CTO Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 LP - one of the old adds for the energy drink on the way to hua hin was 3 bottles all you need to drive to alaysia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fudgyMcPacker Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 Thailand is bad, but it works as no one is a good driver. Here in the States we have good drivers and bad, with the majority being good (at least where I live), thus a bad driver can muck things up. In Thailand everyone mucks everything up, so its to be expected. I do believe that Thailand does have a proportionally high driving death rate, or maybe that's the murder rate, one of those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tartempion Posted July 6, 2008 Report Share Posted July 6, 2008 They are first generation drivers, therefore have no clue on how to behave on a road. Remembers me the golden sixties in Europe when there were hardly any highways but two lanes roads boarded with trees and drivers overtaking buses and lorries. Funny here are the guys overtaking on a two lane road and flashing their head lights telling you to get off the road to let them pass, yeah! Plain idiots. Then you have the guys saving on petrol when it gets dark, not switching their lights on until it gets totally dark. But then those who have mist lights need to show they have them, in a country where I never saw mist... Oh, and when people get hurt in accidents no one stops, better to let them die on the pavement than to risk getting involved because they might be hold responsible for the accident... Don't forget the cops who take utmost care of your security on the roads by putting up road blocks for the sole purpose of collecting some extra salary. They will do this at the most dangerous places, avoiding you to see them on time to slow down your speed. A nice country to drive around indeed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi, I always get the impression that anything that isn't directly in front of them gets discarded as not important. And this is both for driving as just walking on the side of the street. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 I think a better poll would be one that gave Thailand a place on a world ranking. For instance the driving is better than in China , but not as good as Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buddha Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 One need only visit Hanoi or Ho CHi Minh to find the true death race 2000. The Roads in and around Bangkok are bad, but nothing compared to what happens on the Kharokoram or throughout India and Vietnam. At least they are concerned about what is in front KS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted July 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 For me, I was very disappointed with Mrs. Sticks answer as she was "all over the road" and I washoping for a straight up answer...she went on about...farangs being drunk (like there are never any Thai drunk drivers?), then how the Thai driver doesn't panic (what is that? being numb behind the wheel is what I cann it, brain not engaged!), etc. In my home country, the USA, *** all *** teenagers go thru Drivers' Ed classes at school where that are taught the "Rules of the Roads" and tested on it before you can get a "Learner's Permit" before you can drive a vehicle (Thailand, how many drivers even have a license, I would guess, 50%?). Once you have the Learner's Permit, then you drive the vehicle under the direction of an instructor who is always in the vehicle with you. This education takes two semesters (9 months or so. Nothing even close even exists in Thailand. Good point that the Thai's are pretty much the first generation drivers. In a world ranking, Thailsnd, IMO, is not the worst of the drivers, not even close...maybe not even in the top ten... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Georges Orgibet, who came here with Jim thompson at the end of WWII, wrote about how POLITE Thai drivers were in the late 1940s and 1950s. Wonder what happened. They weren't by the early '70s, though they were better than now. I see drivers nowadays refusing even to stop for a monk trying to cross the street. Thailand has changed for the worse. Most Thais don't really learn to drive. Plenty of them get a licence without ever having to prove they actually can drive. A car has become a staus symbol for them, which is why you always see only one person in each car in Bangkok. I've suggested car pools, and the reaction is always one of shock at the idea. They also have trouble comprehending that my great grandparents owned and drove cars 90 years ago, when most Thais were still riding buffaloes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allistar Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 I would agree with all the negative posts on Thai driving (runnig red lights, motorcycles ridden in the opposite direction and constantly somewhere around your vechicle) but the worst thing that they allow are u-turns from a right turn lane. Its bad enough that they allow cars and motorcycles to do it but they allow large trucks and busses to do it. Its an accident waiting to happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 One need only visit Hanoi or Ho CHi Minh to find the true death race 2000. The Roads in and around Bangkok are bad, but nothing compared to what happens on the Kharokoram or throughout India and Vietnam. At least they are concerned about what is in front KS. A couple of years ago I spent a week in Kunming and after a couple of days was so bored I decided to take in the botanic gardens, world famous for it's Rhododendrons, and got a taxi from the hotel as it was miles away in the hills. The drive up was easy as the taxi was ancient and chugged up the steep incline. Coming down the driver just put his foot to the floor and steered around any obstacles like other cars, pedestrians etc. While I held on expecting death at any moment, pleading with him to slow down in English, Thai, Lao and whatever European languages came to mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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