The Me,Me,Me Mindset of too Many Drivers

[Keesters]

19 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

How many will be blasted off their motorbikes in the next week, due to dumb farangs hurling buckets of water mixed with talc into the faces of the drivers?  I've yet to see a Thai do this.

 

 

Many Thais have attempted to murder me by throwing water at me while motorcycling. The only Farang I've seen do it was in a photo.

 

 

[Moonlover]

2 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

 

I don't really care where. I've yet to see it happen.

I've seen Thais throw water at motorbike riders, but I've never seen one HURL a bucket full into the face of a rider. If you've seen it, that OK. Mai pen rai.

It happened to me just once, two years ago. Luckily I was wearing a full face helmet and visa and was not affected.

 

Since then, my motorcycle remains locked up round the back during Songran. There are two reasons for that. Firstly I don't want an accident. Secondly, if it happened again, I'm liable to get off my bike and smack the little <deleted>!

[Keesters]

2 hours ago, ThaiWai said:

Thais can't even operate a shopping cart correctly and you think they could handle a car?

 

Best post of the week, month, year. 555

[01322521959]

At the lights yesterday on red. Some motorbikes jumped the lights, then the copper on a CBR 300 got in on the act and went too! Same old same old. The bib don't even teach by example.

Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[FolkGuitar]

Listen, guys... I'm sorry that I've never seen this behavior. But that's the facts. I've never seen it. That so many of you have gotten angry because I've never seen this is a testament to what makes you upset. It's really not my problem. I enjoy Songkran. I don't feel the need to leave town, and usually spend one or two days around the moat with friend enjoying the festivities.

[scottiejohn]

16 minutes ago, FolkGuitar said:

Listen, guys... I'm sorry that I've never seen this behavior. But that's the facts. I've never seen it. That so many of you have gotten angry because I've never seen this is a testament to what makes you upset. It's really not my problem. I enjoy Songkran. I don't feel the need to leave town, and usually spend one or two days around the moat with friend enjoying the festivities.

I was not knocking you for not seeing it, I just responded with a statement of fact. It has happened to me and it is not a nice experience whoever does it.

 

The fact that you have not seen it is probably explained in your last post - you are with friends who will be of a like mind set to you and will not carry out such stupid actions. It is away from the popular ‘controlled’ areas that this behaviour normally occurs.

Edited April 10, 2017 by scottiejohn

[Nowisee]

another hijacked thread with nothing to do with the OP.

 

on the topic of the OP

 

The driving/parking mentally of the thais is pretty bad.  It is not at all considerate, very much only concerned about themselves me me me..  they will force 2-3 lanes of traffic into a single lane because they want to stop and get something...and in many cases is accident causing.

In accidents many seem to like to flee the area, take their chances not being caught... even when caught, not too serious of consequences, again the me me me.  Then after the accident it becomes lies and stories and the useless police are clueless on how to solve anything.

To protect yourself, good to have forward/rearward cameras.  The fact is, if a poor, unlicensed/uninsured knucklehead causes an accident and you are injured and costly damage to your vehicle... you are screwed.  I think most people already know this.

With that, drive as you will.  

 

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by Nowisee

[HaleySabai]

1 hour ago, ujayujay said:

Nonsense. Mostly Thais do this.....its not a Farang thing.

A few years back I was driving into town with my wife on the back of my bike,it was just prior to Songkran (so I thought). driving down a side road in the old town and a guy comes out of nowhere and throws a bucket of water right into my upper body, I almost lose control of the bike. I stopped, turned around drove back,calmly got off my bike walked up to the young smiling Farang, grabbed his bucket from his hand and whacked him right upside his head , as his Thai-tart girlfriend was standing next to him in shock I gave him a foul mouth full of why you DO NOT throw water that way. He was shamed and apologetic...hopefully he learned to use some basic common sense while staying in Thailand.

Six-of-one & half-dozen of another.

Edited April 10, 2017 by HaleySabai

[janpharma]

It is all related to education...and it should start at home and at school.  But unfortunately, as long as parents and teachers give more attention to their phones than to their children, it will only worsten...

[Gonzo the Face]

43 minutes ago, janpharma said:

It is all related to education...and it should start at home and at school.  But unfortunately, as long as parents and teachers give more attention to their phones than to their children, it will only worsten...

janpharma, with your permission, let me carry your post a bit further.  Broaden the scope a bit.  Yes  the parents should teach from home , but moving up several levels to say the gov't level.....  all the same formula.  Anyone, person, place or thing, cannot teach or pass on that which they have not learned.  What I HAVE learned is what I can pass on.  Many little children, both girls and more so boys, growing up.. would like to become policemen.  To many places throughout the world, taking the time to ask the young one, why policeman, the answer would probably come back, " to be able to help and protect people"...ergo the recognizable police motto " to serve and protect".  Here, there seems to be an unwritten credo attached. " to serve and protect me, myself, and I." ... and now  to all of you who get the bug up your rear, THIS IS NOT THAI BASHING.  To all of the holey hearts brigade, just go out to the street and find a youngster who sez he would like to be a policeman and ask him why?  There is a very good chance the answer will be " so I can get a lot of money. "  That is what they believe, because that is what they have seen and thereby been taught.  How do you change that if you cannot or will not, or want not, and/or are closed to learning something else?  Transpose that formula to any other profession.  If you are a gov't official getting larger baht income, do you think for a minute they  would like to learn another formula/system that would benefit the majority of society but would drastically reduce or eliminate the majority of their income.  You guess.  ME, ME, ME !  

