How to convince a Thai boy not to follow too closely

[PattayaMale]

My Thai friend was one of the most careful drivers I could want. For years I felt very safe when in the car with him driving.

 

Recently he has been following other vehicles too closely for me. I have tried to explain why he should keep a greater distance but he now says he is a "professional"

 

Coming back from the airport the other day at night I had suggested he give more room from the truck ahead. Well just after I said that. Bam, the Vigo truck flipped over across the road

[Bob]

Although best not to over-generalize, my experiences would reflect that (1) Thai drivers generally drive recklessly (2) they generally don't take directions/suggestions/corrections very well or at all.

 

My Chiangmai bf used to work at a guesthouse where the owner would allow him to take one of the cars while I was in town. While I had the convenience of a driver, most of those driving events took a few years out of my life. He had no clue about taking a curve (you actually begin to turn slightly before the curve - and also slow down a little if need be), no clue about how far to follow behind a car in front of him, and no general road sense. When negotiating the curves on the way to Chiangrai, it seemed each curve was a test of the limits of the tires adhering to the road and the suspension of the car. On one trip to Lampang, I saw (mind you, I'm sitting in the back seat behind the driver bf) a motorsy driver acting weird about 80 yards ahead (he had his front wheel in the left highway lane and was acting like he was about to go ahead) and I told my bf to watch out for him. Given that my bf had every right to the right-of-way, he cruised ahead instead of either slowing down or moving over to the empty right lane - and the motorsy idiot hit our car (of course, right in the rear left door next to me). Then, idiot driver panics and stopped/parked the car in the middle of the two-lane highway (I immediately turned around, saw tons of traffic speeding out way and screamed for him to get off the road). By the way, the dumbass motorsy driver, drunk as a skunk, was only shaken up and not seriously hurt. That little fun event only cost me a year or two of my life (not to mention several thousand baht for the car repair).

 

It was only 3 years ago that the bf (then 26) got his driver's license and I questioned him quite a bit about what type of training, road tests, etc., he was required to complete. The answer was shocking -not much at all. He got his general (no restrictions) license the day after he applied.

 

Some people have good natural instincts on the road, others need a fair amount of training to gather those instincts, and some never have a clue. You-know-who doesn't have a clue and I'm quite happy he no longer has access to a car. But, oh yea, he's a lousy motorsy driver too. Early this year, he was "hit by a girl" on Taipae Road (in reality, he turned left from far right lane and he caused the collision with the girl who was riding in his blind spot). That only cost her a broken leg, him a broken wrist, and some dumbass falang a lotta baht for injuries and repairs.....

[Guest laurence]

Same as the others, my bf has no concept of safe driving his pickup truck. First he will only wear a seat belt if I insist; then tailgates others especially motorbikes and has little regard for pedestrians. Most Thais have no idea about defensive driving which is instilled in most of us farang from a young age.

Yes, he does scare me whenever I drive with him. He did have driver training course but I think the emphasis was on how to shift a manual transmission. So far he has hit a car, a motorbike and a cow but no peds, pedestrians that is.

[Guest MonkeySee]

Thai drivers generally drive recklessly (2) they generally don't take directions/suggestions/corrections very well or at all.

 

The traffic is a mess in most of the big cities in Thailand. That is one reason I would never drive, here. Tell your bf how you feel and the reason you feel that way. Hope that he takes notice. If not don't drive with him, or maybe strap yourself in the backseat, if that makes you feel better.

[Bob]

Tell your bf how you feel and the reason you feel that way.

 

Lol. After being together 8 years this month, he knows, he knows. And I don't need to keep repeating it to him (he hears me gasp much too often).

 

[Guest laurence]

Lol. After being together 8 years this month, he knows, he knows. And I don't need to keep repeating it to him (he hears me gasp much too often).

 

Like you, Bob, my bf knows. But at least he is learning Christianity from me after repeatedly hearing "Jesus Christ Almighty", "Sweet Jesus", and "Holy Mary Mother of God".

 

[fedssocr]

It's not just the Thais of course. I am in Cambodia at the moment. And even the "professional" drivers employed by my tour company are rather reckless. The roads here are pretty bad and they are full of motorcycles and bikes. The car driver's response to this is to blow the horn at every opportunity so those poor sods (and kids) will move as far out of the way as possible. It's a wonder there aren't more deaths. We saw two dead bodies laying on the road covered up on the way down to Kep from Phnom Penh. Apparently it was two girls who had been on a moto struck by a car the night before. I don't know how he knew the details. And I don't know why it took so long for the police to show up and remove them from the highway.

[Guest MonkeySee]

It's not just the Thais of course. I am in Cambodia at the moment. And even the "professional" drivers employed by my tour company are rather reckless. The roads here are pretty bad and they are full of motorcycles and bikes. The car driver's response to this is to blow the horn at every opportunity

 

That horn blowing and reckless driving must be a "third world" thing. I found the same thing in Mexico, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the list goes on. The craziest thing I experience was in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. While driving at night, the taxi cab turned off his lights ( I don't know why). That really freaked me out.

