Driving in Bangkok!

[villager]

Of Course Sean you are quite correct,200 BAHT is somewhat steep for a first offence for a poor farmer etc, so how do,s this appeal to you, have the officer there for a month and issue offenders with a firm warning ticket that should they transgress again , they will be issued with an official ticket payable at the local police station of lets say 100 baht , scaled up for a repeated offence, there is no doubt in my mind Sean that you more than anyone realises this madness just cannot be left to fester like an open wound , sooner or later someone has to make a stand against the daily carnage which exists on Thailands roads today, i,m afraid that the Mi Pen Ri attitude is of little use when you are in traction on a hospital bed is it.

[Sean Moran]

I think I'd have to agree with that.

Getting pulled over of flagged down by the police, and a good warning for a first offence might get the message across without the sort of bitterness that is fairly obvious in the example I just wrote of.

That is similar to how I remember things here in Perth back in the 80s and 90s when I first started driving here, but please don't feel the need to call in the violins just yet. I'll get over it. *sob, sob, sniffle*

I suppose it comes down to a personal opinion of mine regarding the rules and the importance of what happens if we break them. There's a necessary human element, and that is what traffic police are there for, among other things. There are quite a few things that drivers can and will do wrong, but infinite ways to do them, and that is where the human element might help to determine whether a warning might be official or unofficial, and whether a fine is deserved. There is also a system of demerit points here that are IMHO a very good idea. We get twelve demerit points to start, and different offences take maybe 0, 1, 2, 3, or 6 demerits, each time for a period of three years. So if we officially accrue twelve demerit points within three years, there's a standard three month license suspension.

I'm not sure of such systems in Thailand, having always ridden or driven on my international permit granted on the current local Australian license. Maybe there's something that might help to improve the abberant driving standards that I must admit to having noticed more in LoS than back here where Big Brother has the cameras watching over us.

There must be a happy medium to catch the homicidal baddies without penalising the goodies for what is often a question of best safety practice under a variant range of road conditions. One other possible deterrent for obviously dangerous driving practices might be to take the offender down to the ICU ward for a look at the injured road victims, and then take them to the morgue for a look at how lucky the first lot were.

[Eric]

I have nothing but praise for the Thai driving etiquette. Rotten 'driver' apples and corrupt cops are everywhere in most Asian countries. I am impressed with the courtesy and good driving manners. Say you want to get out from a sol to the main road, most of the time the cars on the main road will stop for you. Try that in Malaysia, Philippines or Indonesia. Cars will pick up speed to block your exit. Honing is another bad habits which I don't find too much here. Try Indonesia and Philippines, horn is a major body part of their car as they will horn at just about anything and just for the love of it. Malaysian drivers are known for their impatience and will beat the lights if they can. Don't be too harsh with Thai drivers. May not be fair to compare them with the Japanese or British drivers but in the context of Asia, I rate them high in driving etiquette.

[caznshaz]

Blinkers and merge, watch for flashing headlights that mean if you come out you're dead, keep jai yen and you will be OK.
Thai's are OK they accept that they don't drive well and often they will let you out where you really have no right to be let out. They don't sound their horns either which is a bonus!

[Sean Moran]

The End of the Road?

(Copyright, 2005 - Sean's Mum.)

[villager]

Hey Sean, why do i get the feeling that many will experience something very similar to the photo you enclosed before the 5 day "mayhem" period is concluded!.

[Ian]

One thing I really enjoy is seeing Thais attempting parallel parking and 3? point turns

[villager]

I have nothing but praise for the Thai driving etiquette. Rotten 'driver' apples and corrupt cops are everywhere in most Asian countries. I am impressed with the courtesy and good driving manners. Say you want to get out from a sol to the main road, most of the time the cars on the main road will stop for you. Try that in Malaysia, Philippines or Indonesia. Cars will pick up speed to block your exit. Honing is another bad habits which I don't find too much here. Try Indonesia and Philippines, horn is a major body part of their car as they will horn at just about anything and just for the love of it. Malaysian drivers are known for their impatience and will beat the lights if they can. Don't be too harsh with Thai drivers. May not be fair to compare them with the Japanese or British drivers but in the context of Asia, I rate them high in driving etiquette.

Hey Eric, have you got praise for 4 10 year old kids on a Honda 125 takeing a blind right hander on the WRONG side of the road at night with NO lights showing,or when turning left your self onto a main road you have to look to your left first to avoid a head on smash cos some grinning maniac is turning right on YOUR side of the road.

[Eric]

Sawadee Villager. Thanks for the rather light-hearted reply to my posting. 4-10 unlicense bikers were not in my unofficial survey rating. Thought that was a given.

[villager]

[quote="Eric"]Sawadee Villager. Thanks for the rather light-hearted reply to my posting. 4-10 unlicense bikers were not in my unofficial survey rating. Thought that was a given.[/quote Hey Eric , no probs , but the simple truth is that what i described is an every day occurrence on Thailands roads, hence the horrific accident statistics(700 fatality's under the age of 15 per annum) , which if the truth is known you could safely double, as many accidents, even with loss of life go unreported , you could stand at the entrance to ANY soi , coming off a main road to comprehend the total stupidity unfurling before your very eyes.