Driving in Bangkok!

[polapatl]

In another forum topic I said I would start a topic regarding pet peeves regarding Thai drivers. Well here goes!
In the old Bangkok Post I had written in on numerous occasions regarding bad driving habits of Thai drivers. I even went so far as to calculate lost potential revenues from tickets per year, and if my memory serves me correctly, it was in the area of 40 Billion Baht per year.

(Please add onto the list!)

In General:
- Thai drivers still fail to use indicator signals at all possible times
- Thai drivers still use the emergency hazard lights inappropriately

[villager]

In another forum topic I said I would start a topic regarding pet peeves regarding Thai drivers. Well here goes!
In the old Bangkok Post I had written in on numerous occasions regarding bad driving habits of Thai drivers. I even went so far as to calculate lost potential revenues from tickets per year, and if my memory serves me correctly, it was in the area of 40 Billion Baht per year.

(Please add onto the list!)

In General:
- Thai drivers still fail to use indicator signals at all possible times
- Thai drivers still use the emergency hazard lights inappropriately

The main cause of the countless fatality's and accidents here in Thailand are myriad , the driving "test" is an absolute joke, the bone idle and corrupt police do not uphold the law, maybe because the can,t drive themselves so haven,t a clue what constitutes bad or unsafe driving practises, preventive maintenance is almost unheard of ,kids as young as 10, 4 up on a motorcycle going to school right under the eyes of the police and all he do,s is blow his whistle! central Govt do,s not take the police to task for failing to do the job they are paid for, the rear view mirror is only there for rearranging your makeup ,this one is for the men of course!,overtaking on a blind bend or a rise of an incline when you haven,t a clue what is coming over the other side, making a right hand turn on the WRONG side of the road, then there,s Songkran were hundreds of thousands of drunken imbeciles are waiting roadside to throw the contents of a buffalo wallow directly into the face of an oncoming motorcyclist or on the windscreen of a vehicle whilst the police look on and laugh, in my view its way overdue that the Minister of transport got off his butt and took a serious look at the daily carnage on Thailands roads and the many causes of it.

[villager]

Hey Come on FOS, give me a break will you!, the so called Thai "driveing test" is an absolute joke, even if you fail, 1000Baht "under the table" gives you a license to kill , so sad,but oh so true,and as you quite rightly state the "Minister of transport" or whatever handle he carries these days should be brought to task and told in no uncertain terms to get his act together , starting of course with the "boys in brown"!.

[caznshaz]

I think driving in Thailand is fantastic!
All you need is a set of horse blinkers and keep repeating the mantra 'merge, merge'
When I think back at driving in the west - all the stupid rules, silly parking tickets, meter maids, wheel clamping, outrageous fines for the silliest thing etc. I find Thailand a welcome relief from that sort of oppression. And above all there is the great Thai traffic cop always ready to help you out when you have broken the law. Now where else in the world would you find service like that for a mere 200 Baht?

[villager]

Hey Come on FOS, give me a break will you!, the so called Thai "driveing test" is an absolute joke, even if you fail, 1000Baht "under the table" gives you a license to kill ...

hi fos & villager, we totally disagree with you both.
the real problem is manyfold:
1. the average thai believes firmly in rebirth into a better life, so what can happen to him?
2. having driven in thailand for many years without any accident, my suggestion is simple:
watch out yourself and do NOT expect anything from the children sharing the roads with you.
3. consider driving in europe, where the police is hunting you down for the most petty offences,
taking your pride & your money first & then your licence!
and villager, the real thai joke is the 'drive-in' test......50 baht!
one farang friend was even given the stencil, coz HE could not read thai and THEY run out of english forms, hehe....

Hi Scy, so you disagree that the ThaI driving test is a joke and you cannot bribe an examiner to give you a "pass" HMM,interesting , all in all i,ve spent about 9 years here in total time, and in my vehicle which i bought 4 years ago i,ve clocked up just under 50,000 kms and never had a shunt ,only cos i work off the theory that everyone is trying to kill me! i was a part time driving instructor for many many years back in the UK and reckon i,ve had 500 or more learner drivers pass their test successfully, and here i,ve been in with scores of Thai drivers who would not have got 10 metres before i would have failed them, the 5 princples of setting off on ANY journey ,are ,mirror ,signal, blind side ,manoeuvre ,engage gear before letting off the handbrake, not the other way around, also the absolute stupid habit of driving IN a driveway , then reversing on to a busy main road , instead of the other way round ,even in a parking bay on a supermarket car park,i ALWAYS reverse in , cos if a large vehicle parks at the side of you whilst you are away , you have to reverse out for the first 5 feet or so totally blind if you are alone , this has been the cause of many many accidents on car parks which i have personally witnessed myself,its just common sense , but here it seems to be in very short supply!, i daily see acts of sheer lunacy that defy logic, but these things only come to ones attention if you can drive correctly yourself.

[polapatl]

I don't really see the problems should be targeted on the drivers but rather the Law enforcements

I see where you're coming from, but let me ask these few questions:
- Are people not annoyed at how they drive themselves?
- Do they not see that they cause distress to others by the ignorant driving?
- Do they not know that driving is not a "Right"?