Back to the traffic law offenders.  Why would the policeman take the time to write any ticket, when he could be a simple cash receiver for say helmet less cyclists?  He would only  do so if being enforced by his superiors, who just may not wish to do so for their own financial reasons.

The highers teach  the lowers who become highers and teach the lowers an endless circle  Not picking on policeman, just using that as an example.  But transpose the same formula to teachers.  How can you teach that which you have not learned?  Laziness must not be tolerated. Degrees must not be able to be purchased, and the holy grail, honor within yourself , must be valued higher than money.

To the topic.... the traffic  problems and the resultant high highway death can easily be fixed , as with many of the countries problems through creating a culture of doing the best for the people. Get rid of the ME,ME,ME culture and replace it with a culture of WE,US.THEM.  Yes WE is still part of it, but not all of it.  That would seem to be the answer, how to get it done may only done by force or miracle.

[tandor]

4 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Makes one think they have a brain depository the week of Songkran. You deposit it for one week and then go back and claim it sheepishly. Oh well we are making progress from the days of the Coliseum. Everybody gets it no discrimination. 

...they really need to upgrade their coding system in that case, cause they keep getting the wrong brain back.

[scottiejohn]

GONZO. You, in your own inimitable style, have just summed up what those in charge of the coup said it was meant to redress and failed to do.

 

Edited April 10, 2017 by scottiejohn

[Duvidl]

5 hours ago, FolkGuitar said:

 

As I said previously, yes, Thais will throw water at motorbike riders. But I've never seen one step out into the road to HURL a full bucket of water into the face of the rider at close range. They will dump water on top of rider's heads, pour water down their backs, and toss pail-fulls from the road-sides. To date, I've only seen farang step almost in front of a moving bike and throw, with full force, buckets of water into the faces of the drivers.  Others have obviously seen differently. And they seem to very upset that I haven't witnessed this. To bad.

 

I had a little Thai kid, probably about 8 or 10/yo, hit me square in the face with a stream of water from a hose he was brandishing at the side of Charoen Prathet Rd. last year.  I was moving between 30-40 km/hr, and totally lost my vision for a moment. . And signaling potential water-throwers to hold-off (when you can spot them) has never worked for me. They hurl it anyway.

[The Dark Lord]

5 hours ago, elgordo38 said:

Your new at the game give it some time. Don't bash willy nilly be selective precise and have your facts straight. Then its time for the potato masher. 

Come on ElG, give the newbie a break, he probably thinks this is the land of smiles still.....

 

Though I must say that the majority of the crap driving I have been exposed to down in Patts was by White men. 

 

Could be an anomaly in the matrix maybe?

[elgordo38]

43 minutes ago, The Dark Lord said:

Come on ElG, give the newbie a break, he probably thinks this is the land of smiles still.....

 

Though I must say that the majority of the crap driving I have been exposed to down in Patts was by White men. 

 

Could be an anomaly in the matrix maybe?

Watch this movie White Men Can't Drive (1992) - IMDb

[Berkshire]

12 hours ago, Borzandy said:

" I've yet to see a Thai do this " are you joking? or blind ?

I've never seen it.  Does that make you a lowlife liar?

[gemguy]

Hey.....I wrote the book on pointing out the Me, Me, Me syndrome here in Thailand when it comes to Thai Style, Thai Culture driving.

That and the: "I am going to make my move NOW ( hysterical screams are heard ), regardless if it is super dangerous and everyone else is required to suddenly accommodate my super dangerous maneuver. .....while I am just going to do it anyway.

Happens all the time and standard driving practice here in Thailand while most often all the other drivers and their vehicles in close proximity are paying attention, fortunately, and or they have room and distance to accommodate the dangerous maneuver or the driver making the Me, Me, Me reckless and thoughtless maneuver is accommodated and allow them to do what they are doing  ....or.... suddenly ( Jesus, Allah, Buddha )  the other drivers are forced to accommodate the dangerous sudden maneuver and come very close to a collision ( schreeeeech ) while all around them and behind them other drivers are also being hard forced to make a sudden maneuver to avoid colliding........but some of them have no room to maneuver.

They usually give very little room or distance between one another's vehicles so if the lead vehicle  avoids hitting the one making the sudden and dangerous maneuver there is a very high probability one of the several other vehicles being near bumper to bumper to one another are going to collide and "squeeze crash" into one another.  

Sometimes and all too often of course it does not work out the way it was planned by the offensive, reckless driver and BAM, wham-mitty,  wham ...another Thai style accident caused by a selfish and impatient, everyday reckless driver with attitude.

Happening right now as we speak.....but we just do not see it in the news.

