Why do YOU think the Thais are such bad drivers?

[usual suspect]

As many of you will have seen lately Thailand has been ranked a the third worst country for road accidents/fatalities...well we have all witnessed their poor standards of driving everyday, but what do you think is the key reasons for this..?
* Lack of training?
* Lack of respect for other road-users?
* Total unwillingness to comply with traffic-laws..(I have an expensive Fortuner with black windows, so if I upset other road users, then so what..?).
* Just the Asian-way of using the road..?
* Who needs traffic laws ..?
* My phone-call is more important than that schoolkid crossing the road..(no horn sounding to alert the youngster..driver has no 'free' hands to do so).
* Whatever the everyday traffic-law broken..500B max with solve it with the MIB.
* Yes the intersection has cameras mounted..why stop for a red light..no one has ever been stopped or fined for this..keep going..no one will do anything.

I believe it is this whole attitude of the Thais to drive as they want to..no laws to stop them..U-turns, red-lights, speed limits, undertaking, drunk-driving..who is going to enforce any law out there on the road..?? Again are we being to judgemental..laying down Western standards when we are only guests on the roads here..?
Am I making sense here or just ranting away as per..??

[Big Boy]

I understand you

I think your first bullet sums it up. Give them proper training as we get in the West, and hopefully things will start to improve.

[Ginjaninja]

Lack of policing and enforcement of penalties!

Back in the U.K. if you could get away with it we would still be driving without seatbelts and using our mobiles willy nilly.

Just back from a day-trip on the bike and I quite like the fact that you can drive 150Kms/hr past the coppers and they are impressed by it (allegedly.. ).

GN.

[Dannie Boy]

I think that all of the points raised by US are fairly pertinent, but I'm afraid to say that some Farangs are not so innocent as GN's reply confirms (sorry GN but travelling at 150 kph when there are so many potential dangers on the road is asking for trouble - the BIB are the least of your worries).

I also strongly agree that the route cause lies with lack of training and lack of enforcement when the law is broken.

[richard]

You forgot Buddha's blessing

My bike or car has been blessed by the monks therefore if I die or anybody else dies for that matter, it's Buddha's will

[oakdale160]

This is not a society that is well disciplined. Good behaviour is occasionally rewarded but not reliably so and bad behaviour is not punished. China was as bad as Thai and has reformed. The cops are generally firm but fair. The cameras are everywhere in the cities and the guys in the ministry of transport watch the screens and ticket you by mail.

[m_right]

No fear of death.
You can't change fate. What will happen will happen so no need to try and change it.

[hhfarang]

Yes, religious superstition. It's all in Buddha's hands so why bother to be worried or careful.

[cozza]

Its not just Thai's though, I see foreigners daily doing the same dumb stuff that they SHOULD know better not to do. There are far more Thais around but I know many foreigners who drink and drive and drive the wrong way and cut people off etc...not protecting the locals by any means, they really need to do something but foreigners have no excuse.

[Terry]

I think that all of the points raised by US are fairly pertinent, but I'm afraid to say that some Farangs are not so innocent as GN's reply confirms (sorry GN but travelling at 150 kph when there are so many potential dangers on the road is asking for trouble - the BIB are the least of your worries).

I also strongly agree that the route cause lies with lack of training and lack of enforcement when the law is broken.

101%

[ste860]

to be honest ive tought about this and its not only the driving ,in the uk its like a nanny state and one of the reason i liked it enough to move here was its alot easier to drive and infact do most things here without being told what to do and when to do it

can anyone who drives here alot and i do , i cover 1000,s kms every year here say they have always worn a helmet ,never drove after a beer or 4 ,done a illegal u turn,speeding
etc etc

done it and thought its only a 200-400 baht fine so stuff it ,compared with the uk its great here

[Big Boy]

can anyone who drives here alot and i do , i cover 1000,s kms every year here say they have always worn a helmet ,never drove after a beer or 4 ,done a illegal u turn,speeding
etc etc

With the exception of speeding, I can. Even then, I reckon I drive a lot slower here than I did in the UK.

[Lung Per]

Rules are here to be respected. As long as rules are not enforced they are useless.
I for one don't want to leave my life in Bhudda's hands, so I try to go by the rules. Wish everybody, Thais and farangs, would do the same. But - I realize that takes a major effort, and not only for the duration of a week or two.

Roadside signs in Thai (plus English and German): "Bhudda says: Drive slowly". - Bhudda says: Pay attention". - And: "Bhudda don't want you to die today".

Police will probably not buy the idea, but perhaps some of the Wats would?
Free advice.

[Gérard]

When everything will be as neat and perfect as in our wonderful developped countries, I suppose many westerners will leave Thailand and I will be one of them...

[tonymaroni]

Their sense of entitlement attitude. I can do what I want.
You don't confront bad behavior custom, that I've never understood.
Hard to do when driving also.

No active coppers for moving violations.