Thai Drivers

I love Thailand - its a great country and Thai people are very nice people - I guess that's why I'm a missionary here! There are some Thai ways however, that irritate me beyond belief. One of those are the driving habits of the average Thai.

• they generally are in no rush to drive anywhere fast. Average speed that I find myself driving behind most Thai folk - 35km/h.
• solid lines - purely for show. When those who do go faster than 35km/h overtake their less speedy compatriots, they do so anywhere, at anytime. Oncoming traffic? Who cares - they can move onto the shoulder of the road!
• Traffic lights - purely for show and late night entertainment in the quieter towns. Motorcyclists especially, treat traffic lights, red ones that is, with total disdain. In fact, I almost took a motorcyclist out on my way home this afternoon as I went speeding through a green light and she went speeding through a red one.
• sometimes, especially at bigger, busier intersections where traffic police are always lurking, motorcyclists do stop and give rise to my biggest and most severe irritation - motorcyclists who squeeze in front of me whilst I am waiting for a traffic light to change, then proceed to take off dead slowly and speed up to 35km/h whilst my car's bumper hovers a dangerous 10 cm or so behind their back wheel (many is the time that I have been oh sooo tempted to give them a little nudge to help them along their way).

Some other pet irritations in the traffic;

• people on cell phones - their speed then comes down to 25km/h and they weave erratically across the road.
• slow moving traffic in the fast lane of major highways - there are even signs up telling people to keep the outside lane open for faster moving traffic - these are steadfastly ignored!
• big trucks that pull out into the fast lane in order to overtake slower moving traffic without so much as a glance, a warning, or any indication at all. Most times this happens, I am the only fast moving vehicle in the outside lane and if the the trucker and waited 5 seconds, he would have the whole road to himself and I would not have reduced the lifespan of my brakes and tires as much as I had in trying to avoid a collision.
• People who do not give you a gap to get into the flow of slow moving traffic, leaving you stranded and unable to "go with the flow".
• Traffic lights out of order and there is no order as it becomes a free for all to see who can get across. No taking of turns here - you just go - he with the biggest car and nerves of steel wins!
  

Driving in Thailand is an experience that has got to be seen and experienced to be believed. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "defensive driving" and those who think that mini bus taxi drivers in Johannesburg are bad..., ain't seen nothing yet.