cavanami Posted July 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 This has been very educational for me as to review what an educated Thai lady thinks about the Thai and farang drivers here in Thailand. Such as her comment: "You know Westerners drive in Thailand just the same and many are drunk too so Mr. Stick told me." 1. what percent of all the drivers are Westerners here in Thailand? 1%? The bulk of Westerners/farang are tourist and they *** never *** drive, much less drive drunk. If this is an actual indication of the Thai thinking, then the Thai are extremely naive, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Why walk in Thailand? (except trekking) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi, I think that drunk Westerners driving is pretty much limited to Pattaya and Patong beach. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Cav, You are judging Thai drivers from the perspective of riding a little motor scooter in a Traffic intense city which is probably slightly differant from someone like me who drives approx 2500 KM / month in a large SUV. As city driving goes, I find BKK a lot easier to drive in than many western capitals I have driven in and way ahead of mainland China and all of the Middle East. As has been mentioned by others the Thai divers on a whole are rather courtious and even though the city may appear gridlocked at times it is usualy quite easy to pull out of junctions (intersections for you) and to change lanes etc. I agree with the U-Turns, I have seen many a fatal crash on Highway 7 between Chonburi and the ESB, but that is more the fault of the Highway planners than the actual drivers, and has now been resolved on Highway 7 with the widening of the road and the flyovers being built, Between Sri Racha and Pattay now on Sukhumvit majority of the u-turns have been closed off and the traffic light timing altered accordingly to allow controlled u-turns. Driving in the Middle or outside lane when the inside lane is clear is an old habit many Thais have gotten into, it wasn't that long ago that the highways were in a lot worse state than they are now and the inside lanes were like inverse train lines with the grooves worn into them by the heavy goods vehicles, take a drive down to Pranburi, once you are past Hua Hin on the Bypass the road is still like that. My pet peeve is Farang Tourists on Motorcycles in Pattaya, not a fecking clue and they challange 1.8 Tonnes of SUV on a 100KG Motorscooter, there is only one winner in that contest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Hi, I think that drunk Westerners driving is pretty much limited to Pattaya and Patong beach. Sanuk! KS, You Posted as I was typing my reply, I find most of them are not drunk on Alcohol but intoxicated due to the "Holiday Spirit" Thousands of KM from home in a sunny carefree enviroment they forget about the dangers of the road and don't pay much attention. That laid back attitude and me coming home grumpy from a bad day in the office wanting to park the car up and go grab a beer is a bad mix PS My apartment is above my local bar, I never drink and drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drogon Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 [color:red] Hi' date=' PS My apartment is above my local bar, I never drink and drive.[/quote'] [/color] So wise Mekong but after all if your board name is Mekong there must be a reason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cavanami Posted July 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Good info from another perspective! It grinds my gears, when I am in the lane to turn, say right and some nimrod in a car suddenly passes me on the right as I am about to start my turn, with my turn signal flashing well in advance to let others know my intention to turn. This is a weekly occurrence! I do look in my mirrors all the time and look for vehicles driving the wrong way, just SOP for me. Next time I am walking over one of Sukhumvit's many pedestrian overpasses, I will snap a few photos of the traffic patterns and let the data do the "talking" but I am sure I will see the majority of the vehicles "hogging" 1 1/2+ lanes of the road as well as autos using 1 1/2+ of the lanes to make their turns on to Suk, as I see this all the time. The Thai gov went as far as painting yellow lines on to the roads to provide the drivers a hint that they need to stay in their own lanes and not hog the entire road! Has it helped? No, it appears that the drivers think they should drive with the middle of the car lined up over the yellow lines! I have never seen such poor driving in any Western country. It is totally unheard of...but TIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Next time I am walking over one of Sukhumvit's many pedestrian overpasses, I will snap a few photos of the traffic patterns and let the data do the "talking" but I am sure I will see the majority of the vehicles "hogging" 1 1/2+ lanes of the road as well as autos using 1 1/2+ of the lanes to make their turns on to Suk, as I see this all the time. So maybe the question should be "Why are Thai Auto Drivers on the final 10 KM of Inner City Major Highway Driving into the CBD (Centeral Business District) of a Major SE Asian Capital City So Bad?" Sukhumvit from On Nut to Ploenchit is not 100% indicative of the overall standards within Metro BKK let alone Thailand, unfortunatley you are allowing your myopic experiences to Tar not only the whole capital but also the whole nations drivers with the same brush. You chose to live in the jungle so roam with the lions and get bitten, personally if I was to hit Sukhumvit I would take a MC taxi up the soi and catch rot daai din. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dexi Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 On a recent trip from Pttya up to Petchabun our car was pulled over at a checkpoint by the MIB and our driver had to give a urine sample...we waited about ten minutes in the car before he came back...the MIB said he tested positive for alcohol ( he seemed normal to me and didn`t smel of booze )...they demanded an on the spot fine of 2000 bt. and...get this...they made him drink some of his own piss...I was certainly " pissed off " because,yes yuo`ve guessed it ,I was the only one in the car with any cash so I had to pay... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USVirgin Posted July 7, 2008 Report Share Posted July 7, 2008 Why did they make him drink his piss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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