Road Rage in Thailand

[Namralf]

Somebody recently forwarded me this webadress for a driving style analysis (road rage potential):

http://roadragers.com/test/index.htm

The test is fun to take and a good laugh. My road rage potential is comparatively low, but I asked myself how the driving thai population would rate internationally.

Driving in Thailand mostly in taxis, I have not yet observed any severe cases of road rage on Bangkok streets. The taxi drivers I drove with were usually driving active and agressive, but not offensive at all against their brethren.

How prevailling is road rage in Thailand? Whats happening upcountry and on the highways? Is roadrage more a part of western culture? How do farangs driving in Thailand blend in?

Any observations?

[macca_tirana]

Apparently i am a very safe, marginally aggressive, very courteous road rager.

I guess that means if someone pisses me off i will beat the **** out of them in a safe place end then say sorry :shock:

[jocky]

I drive both a car and a motorbike in Bangkok and have not had any road rage yet. However the standard of driving is appalling. While on the motorbike I am in constant danger from taxis, buses etc. and whilst driving the car cannot believe the stupidity of the motorcycle drivers as they drive between cars in order to get to the front of the traffic. This is O.K. at a slow speed but do they not realise that the cars may change lanes or even open doors to disgorge passengers who cannot be bothered waiting. However when someone does something drastically wrong the tension is taken out of the situation with a courteos nod of the head and the offender goes on his way.

Every day I see some life threatening driving and wonder if there is a driving exam in Thailand????

[Guest]

I drive both a car and a motorbike in Bangkok and have not had any road rage yet. However the standard of driving is appalling. While on the motorbike I am in constant danger from taxis, buses etc. and whilst driving the car cannot believe the stupidity of the motorcycle drivers as they drive between cars in order to get to the front of the traffic. This is O.K. at a slow speed but do they not realise that the cars may change lanes or even open doors to disgorge passengers who cannot be bothered waiting. However when someone does something drastically wrong the tension is taken out of the situation with a courteos nod of the head and the offender goes on his way.

Every day I see some life threatening driving and wonder if there is a driving exam in Thailand????

Yeah its great I just got a monkey bike one of those little Kawasaki's, getting through the traffic is interesting and every motorcycle taxi rider is up for a race, adrenaline you cant beat it.

[i_love_som_tam]

Safety:

You are a Safe Driver

Your Safety Score: 75 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 69.19%

Aggressiveness:

You are a Passive Driver

Your Degree of Aggressiveness: 40 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 57.02%

Courtesy:

You are a Very Courteous Driver

Your Courtesy Score: 90 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 73.75%

Rage:

You are a Fairly Calm Driver

Your Degree of Rage: 42.5 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 55.55%%

[711_Dimsum]

I drive both a car and a motorbike in Bangkok and have not had any road rage yet. However the standard of driving is appalling. While on the motorbike I am in constant danger from taxis, buses etc. and whilst driving the car cannot believe the stupidity of the motorcycle drivers as they drive between cars in order to get to the front of the traffic. This is O.K. at a slow speed but do they not realise that the cars may change lanes or even open doors to disgorge passengers who cannot be bothered waiting. However when someone does something drastically wrong the tension is taken out of the situation with a courteos nod of the head and the offender goes on his way.

Every day I see some life threatening driving and wonder if there is a driving exam in Thailand????

Agreed.

I drove in Thailand for a few months.Bear in mind, I come from North America, we drive on the right side, steering wheel on the left.To get thrown into BKK traffic and the whole left side..right wheel thing put some unnecessary gray hair onto my head.

Comparitively, road rage seems non existent in thailand, least where I come from.As has been mentioned, motorcyles r insane...no rules..do whatcha like attitude.

It's not bad enough I have to check for motorcyles on the road, now I have to check them whenever Im on the sidewalk as well..yikes.

[BUCKY]

wonder if there is a driving exam in Thailand????

Of cos there is, silly.... its just anyone can pass the exam as long the correct amount is paid. :roll:

[i_love_som_tam]

Safety:

You are a Safe Driver

Your Safety Score: 75 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 69.19%

Aggressiveness:

You are a Passive Driver

Your Degree of Aggressiveness: 40 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 57.02%

Courtesy:

You are a Very Courteous Driver

Your Courtesy Score: 90 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 73.75%

Rage:

You are a Fairly Calm Driver

Your Degree of Rage: 42.5 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 55.55%%

Helps when you drive a tank !!

u may have a point there :?

