Anybody have any exciting moments you've experienced at the hands of the ever talented mini-bus drivers in the land of smiles? The mini-busses I'm referring to are those Toyota Commuter vans that are typically white or silver.
I'll start with one that got the pulse rate up today.
I was returning this afternoon to Lopburi from an overnight run to Bangkok, making use of one of the 2 mini-bus operators from my town. The route mostly follows Asia Road (Highway 32) through the central provinces. For those of you who are not familiar with Asia Road, it is one of the main north/south arteries and is 3 or 4 lanes wide in both directions. In some of the busier areas, the highway has been upgraded with u-turn flyovers, but in many places there are dangerous u-turn lanes in the middle of the highway.
On our route, nearing the turn off from Asia Road onto the highway into Lopburi, there is a point where the mini-bus makes a u-turn at one of those middle of the highway examples. Why they choose to do the u-turn there puzzles me, as only a kilometer down the road is a major highway junction with a flyover where it is much safer to get onto the highway to Lopburi and does not add to the overall distance.
Today's driver, whom I'll refer to as Mr. 22 for the number of his mini-bus, was doing an "average" job based on my experiences - changing lanes constantly, tailgating, speeding etc. I was riding shotgun as I usually prefer, due to the added leg room and there's usually a seat belt to make use of. When we approached the area where the u-turn is made, I was hoping this driver would make an exception and take the flyover further down the highway, which they occasionally do. No such luck today. Mr. 22 (orange vehicle) swung into the u-turn lane and ducked to the inside of a pick-up truck (blue vehicle) that was patiently waiting to make its u-turn.
Coming in the opposite direction was a steady stream of traffic across all lanes. Having made this trip dozens of times, I noted that traffic was about as heavy as I could recall. Without even trying to wait for a break, Mr. 22 got impatient and began to nose his way into the fast lane, creeping further and further into the oncoming traffic. In typical Thai driving style, many of the approaching drivers were tailgating, making for a great opportunity for a chain reaction collision as they approached at speeds around 110 kilometers per hour. Some of these drivers got annoyed at Mr. 22's incursion into their space and were flashing high beams to draw his attention. Being in the shotgun spot, I had a great view of all the vehicles bearing down on us, whizzing past just centimeters from where I was sitting.
It seemed that Mr. 22's intentions were to play chicken with his mini-bus full of passengers and the oncoming drivers until either he got his way or triggered a momentous pile up. As he nudged the mini-bus about 2/3 of the way into the fast lane, the oncoming driver of a Toyota Hilux had no choice but to jam on the brakes or hit us, as he could not maneuver into the next lane due to other traffic. Much to my relief, Mr. 22 got his way this time without the epic disaster that could have occurred. Surprisingly, aside from the flashing lights from the oncoming vehicles, nobody blasted their horn, which is something I would not have hesitated to do.
As result of this experience with Mr. 22 and the driver of the previous 2 trips, Mr. Smiley, I will likely change to the other mini-bus operator in town. Mr. Smiley's driving was "average", but his demeanor with non-Thai customers left a lot to be desired, hence the nickname.