I know , I know ...the same goes on in other countries......but we are talking about Thailand...... right???

Just pointing out it goes on here also...apparently far more so....lol

Cheers

Edited April 10, 2017 by gemguy

[Foexie]

This morning after reading this i had one too.

 

You all know the situation: 2 lanes. 1 go straith and 1 go right only. And off cours i see him comming in his green Isuzu. Slowly stopped next to me on the right lane. Then go on 60-70 cm. So do i. Again 30-40 cm more. So do i again. Last time 30-40 cm and me again. Now i look at the right towards his face, both hands on top of the wheel of my little Nissan with a look of " show me what you got". His eyes spitting fire balls. I turn my head again waiting to go at the green light. Maybe even 1 sec sooner. 

But i already told my gf i will let him win.

So green light goes on and i do nothing. Neither did he. 2, 3, 4 seconds and i dont look at him. Then he slowly drove off and me off cours laughing very hard.

[Gonzo the Face]

I read, and I re-read a couple of the more recent posts.  I tried to understand them, and maybe even like them, but not sure.  Anyone know in what language are they are written ? 

[irwinfc]

i drove to pattaya for a vacation and goodness! the pickups and SUVs that squeeze in between me (i'm on the inner/middle lane) and parked cars on the side then cut to the right when they run out of space, just amazes me! seems like a norm here already, but that is just disgusting driving. motorcycles do it all the time, but what i've experienced in the 3 occasions i drove out was like lane-splitting wide vehicle edition! good thing i have a dashcam onboard if and when one of these idiots scrape my side. so yeah, the ME, ME, ME attitude is well and alive in pattaya.

[thaibeachlovers]

On 4/9/2017 at 9:23 PM, FolkGuitar said:

How many will be blasted off their motorbikes in the next week, due to dumb farangs hurling buckets of water mixed with talc into the faces of the drivers?  I've yet to see a Thai do this.

 

I've yet to see a Thai do this.

Haven't been to many Songkrans then?

 

Re the OP, it's not the me, me, me that's the problem, it's the apparent lack of brain function that occurs after starting the motor. They just don't think that what they do may be dangerous, or else they just don't care. 

Edited April 12, 2017 by thaibeachlovers

[The Dark Lord]

As I tried to post ( but it did not take due to questionable internet speed from 3bb in Patts) until such time as the indig pop learn three basics, we have no chance of improvement. Even Darwins theory of evolution and the survival  of the fittest cannot accommodate the cull that is so obviously required. 

 

The three basics?

 

1) Learn to accept responsibility for your actions  ( currently very rare)

 

2) Develop a culture of respect for the authorities ( ok yes yes yes but it is actually important if they were respect worthy)

 

3) Realise that being in charge of one of the worlds most efficient and prolific killing machines is not the same as playing computer games irrespective if using two, three, four or eighteen wheels

 

but we know the chances of even one of those ever happening in our lifetime is a tad unlikely.....

[Teak]

I have been riding motorcycles here since '89, primarily back and forth from the Chieng Dao area. I believe that the Thai drivers are far better now than they used to be. There was a time when we all were forced to accept 'might is right' or get run down. Remember the honking and flashing lights signifying to get off your side of the road, because a Benz, or bus or simply a vehicle larger than a motorcycle was in an oncoming passing frame of mind? There is far less of that now. At U turns  a car will actually wait for the one motorcycle to pass by before turning. I suppose in one way it IS more dangerous now, as we used to never trust ANY vehicle to not have us literally in their headlights. Now, there is a mix of good and bad drivers. I would guess the Thais are 75 percent better drivers then they used to be, However, they do drive faster and there sure is a lot more cars. It seems one has to get past Mae Malai (Mae Taeng) area before the traffic thins out and a rider can relax a bit.

 

As to the water throwing at motorcycles, this is not new. In the early 90's I had a 5 year old boy sitting on the tank in front of me with the Mom behind. While approaching Mae Rim at 40 kph we had a bucket of ice water thrown at us head on. The 5 year old got hit directly in the chest and face. He was in shock for about 3 hours.

The water throwers were two young teenage boys....not malicious, I expect. Just as most young boys do....they get an idea and the thinking process stops at that point.

[Stubby]

On 4/9/2017 at 4:23 PM, FolkGuitar said:

How many will be blasted off their motorbikes in the next week, due to dumb farangs hurling buckets of water mixed with talc into the faces of the drivers?  I've yet to see a Thai do this.

 

This happened to me a few years back. I was on the far lane in slow moving traffic. A couple of guys standing outside a pub spotted me. It was almost as if they were waiting for a foreigner to come by on two wheels. Anyway, they grabbed a handle each of a plastic dustbin full of water. You know the rest. I had to stop the bike from falling by locking my leg against the curb. The "lads" thought it was hilarious; far more fun that wasting all that effort on a passing car. I've stayed off the roads at Songkran ever since. If I was bigger and harder I might have given them a slap :)

[manarak]

"ME, ME, ME" is not just for drivers.

 

it's the dominant life philosophy for many Thais, maybe a majority.