404cameljockey wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2017 2:55 pmDriving is easy, and nothing to do with Thai mentality, only to do with accepted local standards (I was going to say "not European", but I've driven on the insane roads of Rome, Paris and Bari). I think maybe you're a little sheltered). If you are first to a junction or if you are in front on a road then you have right of way. Not hard to get a grip on. You do know about the '30 percent field of responsibility' (or something like that, I forget the precise detail), which I believe is even understood by the police as a rule of the road? Most people won't take responsibility for anything happening outside of their immediate field of view (forget wing mirrors). The people they can't see should be responsible for dangers in their own field of vision, and so on going back down the road.Takiap wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:46 am
Well, I must have been heavily sedated during all the years I live in my own country and in the UK because never before have I witnessed the sort of "me first" attitude I witness here numerous times a day. Driving on the roads here is just one glaringly obvious example.
And for the record, I don't have any sort of agenda and I am most definitely not nationalistic. I have long since accepted the Thai way of life, and as I have said so often on here, I would hate to see Thailand, or the Thai people change. After all, the Thai way of life is the only reason why I am still here.
Anyway, the point I was actually trying to make is that I don't think the study mentioned in this thread is of any great significance unless you a closet shrink.
I'm not saying I don't get furious occasionally, but I understand that I need to calm down.
Jokes aside mate, but what you have described, I learned more than a decade ago. I know exactly how things work on the roads over here, and I generally don't have a problem with it. However, Thai behavior on the roads certainly is connected to a "me first" attitude. On several occasions I've had other motorbikes know my mirrors because they have to get to the front of the queue. I've see two elderly Thai couples come off their bikes only because Somchai wanted to get past them regardless of the fact that there was not enough space.
Now, you can either blame Thai mentality, which is obviously a part of Thai culture, or you can blame things like this on a serious lack of IQ, which I would prefer not to do. Anyone who believe there is not a serious "me first" attitude in this country is living in Lala Land. And yes, I am fully aware of the fact that it is something which is not unique to Thailand.
I must have lived a sheltered life? Hahaha, if only you knew. Out of curiosity, where do you draw the line between cultural behaviors and mentality?