 hours ago, Borzandy said:

How Thai drivers could get a message?

 

Well, just like anyone else on their mobiles i guess, hehe ...

Problem just is that they have to check it immediately - whilst wrapping their ride around the next power-pole in doing so.

 

Seriously, 'distraction'  came out as current main reason for traffic accidents for 2016 back home! 

[scorecard]

There is obviously no one answer to this important point.

 

IMHO one part of the answer is that a very large % of Thai folks  nowadays never read a newspaper (but that's related to electronic media), never watch a  news program on TV and 99% of their time on-line with their smartphone is spent on facebook, often about celebrities and what friends have posted, shopping, and of course not forgetting the time taken with more and more selfies.

 

This all means IMHO that more and more Thais are not aware of tragedies, and not aware of the law.

 

How to educate these folks?  A good question with few valuable and productive answers.

 

One possibility is that these subjects should be a solid part of the compulsory school curriculum, with well developed exams, starting at Prathom level and right through matayom level, but course this would take a long time to see any positive results.  

[tartempion]

Hopeless.
Drove through the village towards the school to pickup the little one, a big truck came towards me, I had to stop to let him through, a woman came out a soi on her motorbike at my level talking into her smartphone. I shouted her she was "baba bobo" to telephone whilst driving.
I got this usual blank stare. They don't have the slightest idea that might possibly be dangerous.

[amykat]

2 hours ago, kenk24 said:

I once saw a study in USA that after passing an accident, witnessing the scene, drivers will be effected and slow down for an average of 7 seconds before speeding up again... 

 

I believe this is a GOOD thing, rubber necking is to be discouraged as it causes more accidents and I believe most drivers passing are driving correctly in the first place, so why wouldn't they "speed up again"?

[jesimps]

Because they're born without the "Common sense" gene.

Nothing will convince me otherwise.

 

[elephant45]

Little Emperors behind black tinted windows gone mad from having to conform....

 

[nong38]

3 hours ago, keith101 said:

a big problem is that you cant say to someone that their driving is bad (to their face) creating loss of face and some drivers will kill anyone who complains no matter how bad they are . a lack of proper on the road driver training is also to blame so most drivers don't know nor understand what they should be doing behind the wheel of a car or on their motor bike .

I think you hit the nail on the head there, the driving test here is somewhat strange and a licence is issued without anyone in authority actually seeing the driver in action with other motorists on the road, this is really important. The person who issues the pass or fail needs to ask just one question regarding if the person is competent to be driving on the road and that is "How do I feel if this person on the road near me?"

[NoshowJones]

This has nothing to do with any message, most Thai peoples mentality is too low to be driving or riding motorbikes, in too many cases there is just no road sense there at all, away from vehicles and motorbikes, most Thais are the most decent and people you will ever meet.