Thread: And people whinge about Thai drivers

Anyone who thinks Thai roads are anywhere near as safe as Western world roads needs some of this attitude adjustment therapy.

^I need that for a hood ornament.


Oh yeah...instead of renting a car bring one of those scooters for US interstate travel. Good luck...

Originally Posted by SKkin

Come on over here to the States

I know you Yanks like to think everythings bigger and better in the States but have you ever seen a truck driver flying over the Central Reservation towards you?















Full story and video here......

Video: Truck driver flies through the air to his death - Samui Times

^Have seen similar scenarios several times, minus the drivers flying out of their trucks...none of them happened right in front of me thank goodness.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

drivers here is they go too fast and cannot correct in time to avoid some pretty stupendous wrecks.

And I suspect that's what is happening "everywhere." I know from personal experience that it's happening here in the States.

^ In the States, like UK if you drive too fast you will get banned soon enough after accruing penalty points..

In Thailand it is just 15 buck fines, with no points system at all.

Well, aside from speeding drivers here, I guarantee there's more relative courtesy shown other drivers than California, Chicago or New York especially.

Imagine attempting to merge into traffic in any of those locations for example? Here, it's a piece of piss.

For sure there's more examples of road rage around but so long as one doesn't slam on the horn, flip the Bird and so forth, driving here, while challenging for the newbie, isn't all that hard to deal with.

Correct, Dill.
Many drivers don't even bother getting a license here. Like the 11-year old from town who was driving a putt-putt last week and had her head squashed by a sip-lor making a tight corner. Dead as dogshit. They hosed her brains off the road and back to business as usual. Hundreds of kids riding morcys to school every day. No helmets, no license, no insurance, not a care in the world. That kind of shit happens regularly here, and practically never in the states. I don't see how any meaningful comparison can be made.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

^ In the States, like UK if you drive too fast you will get banned soon enough after accruing penalty points..

True...though enforcement of that seems much more lax these days. Hit or miss. Some states being exceptions, such as Ohio. "Smokey Bear" is always running speed traps around there. Oddly enough I can't recall Ohio having as many huge pile-ups as elsewhere. Unless I just missed hearing about them.

Originally Posted by Dillinger

have you ever seen a truck driver flying over the Central Reservation towards you?

Was looking at that again...WTF? Looks like his britches were halfway down before he was thrown out. What the hell was he doing...

Originally Posted by Texpat

We saw ZERO accidents. Not fucking one.

Sorry gotta call BULLSHIT on that one. Either that or you drove with blinders on or just oblivious to your surroundings. Did you sleep a lot while others drove?

But hey, no worries. Just before my wife and flew back a few months on the way to SFO we saw 2 big ones. A UPS truck and car and 3 car deal exiting 101.

I think if you do a CalTrans look up they tell you commute delays and wrecks real time. It's why our On Board GPS systems have Accident alerts.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Pretty much gotta agree with you there JP
If those who continuously bash Thai drivers as the worst were to drive in Athens or Saigon etc., it might open their eyes.
My main beef with drivers here is they go too fast and cannot correct in time to avoid some pretty stupendous wrecks.

I too agree Booners. What is lacking here is cognizant driving skills and that's just lack of education and appropriate seat time. As you know the longer you drive the better ones skills become or one would hope so.

I just drove to BKK today from Lampang. No wrecks, pretty basic drive. Up North where we live it's very calm and easy driving. No chaos like some posters make it seem like. I have never driven in Saigon but good grief Mexico is utter craziness.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Pretty much gotta agree with you there JP
If those who continuously bash Thai drivers as the worst were to drive in Athens or Saigon etc., it might open their eyes.
My main beef with drivers here is they go too fast and cannot correct in time to avoid some pretty stupendous wrecks.

I've been in both and there is no comparison.

Thais pay not attention to traffic signs or signals, they drive on the wrong side of the road, they speed, and they drive drunk.

And they will continue to do it as long the BiB primarily see traffic laws as an way to stiff farang for a bit of end-of-the-month pocket money.

Originally Posted by Boon Mee

Well, aside from speeding drivers here, I guarantee there's more relative courtesy shown other drivers than California, Chicago or New York especially.

Imagine attempting to merge into traffic in any of those locations for example?

