Are Thais the world's worst drivers?

Bai-Bua says:

I agree!!! (but not 100%) esp "many" Taxi drivers (not all). They like to park where they should not park and that causes hell trafic in rush hours.

Many selfish drivers on the street. You can find an accident, or mroe, everyday *SIGH*

tj says:

I agree with the pubic hair thing, and the finding the spare condom you left in the back pack of your motorbike,
why do they have to sell them in packs of 3?

as for the bloody drivers Ive bin driving here for 18 months and Ive given up on the silly twats!

wilbur says:

Shit, try spending time in the PRC! Those folks make the Thais look like stodgy buttoned-up schoolmarms!

TANAI KWAI says:

Ever been to Saigon? My taxi driver hit a moped and knocked the guy down, kept going without so much as an "oops." Later, I was smacked from behind while on a moto-taxi going around one of their many 17-lane circular mixmasters. Again, nothing but a shy smile from the driver of the truck, even though it was more than a gentle tap. Lucky for me I didn't have to try out the local hospitals. No Bumrungrad there, that's for sure.

Otherwise lovely people, though.

(...)

Dana says:

I can't imagine why the Thais seem challenged by driving. Safe, mature, defensive, courteous driving is an adult activity. Oops, wait a minute. . . . . .

John U says:

Dana,

OK, OK ,OK.

I think everybody who looks at any site that has anything to do with Thailand knows your opinion the childish ways of the Thais.

No need to go on, and on, and on, and on, and on,and on, and on.

Dana says:

Actually, people don't know much about my opinions of the Thais because the 'other' site refuses to publish some of my material.

And as for going on and on and on. . . . how many posting have you made recently? If I did that there would be name calling. Is your name really Tanai Kwai?

Kii Nok III says:

"I don't know why Thai people drive so badly. It's all the more baffling because they have the most acute visual sense of any race on Earth. If you don't believe me, then try this little experiment on your Thai girlfriend. Plant a foreign pubic hair in the bathroom and I guarantee that she will spot it in seconds. "

Fuck me, man. The psychologist in you is making me dizzy here. You've got to slow down a bit.
"Thais have the most acute visual sense".
I have to be careful what I get upto then, eh?

Basil Brush says:

There is a one arm taxi driver in Bangkok. His left arm is missing. He drives a manual not an automatic. When he feels like changing gear he takes his good arm of the steering wheel and reaches across to the gear stick. Once driven, never forgotten.

mr peter says:

I have had a one armed taxi driver in Bkk also. I think mine was a different one though as his fake false arm was sort of tied onto the gear stick while he steered with the other-peter

Sebastian says:

David, obviously you have never been to the Philippines. If you did, you would know where the worst drivers (and taxi drivers ) in the world are. I have been living in the Philippines for more than 10 years and I have visited Thailand more than 35 times, so I can say I can compare the 2 quite objectively.
The difference between Thai and Filipino driving is the same difference between the driving of Schumacher and that of my mother. The Thais are Schumacher.
First of all, there are no real roads in the Philippines, but just an incredible seequence and mixture of huge pot holes, home made road signs, huge flooded areas, vehicles which are hardly recognizable as such, tricicles and bicicles travelling on fat lanes of 'motorways', processions, traffic jams (compared to which BKK's look like slight slow downs), dead end motorways etc.Roads in Thailand definitely look like Switzerland compared to the Philippines.
Driving licences in the Philippines are bought for the equivalent of 7 USD. Nobody even think it is necessary to know how to drive before buying one. You buy it and then you learn. Road signs are home made and most drivers think they are pretty items put at the side of roads to make them more colorful. Public transport drivers make fun of themselves in morning TV shows by being asked what a road sign means by loud anchormen/women. Tragedy is that they really think their answers are right.
Head lights and indicators are normally replaced by multi-color lights which flash intermittently at night time making you think Xmas is already here.
Nobody knows what giving priority means.The rule is simply stick to the car in front of you as close as you can: this will guarantee you priority at any intersection. If for any reason you dont have anybody in front of you, you will need to approach the intersection very slowly. Once you are there, accelerate as fast as you can, looking in the opposite direction of where cars are coming. One would think that in this context Filipino drivers must be cheerful and pacific ones who simply enjoy the ride. Wrong: you can hardly find more arrogant, aggressive and proud drivers who, thinking they are the best drivers in the world, will make it a point to accelerate as much as they can if they see you overtaking them or they will squeeze themselves against your bumper and honk their hornes furiously if you dared giving them the impression you want to be faster and overtook them while they were blocking the way driving at 30 km per hour on the fast lane of the 'motorway'.
In the worst cases you will get shot for doing this, as most Filipino drivers, particularly those driving the so called 'owner type jeepney' ( a type of vehicle that nowhere in the world would be deemed road worthy) carry guns.
If you are new to the Philippines you will often wonder why so many times do you see, particularly at intersections, a car moving perpendicularly at idling speed across a thoroughfare, causing all the traffic to stop. This is because they think it is inappropriate to take the flow of traffic starting from the extreme right lane(in fact in the Philippines you drive on the right, more or less). Instead, it is considered preferable and a sign of defensive driving to put yourself right away on the fast lane on the extreme left, even if you are coming from a small lateral road. The same applies if you are travelling on the extreme right lane of a highway and all of a sudden you feel like changing environment and put yourself on the extreme left lane. This behaviour has no logical explanation whatsoever and should be studied in clinical pychology.
Lanes normally are used with no relation to speed. In most cases drivers find it proper and most probably the result of a superior skill, to drive on each lane available at exactly the same speed, normally 30 kmh in a motorway. Honking horns or blinking headlights will produce no effect as the good Filipino driver is totally unaffected by these signs of impatience. He will however accelerate as much as possible if the exasperated car behind him will try to overtake. This sign of impatience is considered extremely rude and can lead to serious fire arms injuries if the car being overtaken belongs to a big shot.
Traffic is considered a gift of God: certainly you are not supposed to do anything about it. Trying to ease it is a sign of hubris.
When a traffic light works it is often switched off by police who start regulating the traffic manually in order to provoke huge traffic jams which then are used to justify the construction of useless fly-overs from which they get glorious kickbacks.
Another technique shown by the police in order to prove their efficiency is to congest beyond imagination an area with a nonsense one way system aimed at provoking huge traffic jams in some areas which will prevent any car from flowing to other areas, which they want to keep decongested.
Finally a few words on taxi drivers. Taxi drivers don't know the city at all. There is no way you can give them an address and they will take you there. Normally they know only the area around their home and that's where they want to take you. If you dont go their way, they wont take you on board. The meter is never used: it is either broken or 'trapic' is too bad and they want an extra fee which is normally exorbitant. In most cases taking a cab at nightime means looking for troubles. The likelihood of being mugged and/or killed by organized criminal taxi drivers who take you to poorly lit roads while being helped by accomplices following in the cabd behind you is pretty high.
I could go on with stories like this for another 3 days... But I am getting tired.
Bottom line is enjoy Thailand and its roads: they are my dream of civilization, after 10 years in the Philippines!