[PattayaDaz]

Despite simply terrible driving in Thailand...

You get cut-up, undertaken and pulled out in front off almost constantly :evil: :evil: EVER wonder why you seldom here a horn sounded in anger :?: :?: :?:

WELL ITS BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE GUNS IN THEIR CARS.....AND MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE WILL USE THEM IF PROVOKED AND ANGRY......Really

Just remember next time you think about honking and waving your finger at some idiot......

[mellowman]

... Driving in Thailand mostly in taxis, I have not yet observed any severe cases of road rage on Bangkok streets. ... Any observations?

Yes, severe enough ...

Four weeks ago, in a taxi, taking the flyover at Rama IV / Silom: the taxi drove too fast, too aggressive, too close.

Rain, night, shitty driving (well, braking) skills and a slow road sweeper on the downside of the flyover did the job: 8 cars smashed into each other, half of them taxis.

I could already seem the read brake lights flashing AND I even heard the noise of blocking tires sliding on wet tarmac - but he was still accelerating. When he finally braked, he did it too strong, blocked and didn't release until we smashed into the a pickup-truck.

Lucky for us that the cars behind us slowed down early enough.

[Keijo_Gives]

How prevailling is road rage in Thailand? Whats happening upcountry and on the highways? Is roadrage more a part of western culture? How do farangs driving in Thailand blend in?

Any observations?

I can say, that it's not only a western thing. I can't say is it the road rage or just plain stupidity which is a major part of the traffic in Thailand. I've seen a lot accidents which can only been explained by a selfish 'me me me' -attitude which you can see everywhere in Thailand. Everybody wants to be the first one at home, noodle soup place, karaoke pub, office etc etc. When you drive the fast lane on a high ways and there's a bunch of cars already front of you, just wait 27 seconds and there's one SUV or lowered Mitsubishi Strada pickup behind of you flashing lights and trying to pass you and when he/she sees that it's not so easy, then he/she tries from then right hand side, even thought that there's no space to do that. :twisted:

Traffic is one of things which opened my eyes first time about Thailand, that it's not even a near of a paradise. But perhaps it will get better later, perhaps it's too early to judge people who used a buffalo wagons only a few decades ago, so the safety and driving culture is totally missing. Of course, how could people learn how to drive properly when even the police drives like there's no rules at all. Of course the traffic and road planning is a joke, where else you can see u-turns on a motor ways where the average speed is somewhere near 80-100 km/h? :shock:

But as always, there are also drivers who understand how the car works and how to drive safely and secure, so don't judge my opinion too seriously, sometimes I just get frustrated in Thailand to the traffic.

[Keijo_Gives]

Yes Pete, that's true. A lot of guns, blades, knives etc. out there and yes, people also use them, they are not some decorates. Once I got in accident by an road rage dude from BKK and first thing he made was that he took a samurai blade from his trunk! :shock: And that was after he bumbed my car when we were driving about 110km/h on a motorway. :shock: Geeez, what a psycho! Fortunately, there was quicky some other people too and police so he had to calm down, and first thing he said, that the whole thing was my mistake, that I hit his car. Luckily, the police dudes were ok and not those money greed bastards you can see sometimes, later I told the police that this guy got also that samurai blade in his trunk and they took him to the custody. Also he had to pay all the damage to his car and his insurance covered the minor marks in my pickup, so no harm done, but an valuable lesson learned, try to avoid driving at the night alone and be careful out there, it's a western movie and you're a part of it.

[FarangSanook]

Here are your personal scores/results in the four areas that we analyzed:

Safety:

You are a Marginally Safe Driver

Your Safety Score: 42.5 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 69.19%

Aggressiveness:

You are a Aggressive Driver

Your Degree of Aggressiveness: 85 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 57.02%

Courtesy:

You are a Somewhat Courteous Driver

Your Courtesy Score: 55 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 73.75%

Rage:

You are a Potential Road Rager

Your Degree of Rage: 60 %

The average score among all people who have recently taken this test is 55.55%%

[STB]

I've done a bit of riding a bike in Thailand, never met road rage, only friendly competition. I live in Holland, The Netherlands, and that's a different piece of cake. I also ride a bike over here, and as far as cagers (car drivers) are concerned, your life as a biker is not worth the soap cleaning the bugs of your windhield. I've had plenty of live scaring moments in Thailand, but they are not worse then the average day of lane splitting I do in a normal day of commuting over here.