I don't need to imagine it, I've done it and you're talking out of your arse.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

I too agree Booners. What is lacking here is cognizant driving skills and that's just lack of education and appropriate seat time. As you know the longer you drive the better ones skills become or one would hope so.

I just drove to BKK today from Lampang. No wrecks, pretty basic drive. Up North where we live it's very calm and easy driving. No chaos like some posters make it seem like. I have never driven in Saigon but good grief Mexico is utter craziness.

Do you mean up North as in the countryside, or up North like Chiang Mai where they release amusing videos of the idiotic fucking chimps that drive around it?

Originally Posted by Dillinger

I know you Yanks like to think everythings bigger and better in the States but have you ever seen a truck driver flying over the Central Reservation towards you?















Full story and video here......

Video: Truck driver flies through the air to his death - Samui Times

Enjoy this daily event Vid. I saw this all the time.

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

I don't need to imagine it, I've done it and you're talking out of your arse.

Big negativo on that bud.
Road rage and non-courteous driving is the default mode for 99% of drivers in America.
Here, if one wants to merge into traffic, it's no problem.
Once one gets the 'lay of the land' as it were and adjusts to wrong-way motocye & other vehicular traffic coming at you from the wrong lane, it just becomes normal state of affairs.

Those who bitch about non-adherence to traffic laws in LOS make me laugh. Since when have Thais in general ever pay attention to the LAW? 555

Italian couple crushed to death by oil tanker in southern Thailand

Cause of death - break failure.



https://www.thairath.co.th/content/1507788

Originally Posted by Dillinger

^ In the States, like UK if you drive too fast you will get banned soon enough after accruing penalty points..

In Thailand it is just 15 buck fines, with no points system at all.

Dillinger they do have a points, 1 time 6 year ago, I was going a little fast along Rama2 & received a letter at home,with a picture of my truck 138 klm 500baht +5 points the only time I have lost points in 17 years.
I ask the TGF how many points do we have on the Thai license, her reply was 100 (not sure if true)

Regardless, some adapt to driving here and do not bitch about it and make it seem like everywhere else is top flight. We could all spend hours posting vids from countries showing accidents and wrecks to drive home ones point. Trust me, The UK and the US has endless vids of accidents and wrecks from Webcams. As I said there are poor skilled drivers everywhere. I just saw and witnessed more in California then I ever see here and wouldn't one expect more from a 1st world country with all the best roads and efficiencies as Texpat commented about? Driving here is a cake walk and I drive a lot around the country.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

Driving here is a cake walk

Tbf I've never had a crash here and most accidents here, 70% I heard, happen at night which is when I never drive and the majoriy of deaths(80%} are motorcyclists.

I wouldn't call it a cakewalk though and I can't drive for more than 3 hours on these roads due to the amount of concentration I have to put in on looking out for these twats driving towards you on hard shoulders, using every lane as an overtaking lane and the nobs who sit at 100kmh in what should be the fast lane which turns into a u-turn lane on a lot of roads.

Originally Posted by Ratchaburi

Dillinger they do have a points, 1 time 6 year ago, I was going a little fast along Rama2 & received a letter at home,with a picture of my truck 138 klm 500baht +5 points the only time I have lost points in 17 years.
I ask the TGF how many points do we have on the Thai license, her reply was 100 (not sure if true)

Thats funny... and believable

My 22 year old niece came to visit for two weeks last summer. We drove from Bangkok to Pattaya for a few nights, then back to Bangkok, then up to Isaan. A few days later drove to Chiang Mai then back. That's a lot of km on the road. When she was leaving, I asked her what she will remember most about Thailand. The temples? The elephants? The food? The weather?

Nope. None of that. "The lunatics on the highways," was her reply. She has lived in and around Tampa, Florida nearly all her life. Claims she's never seen such dangerous drivers as in Thailand.

Originally Posted by JPPR2

I too agree Booners. What is lacking here is cognizant driving skills and that's just lack of education and appropriate seat time. As you know the longer you drive the better ones skills become or one would hope so.

There ya go, talking like a true westerner. In the real world, in our case Thailand, the longer you drive without knowing wtf you're doing but managing to survive, the easier it is to think you're a good driver when in fact you're a shit driver with bad to insane habits that cost lives.