[Guest GaySacGuy]

My boyfriend is a pretty decent driver...and he hasn't hit anything yet. He does tend to follow closer than I like in the cities, but out in the country he follows quite safe.

 

I used to do all the driving, but now I am able to sit back while he drives most of the time. He took driver training class in Pattaya, and is very good about seat belts, and insist we use the parking brake when we park. (I haven't used a parking break since I started driving automatics year ago.)

[Guest lvdkeyes]

I haven't used a parking break since I started driving automatics year ago.

 

 

Apparently, you never drove in San Francisco. LOL

[Gaybutton]

While driving at night, the taxi cab turned off his lights ( I don't know why).

 

If he also parked, maybe you don't know why, but I do . . . and you didn't take the hint? Oh well, another missed opportunity . . . . . .

 

I drive in Thailand every day. I'm not afraid of it, but I have learned to drive not just defensively, but extremely defensively. When I was in high school, many, many moons ago, something my driver's education instructor said stuck with me and has saved me from accidents and quite likely saved my life a great many times, more than I can count, especially in Thailand. "Always expect the unexpected."

 

Around here, those are exactly the words to survive by. It's rare for me to drive at all without experiencing at least one close call. The major culprits are the motorbike drivers who come zooming out of intersections without even a quick glance to see if there's an oncoming car.

 

Sometimes I think these people must lie in wait and signal each other whenever I'm driving. I constantly have to be on the lookout for those motorbikes at intersections, along with every kind of vehicle that exists, including bicycles, cutting me off, making a left turn from the right lane, making a right turn from the left lane, speeding at least double to triple the speed limit, failing to use a turn signal, driving the wrong direction, deciding to pass another car and zooming into my lane, nearly causing us to have a head-on collision, suddenly changing lanes without warning, jumping red lights, simply ignoring red lights, tailgating so close that if he were any closer he would be in my car with me, and lord-knows-what else.

 

One of the most difficult things to do is to maintain a safe driving distance behind the car ahead. As soon as you're a safe distance you can virtually count on another car bulling his way in. There goes the safe distance.

 

I would swear that some of these people must be suicidal. Thais are some of the kindest, most gentle and docile people you could meet anywhere, but put them behind the wheel of any kind of motor vehicle and it's a totally different story. They turn into Mr. Hyde.

 

I'm not afraid to drive at all and dealing with this kind of driving has become second nature, but if you frighten easily, get frustrated easily, are impatient, or are not extremely cautious, then Thailand is the wrong place for you to be driving.

 

It's not easy to be a pedestrian either. In Pattaya, if there were laws against jaywalking I don't know how anyone could cross a street. People complain all the time about the hazards of trying to walk across Second Road. Believe me, it isn't just there. It's everywhere. Walk in the middle of the street around and within Sunee Plaza some time. I don't think it will take long to see what I mean. Some crazy kid is sure to come barreling through at high speed on a motorbike. If you're fortunate enough that he misses you, it won't be by much.

_____

 

"Have you ever noticed that anyone driving slower than you is an idiot and anyone driving faster is a maniac?" - George Carlin

[Guest Geezer]

A friend and I were in a taxi on a one way street in Bangkok and noticed that we were meeting cars traveling the wrong way. We mentioned it to the driver and he said only Benz do that.

[Guest laurence]

He took driver training class in Pattaya, and is very good about seat belts, and insist we use the parking brake when we park. (I haven't used a parking break since I started driving automatics year ago.)

 

Oftentimes it is not wise to either use a parking brake or leave in gear when parking. Why? Thais double park or block other cars when they park. As a courtesy they do not use parking brake/leave in gear so blocked drivers can push the car out of the way. Failure to not do this means flat tires!

 

[Gaybutton]

As a courtesy they do not use parking brake/leave in gear so blocked drivers can push the car out of the way.

 

That's very kind of them. I'll remember that next time I park on a steep hill . . .

[Guest laurence]

That's very kind of them. I'll remember that next time I park on a steep hill . . .

 

Really, I am not joking. For instance, at the parking area near Jomitien Beach you will see many cars blocking other cars and wonder "how rude" but all are easily shoved aside if necessary. Hills are an exception.

[Guest lvdkeyes]

A friend and I were in a taxi on a one way street in Bangkok and noticed that we were meeting cars traveling the wrong way. We mentioned it to the driver and he said only Benz do that.

 

It reminds me of a story about a guy driving a Hummer. He pulled ahead of a parking space to back into it and a guy in a VW Beetle quickly drove into the space head first. The Hummer driver got out and said, "Didn't you see I was about to back into that space?" The VW driver said "That's what you can do when you drive a VW." The Hummer driver got in his "tank" and backed into the VW several times demolishing it. The VW driver screamed at him "What's wrong with you? How can you do that?" The Hummer driver handed him his business card and said "That's what you can do when you drive a Hummer."

[Guest GaySacGuy]

Apparently, you never drove in San Francisco. LOL

 

I have done some driving in San Francisco and the Sierra Mountains...but never trusted the parking brake. In San Francisco I always remember the rule of locking the front wheels against the curb, and in the mountains I chock the wheels. But, if in park on an automatic, you aren't going far.