Driving in LOS

[Terry]

I'll add a few stangsworth to this thread, as I have commented on most others re driving here.

I've driven in L.O.S. on and off for more than 16 years.

Have had 4 minor scrapes - none of which I caused.

I drive a lot around BKK between Monday to Friday and comute to & from home in HH at weekends, so I guess I might qualify for an opinion or three

So - a few of T's basic rules.

1) Make sure that you have eyes up your ar5e - you will need them.
2) No matter what the temptation to have a race with some idiot in a pick up or yuppy in his series 3 BMW - dont bother - let them kill themselves.
3) Have plenty of THB 100 notes in the drivers door tray to accommodate the MIB fines - dont argue - it's not worth it - just smile, pay and go on your way.
4) NEVER assume that that 10 wheel truck you are about to pass has seen you and therefore will not pull out as you overtake. Flash your headlights before you make the manouvre - there's a chance the truck driver might see you - particularly at night.
5) Beware of 'U' turns - some drivers just seem incapable of judging your approaching speed and will often pull out in front of you.
6) Make sure your tyres, brakes and particularly your windsceen wipers / washers are fully functional - they could be the difference between you and an accident.
7) Always assume that the guy on the motorbike in front of you will do something stupid - there's a 50% chance he will.
Don't forget traffic lights do not apply to motorbikes
9) When making a left turn in heavy traffic - check your LHS wing mirror - there's a good chance that ther will be some idiot there that you are about to squash.
10) Fit a pair of the cicular stick on mirrors to your wing mirrors - they lessen your 'blind spots' considerably.
11) If you have a Thai partner then they will want to festoon the rear view mirror with good luck charms and cover the dashboard top with Buddhas. Try to minimise this because IF you are unfortunate to have a serious accident these items can cause you serious damage.
12) Dont forget that trucks and buses are bigger than you - so their drivers often assume that they have right of way.

If any more come to mind I'll post them

Happy Motoring

[buksida]

All true Mr T!

There is an amusing guide to driving in Hua Hin based on some of those premises here:

www.expathuahin.com/driving-huahin.php

[kendo]

The roads up in Isaan are far better even than the U.K in Surin the road are not very busy and a pleasure to drive on.One thing that makes me laugh is the elephants walk around the city at night with CD's hanging off there tails and you see some with the little flashing LED lights that the cyclists use.Driving back to the village at night you come across lots of farmers with there carts no lights just a few CDs hanging off the back, its not really ROSPA road safety is it.
Driving down to BKK taking the border road from Chong Chom to Arranya Prathet there are lots of check point charlies we allways get pulled over at least 3 times and we get the usuall fines for illegal driving manuvers and making the cop spill his cup of tea.Last December on this run we had the usuall bull sh*t but carried on down to Suvarnabhumi to drop some friends off, the driver of the mini van drove into the wrong lane and dropped off in the arrivals area, we pulled away and then got flagged down about 200 meters the cop started to talk to the driver so i asked the wife wot was going on, she said that the cop said we have dropped off in the incorrect place and wants to fine the driver 2000 baht and then he said to the driver dont worry the farang will pay it, with this i was strait out of the van and in the cops face poking him in the chest with my finger and sounding off he then backed down and looked un easy with the situation that other cops might stop as i was drawing a lot of attention to us, i was so angry with this cop,he then started to talk to the driver again and settled for a 500 baht hand shake, so i got back in the van. The wife was not to happy with me but this being the forth fine of the day feeling hot and tired it just boiled me up enough for one day.So let that be a warning if you drive into swampy becarefull, we pulled away and that cop pulled another 2 mini vans in for the same thing.

[Norseman]

i was strait out of the van and in the cops face poking him in the chest with my finger

Think you should be very careful repeating this trick kendo!!
If you let a mib loose face to a farang like that it could easily be your last fatal mistake.

[Spitfire]

A1 To all that Terry, spot on and funny.

When driving in the countryside, my main observations are the problems that the 2-door pickup with the oversized cage on the back that belongs to the wild market trader cause and those little chug, chug, chug carts come tractors that travel at about 10km/h, no light, perpetually driving the wrong way down the highway, road or path.

Heard you don't even need a license for those, anyone can drive them.

Sure you've seen the following description Kendo:

'Scooter boy' in the countryside is even funnier than in the city. Bike totally stripped of all covering, usually him and the bike 20 years old, bike's been put back together about 10 times, wires hanging everywhere, not had a haircut for 7 months, starts drinking lao kow and M150 at 9 in the morning, then trying to break the sound barrier all day, boy band jeans that have been stiched back together many times and have not been washed for a month or two, only works once a year when it's time to cut rice, can't understand a word that he says even if your Thai is good, etc, etc, etc, could keep this going for pages.

[STEVE G]

I saw one of these Issan boys the other day who in the interest of aerodynamics was lying full length on the saddle like superman!

[Guess]

Good stuff from Terry. I can add also to toot your horn three times when approacjing a junction from the right on dual carriageways.

Flash your lights at any time when overtaking. The duration and numbers of flashes is dictacted by visibility and your judgement of the vehicle's driver. If possible try and look up the curb side of the vehicle first to ensure that he won't suddenly pull out to pass a vehicler travelling the wrong way or three teanagers on motorcycles riding three abreast.

Never make assumptions. If a lady riding a motorcycle you are about to overtake suddenly moves to the left, she is not doing so for your benefit. She is just making her imminent right turn easier while continuing her phone call or attending to her child.

Out in the sticks if you see an old truck with something hanging from it don't assume that it has been like that for ages. It is more likely it is just about to fall off and smash into your windscreen. This is not only dangerous but you will probably end up paying for the part that fell off as well.

Happy motoriun if you can still afford it.

[kendo]

Spitfire, yeah check...you are correct very funny those Kabota donkey engines that pull the carts and plow the fields cost £800 sterling they are very handy my brother in law has one they will do about 20kmh and seem quite fast when your on one, my brother in laws cart has custom paint work of a full moon party very cool for a farm boy.

[bozzman101]

was coming back from sunvhiubhm or how ever you spell it
did the 25 b toll road then the 40 b one passing throught all tool booths the mib were in place
ok my passanger forgot to put on seat belt sh one t bid one
after a rig marole of ahev to come abck bkk 15 days to some mib shop in bkk got hit with a 500 b tea money and dont go to fast have camera up road !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[HHTel]

If you are going to and from the airport, you should use the new ring road.

1: It's much quicker. Very good road.
2. Much less traffic.
3. No tolls (as yet).
4. Never seen the MIB anywhere on the road.

I would never use the old route across Rama 9 bridge again.

[bozzman101]

thanks hhtel can you give me directions for this as my gps is not finding it!!!
it only knows this crappy route
thanks
bozz