Since the public transport system is so awful in this country I see people forced to buy their own cars or motorcycles to earn a living.

I still believe people should be responsible for the way they drive and shouldn't blame the law enforcement because that is exactly what they are, enforcers. But if people in general didn't break laws whilst driving then enforcers are just for the minority few.

[Sean Moran]

I think driving in Thailand is fantastic!
All you need is a set of horse blinkers and keep repeating the mantra 'merge, merge'
When I think back at driving in the west - all the stupid rules, silly parking tickets, meter maids, wheel clamping, outrageous fines for the silliest thing etc. I find Thailand a welcome relief from that sort of oppression. And above all there is the great Thai traffic cop always ready to help you out when you have broken the law. Now where else in the world would you find service like that for a mere 200 Baht?

That's a good comparison. As unbelievable as it might look on the outside, the Thai system of traffic law enforcement is far more civilised than what we have to endure back here in Australia.

Welcome to the forum, Caz & Shaz.

(I hope I got those names right and apologise if there is only one of you. )

[sulasno]

I don't really see the problems should be targeted on the drivers but rather the Law enforcements

I see where you're coming from, but let me ask these few questions:
- Are people not annoyed at how they drive themselves?
- Do they not see that they cause distress to others by the ignorant driving?
- Do they not know that driving is not a "Right"?

Since the public transport system is so awful in this country I see people forced to buy their own cars or motorcycles to earn a living.

I still believe people should be responsible for the way they drive and shouldn't blame the law enforcement because that is exactly what they are, enforcers. But if people in general didn't break laws whilst driving then enforcers are just for the minority few.

spend more time on the road and be patient
your post was my first impression when I started driving in Bangkok

[villager]

I don't really see the problems should be targeted on the drivers but rather the Law enforcements

I see where you're coming from, but let me ask these few questions:
- Are people not annoyed at how they drive themselves?
- Do they not see that they cause distress to others by the ignorant driving?
- Do they not know that driving is not a "Right"?

Since the public transport system is so awful in this country I see people forced to buy their own cars or motorcycles to earn a living.

I still believe people should be responsible for the way they drive and shouldn't blame the law enforcement because that is exactly what they are, enforcers. But if people in general didn't break laws whilst driving then enforcers are just for the minority few.

Hi Polapatl, why should anyone be annoyed if he has,nt a clue what constitutes correct driving procedures and roadside etiquette, so in there weak minds how could they cause distress to fellow road users, its my firm belief that if one keeps being "hammered" with hefty fines for all roadside transgression,s, he,s going to learn pretty quick, so in this the completely lax law enforcer has in my view a lot to answer for, for instance in my village i must witness on a daily basis at least 50 people taking the right hander into town on the WRONG SIDE of the road, put an officer there every day for a month and all who make this maniacal manoeuvre are fined 200 baht on the spot and told in no uncertain terms the next offence will cost them double, pretty soon ALL would get the message pure and simple, the best way to make people learn is through their pockets of that there is no doubt whatsoever.

[Sean Moran]

The problem with "hammering" people through their hip-pocket is twofold.

1. 200 baht is nothing to a rich man, but it might be a lot to a poor man.
There is no way to overcome this without going through all kinds of income assessments and working out some kind of graduated system based on percentages - fraught with loopholes. Tea money at least gives the officer a chance to determine the means of the offender, although it's not perfect.

2. If not policed with some optiion for leniency, based on the individual event, then it becomes draconian.

As an example, the last speeding fine I copped here in Western Australia was in early 2005, just before I left the country for Thailand. I was driving home from a job in my work-ute on a clear sunny afternoon at around 17:00 in peak-hour traffic on a dual carriageway highway with no sideroads in the left (slow) lane.

Some fool had placed a multanova camera on the left side of the road so as to capture the slow-lane drivers which obscured those in the fast lane from camera view and any penalty. The speed limit on that highway is rather low for a two-lane highway with a 4 to 5 metre wide grassed median strip between oncoming traffic - 60 km/h.

In the fast lane the traffic flow was probably doing around 65 and the rest of us in the slow lane were all tonking along quite nicely and safely and I never even saw the flash from the camera as I passed by. That camera copped all of us as we drove by on a clear sunny day. I never even knew of this fine until I got back from Thailand over six months later. At the time they were having a skills-shortage down at the traffic police department and it was taking the bureaucrats two to three months to send out infringement notices. I wasn't even in the country when I was fined $50.00 AUD for travelling at 61 km/h in a 60 km/h zone.

By the time I got back to Australia, the fine had been upped to $150.00 AUD because I hadn't paid it in 30 days or whatever (and they could easily have just checked with customs and immigration to work out one reason why) and on top of that my drivers' license had been indefinitely suspended for non-payment of a fine for being 1 km/h over the 60 km/h limit.

There must be a middle path between total anarchy and such ridiculous authoritarianism as that. Tea-money is a good alternative IMHO. It keeps things human, civilised. It is not like that in this country anymore.