Trying to be safe in thailand - buying a pickup

[Ginjaninja]

The original question is what is safe.
Buy a pick-up! The biggest you can afford.
I wouldn't recommend anyone (new) coming to Thailand ride a bike and that's coming from someone who only has rides bikes in Thailand.
All other points on the thread are certainly valid and I don't wish to contradict however it is slightly off the original question.
GN.

[Big Boy]

When you're in towns it seems to be the motorbikes that drive like loons as they generally dont bother looking where they're going ... but when you get out on the open road or a highway the lunatic drivers are nearly always in pickups.

No need to duck, I don't think anybody will disagree with that as long as you include Fortuner drivers as well.

[Gregjam]

I agree with Ginjaninja. Best value is a pickup and they are also practical. More expensive but along the came lines are the quasi SUV (Fortuner etc- pickup chassis with a full body) or something like the X Trail subject to personal needs and finances. Perhaps once you are comfortable in the traffic here a bike is useful for getting into town as finding somewhere to park anything bigger is a lottery.

[ThaiMike]

Waking up to a nice discussion i see, yes i can see the advantages in a motorbike of course but to quote "i would be yet another inexperienced driver". However as for cars... i have been driving since i was 18 in Germany / rest of Europe and the USA so as far cars and truck that label would be wrong.

Would never consider owning a pickup here in Germany but as i value my life i think its without alternatives in Thailand.
Will visit Hua Hin in the summer , just to torture myself during low season, and find a rental to give it a go. Maybe a normal car is a better plan, i have driven a tiny one in Phuket.

Then again a pickup is not that much bigger than my current A6, which is 5 meters long, a Ranger Supercab is just 35cm's more in length and actually less wide ! Its just the height and even in Thailand there is enough room vertically on the roads

But of course when you can't park the thing near where you want to be....
(oh yes i am 51, don't drink and drive , wear seat-belts and don't play with phones or body parts while driving)

[Felipesed1]

Mercedes-Benz seem to be capable of withstanding 200kph impacts!

[Big Boy]

It probably comes down to how close you need to park. There is waste land about 100 yards before the Tessbahn going North where there is always space, which is always a good fallback. There is the underground car park under East Square, which also has space (a bit low though). There's the temple car park. You can normally find a space outside Chatchai Market after about 11am until the Night Market sets up. There's a big bit of waste land outsie Tira Tira.

Basically, it would be unusual to have to walk motr than 600 yards.

[ThaiMike]

Basically, it would be unusual to have to walk motr than 600 yards.

That's good to hear So next is finding the pickup with the most airbags, bumpers, and the loudest color possible.

Seriously i see the Thai traffic as the number one thing that is causing me to doubt, making the chances of being involved in a nasty accident as small as possible is priority number 1.

Someone here mentioned mosquito borne diseases as the number one problem, but sadly that isnt the case. With 24000+ deaths a year in traffic and "just" 100+ deaths from Dengue. There is a vaccine almost ready by the way, that should bring the number of deaths from dengue down in the 2 figures at most.

[Dannie Boy]

Basically, it would be unusual to have to walk motr than 600 yards.

That's good to hear So next is finding the pickup with the most airbags, bumpers, and the loudest color possible.

Seriously i see the Thai traffic as the number one thing that is causing me to doubt, making the chances of being involved in a nasty accident as small as possible is priority number 1.

Someone here mentioned mosquito borne diseases as the number one problem, but sadly that isnt the case. With 24000+ deaths a year in traffic and "just" 100+ deaths from Dengue. There is a vaccine almost ready by the way, that should bring the number of deaths from dengue down in the 2 figures at most.

I recently bought a new Pajero Sport SUV which has loads of safety features, so if the recently updated Mitsubishi Trojan pickup has the same safety features (7 airbags, collision warning and automatic braking, blind spot warning amongst others) then I'd give that a look to compare with the Ford Ranger and Toyota pickups.

As you will have picked up, the average standard of driving here is way below that in the west, so for me the most important safety contribution is to drive like you have eyes in the front, side and back of your head, to try and be one step ahead of the maniacs on the road - if you can see something coming, there a reasonable chance you can take evasive action if required.

[Big Boy]

To me, the most dangerous thing you can do is give way to anybody/anything unless you're absolutely sure there are no motorcyclists beside or behind you. Motorcyclists WILL NOT give way on 99.9% of occassions. If you are driving something large, whatever you give way to will be un-sighted of the motorcycle coming down your blind side, and I doubt the motorcyclist will see the hazard either.

[ThaiMike]

Yeah i noticed that while crossing the street in Thailand many times. Cars will sometimes stop for you but the motor guys will just not even look and drive straight through the line of cars almost wanting to hit the people crossing the street. I really dont understand the attitude.

But being what it is, we wait for a group of people and always take the side with the most people between us and the traffic, that seems to work.

Thailand is a great retirement place, i just want to make sure i actually survive 5-10 years Not that i plan on dying after that but probably moving on to something else then.

[kendo]

Don't forget about the poor pedestrians that have to walk on the road because the sidewalk has been taken up by random food vendors.

[bsdk1960]

When you're in towns it seems to be the motorbikes that drive like loons as they generally dont bother looking where they're going ... but when you get out on the open road or a highway the lunatic drivers are nearly always in pickups.

555, I drive bicykles,motorbikes and car in Thailand and no one is better than the other,people here only think of them self and don't care of other.
I know someone have a rant on motorbikes,but there are many pricks driving around here,specally trucks who just pull out from a smaller soiso you have to stop for them,open the door so you nearly have an accident and I could go on,but offcource its none of this forums member

drive safe and look out for your fellow trafficant

[ThaiMike]

That seems to be the problem , no one cares about anyone else and everything in the future is set already so why worry.
Alien attitude that kills thousands and thousands without any reason sadly.

Would much prefer that Thailand had reasonable traffic so that the choice of transportation means would not have to be guided by sheer self perseverance.

[STEVE G]

One day the Thai government will wake up to the fact that subsidising these large trucks instead of promoting smaller cars was a pretty stupid idea, and increase the annual taxation to a rate proportional to the amount of damage and traffic jams they cause.!

Traditionally, many of those trucks are used by farmers and other small scale business owners to carry stuff to carry on their business which is why they were subsidised, you can't make much money with a Nissan March!

[JamesWest]

buy a truck that has the best inpact protection system. let that be your primary concern. all around air bags, internal roll bar, etc.

get a dashcam first thing.

don't jack the truck up and raise the center of gravity.

make your Thai friends and family wear their seatbelts. No belts, no go.

don't drive on the highway in a pick up truck like a sports car. you might feel pressured to drive faster than is safe by all the tailgaters.

make sure it does not have a heavy tint on the front windshield. very dangerous at night.

additional foward illumination for back roads.

after a while, you will just use a scooter with a big givi box on the back for short runs, because it is really hard to find parking spaces around town.

get a bangkok license plate and big snow plow on the front.

anyone moving to Thailand must understand and accept the risks of living here. Not going to change anytime soon.

hope this helps. good luck.