Thai Driving Habits

[Up2U]

And again

http://www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_...tats_506717.pdf

[NedKelly]

Just as annoying is the taxis driver who drives along putting his foot on and off the accelerator........on-off-on-off-on-off etc etc.......need a <deleted> neck brace half the time.

And dont get me satrted on the business of wlaking in the streets......how many times do I have to twist and turn to avoid contact with people when they do absolutely nothing inreturn......I feel its a share thing.....yo uknow...I will move a little and they should move a little too.......same anywhere. But no....they dont move a millimetre.......so sometimes I get pissed off and decide to not move next time......sure enough.....BANG into someones shoulder.......because I did not move.....and neither did they. The look they give you is like ...You stupid farang why did'nt you move' ......The look I give back is.....'You stupid idiot....why did'nt you move?'

[Up2U]

Sorry Ned, I spent 40 years playing no. 8 in various RFU teams, never get troubled by people bumping in to me. They just bounce off.

[keda]

tatom, yes that is an enigma, and one that could well do with some further research.

Third road, lazy afternoon, little traffic, bike at a steady thirty in the inside lane heading towards Pty Tai, by Xzyte. A coach is overtaking and mirror shows mototaxi approaching from the rear so I move over a bit more to the left.

Moron can't wait to overtake me, Buddha instructs him under pain of horrible things to overtake me at the same time as the coach, he hits it’s side, bounces off, broadsides me, glance off, I wobble but manage to hold it together and pull up without going over as the moron speeds off.

But must give it to him, well-mannered chap, had the decency to turn around to check that I’m ok as he drove straight into the back of a baht bus. Looked like a hospital job, but I was sure to get the blame so it’s g’day from me and not a very good one for him.

TiT!

[keda]

Btw, here's a very useful tip for motorbike riders:

When you see that coach or bus lapping at your rear wheel give your bike a wobble...not enough to disturb your balance but enough to alert him that you are an unstable or inexperienced rider. I do this often, esp along the main Pty racetracks, and believe me it never fails; suddenly all becomes calm behind.

keda

[tatom]

Kevin, I understand what youre saying. When talking to other farangs, they too say thier driving habits have changed since being here. It doesnt pose a problem when driving here, but while driving back in the home country, one can get in real hot water. Back in the US, I once went to the post office. It was on a one way street. To save time I went the wrong way, after all, it was only 30 meters up the street. I really didnt give it a thought. I pulled into the PO and a cop pulled in right behind me! I admitted my guilt, (didnt have much choice anyway), and he let me go. Sometimes I will pull out into a road infront of an oncoming vehicle, out of habit, then immediatly realize I shouldnt have, but its too late and I do feel ashamed. On a different note, many of you may not understand, driving on the left for us Americans, can be confusing, especialy when turning at an intersection. And there have been times Ive driven on the left when visiting the US! As I tell my British friends, " we drive on the right side of the road, you drive on the wrong side".

[ThaiPauly]

You also have to add in the drinking and driving factor to this equation, never get on a motorcycle taxi after 9pm, chanses are he will have been on the old samsong,

I walked down my soi to the local rank a few weeks ago and there was this happy little chappie sitting there alone with his orange vest on , I started" Pia soi ..." then trailed off as I saw the half empty bottle of Samsong," Mao" I said 'mai dai mao, ke mao" he replied which traslates as "I'm not drunk, I am very drunk" and added where you want go?, Now for some reason which is hard to eplain why I reached it, I headed speadily off in search of a four wheeled mode of transportation. TIT

[sonthaya]

They are not all that bad, I made it to my destination each time, it may look a bit crazy when you are in it, but most of them survive, it can't be all bad.

[maerim]

" we drive on the right side of the road, you drive on the wrong side".

Why do some countries drive on the left and others on the right or here anyside of the road?

[Richard W]

" we drive on the right side of the road, you drive on the wrong side".

Why do some countries drive on the left and others on the right or here anyside of the road?

I've always understood it was the fault of the French. Revolutionary perverseness!

[maerim]

Thats what I was led to believe when Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington had a bit of a tiff.

Is it true?

[Crash999]

Might sound a bit abrasive but I feel it has something to do with Thais - generally - being unable to do too many things at one time.

Those that do have a license, and assuming they have actually passed the test, were tested on little more than how to start, drive, turn, squeeze through a gate with a foot spare on either side, a bit of reverse, brief practical and it's all over, now go kill someone.

And there are other contributing factors, perhaps religion, as someone mentioned, a general or even genetic inability to function efficiently under the acute pressure of so much incoming data, coordination of mind and body...and no doubt much more if we sat down to really think about it.

What has happened? The driver has seen you approaching in the distance. He knows you have right of way, and stops to compute his own chances of turning safely - he doesn't want to hit you or be hit by you - ...but by the time he has the result (yes, it is safe) you are already dangerously closer than you were when he started, but he has the result and out he comes anyway. Swerve or brake, hoot, rage, and if you manage to make eye contact you'll get that quaint, 'sorry but I'm Thai' smile.

I don't like to write flames, but sorry to say this is a bunch of crap. Seems like *you* are the one who shouldn't be let on the road, as you clearly don't know the system for driving here. You seem to take pride in looking down on Thais, imagining that everyone here should drive according to *your* standards. Brilliant.

The bigger vehicle has the right of way and you, on a motorcycle, rank down there with soi dogs in terms of priority. If you keep imagining that 10-wheeled trucks are going to defer to you on the road then I hope you have good insurance coverage.

Cheers!

[thaimee]

Many Thai drivers, imho, should not be allowed anywhere near a public road. Those that do have a license, and assuming they have actually passed the test, were tested on little more than how to start, drive, turn, squeeze through a gate with a foot spare on either side, a bit of reverse, brief practical and it's all over, now go kill someone.

Well I just bought my Thai girlfriend a driving license. So what to say...Sorry!

The GF did however have to put in some effort. I believe the standard input is Ten hours and a nice bribe. We paid a thousand baht.

So there you go, funny old world...

Thaimee.

[thaimee]

Coming back by Coach from Det Udom (Ubon Ratchatahni) to Pattaya I was not amused to find myself in a most typical of scenario's.

I was the victim of Thai mentality and Supersilious driving habits. Where to start...

We found ourselves lost only thirty minutes into the Journey of some twelve hours length and on top of that further into the journey we were the witnesses to a coach ditched/ vacated halfway in the jungle and another vehicle burning in the middle of the road.

Perhaps these are the usual viewing pleasures on longer type coach journey's?

Being lucky not to have collided with oncoming traffic as we overtook for the 1000th time for the evening at herculean break neck speed's always leaves me exhausted and thankful for being in one piece.

It seems every time one makes a journey it is the case of putting your neck on the line getting from A to B!

Aparently the road's coming back from Ubon to Pattaya are reputed for being very dangerous!

Thaimee.