kdub says:

Strange...here in the US, Asians have a bad reputation when it comes to driving, hence the Scary Movie scene David mentions....in Thailand, it's the farang that has the bad rep. More than once I have had a Thai ask me, "why farang drive no good?"

Majic says:

According to the Transport Office Official who issued my Thai Driving Licence and warned me of the dangers on the roads here"Thailand has the 2nd worst accident rate in the world" im taking that as being official coming from a Thai in her position.And from my experiences on the roads here I definately believe her.So high accident rate = bad driving = lack of training = ignorance in this subject.

Bowser Nopobum says:

One doesnt expect them to be such bad drivers when meeting Thais in social situations, where they are oh-so-polite and always smiling.

However, once they are behind their tinted car windows, they do get transformed into agressive selfish monsters. The real persona reveals itself inside the security and anonymity of their vehicle.

Similar manifestations of their inner beast are recently exhibited when boarding the sky train or entering an elevator, for example.

Driving, taking the train or bumping into strangers at elevator doors are irrelevant social interactions for Thais. In these situations, the other party is inconsequential to their most immediate objective. Money or other benefits are not to be gained in such encounters. Then, the inhabitants of the land of smiles transform easily and quickly to their true nature!

Dana says:

Thank-you Mr. Bowser Nopobum--if I had said this I would have been pilloried. Perhaps from now on I should post under the name Dana Nopobum.

Bowser Nopobum says:

You're welcome Dana!

But let me forewarn you - there are no ladyboys in the Nopobum family and the only TV we have is gathering dust in our sitting room.

DL says:

Considering their road, oops..I mean parking test (done in a parking lot) to get a driver's licence is a complete joke might have something to do with it. Driving in the passing lane on the motorway going 60km, making a left turn from a side soi without even looking and balancing 4 people and 6 bags of groceries on a motorbike is commonplace. Not to mention stacking 15 mattresses on a pick up truck until it tipped over. The cops let these things go but they will pull me over on the highway because I didn't flash my lights as I passed another car......WTF!!!!!

HJK says:

I'm an oilfield worker who has driven in Russia and wonderful places like Somalia and Cairo. When I purchased a pickup my Thai wife asked me if I thought I could drive in Bangkok. I figured I could. We never even got out of town before we encountered a hair raising near death accident. That was 15 years ago and we still can remember it as if it was yesterday. Today I say: "Sweetheart you want to cheat Death?" She knows I'm referring to a trip to Bangkok.

Andy says:

Done quite a fair amount of driving for work purposes just lately. Have to say that driving standards here have not improved much in the 10 years since I first arrived here. What is the tendency to all gravitate to the right-hand lane all about? is it a status thing?
If you keep left on any "motorway" or 3-lane highway, you'll sail through without any hindrance.
Amber-gambling at traffic lights is still a national sport; probably due to the fact that no-one is ever arsed to set off much when the lights turn green.
Also, if you put some listed Thai company's logo on an ID badge around your neck; you will usually wipe the smirk off any traffic cop's smug mug when he pulls you over. He will usually wave you through without checking doc's or asking for cash.

philH says:

Bang on with the logo bit Andy. I was being driven in a Thai contractor's wagon one day when a cop stepped out into the road to flag us down. I thought "well this will be interesting to see how it works Thai on Thai". Suddenly officer Dibble jumps out of the road and snapped to a sharp rigid salute.

"Why the change of mind?" I asked.
"Oh, he see company logo, he not want trouble"
"Can I have a couple of those for my truck?"
Laughs all round but no logo. Oh well, nice try.

bangkokram says:

I've written several pieces on the joys of driving around Thailand.
I drive around 500km per week and one thing is clear to me. "Take nothing for granted". A car trip made by a Thai is a simple case of the quickest route from A to B. This will involve jumping out at juctions, cutting in at the end of long traffic lines, ignoring speed limits, driving in the wrong direction etc etc etc.
A badge of honour seems to be too have paid the guy at the driving licence dept. 500 bht for your license instead of all that messy business of taking a test.
I used to put the bad driving down to the different styles, now i've just had enough of dozens of near death experiences to accept this point of veiw. The Thai's are shockingly bad drivers, no excuses.
Until the Boys in Brown begin enforcing already in place traffic laws and stop collecting bribes (Off me mainly) then nothing will change.
Remember, just because you drive a pick-up, it doesn't mean you own the road.

Don't get me started on motorbikes and buses....