Pattaya drivers

[cookie56]

traffic in Pattaya is almost comical to watch in a scarey sort of way ,what amazes me is the low incidence of road rage as compared with elsewhere .perhaps this is thai nature or the fact that almost every one does the wrong thing ? cookie

[dude 947]

Very simple, when i cross the road in Patts i think about my family, i pray god and ask him to forgive me for what i've just done with a cute Yin, in BKK it's even worse. Crossing the road in Thailande is always a miracle

Edited March 8, 2009 by dude 947

[cookie56]

Very simple, when i cross the road in Patts i think about my family, i pray god and ask him to forgive me for what i've just done with a cute Yin, in BKK it's even worse. Crossing the road in Thailande is always a miracle

almost got caught out last week while there. someone actually pulled up ,the catch though was that the car in the next lane had no intention of stopping .a real trap. cookie

[Limey]

I ride a scooter around Pattaya, which is frightening enough until you get used to the chaos and become part of it, and I've sworn never to get a car while I still live there. I find Thai drivers for the most part pretty incompetent and therefore over-cautious, especially women. Following some Thai lady driving a car 3 sizes too big for her down e.g. Soi Diana towards 2nd Road, as often seems to happen, is sheer frustration when you can't overtake.

[Randy]

I've driven both cars and Scooters in Pattaya and honestly, it's not so bad. People are quite laid back in traffic, and somehow it works out.

 

In Bangkok the average speed of cars is quite low due to traffic jams and many roads have bridges for pedestrians. In the Isaan the only problem is the very slow tractors in the night without back lights on narrow roads...

 

Another problem in Pattaya: drunk farang overspeeding on rented motorbikes they don't know well enough. Those guys scare me...

 

But yes, you have to pay attention all the time, wlking, riding or driving. Helps the evolution of mankind .

[dude 947]

Well i never drove there and not planning to. I'm also still not used to the opposite sides, yeah i really prefer walking

[clownworker777]

Another problem in Pattaya: drunk farang overspeeding on rented motorbikes they don't know well enough. Those guys scare me...

 

But yes, you have to pay attention all the time, wlking, riding or driving. Helps the evolution of mankind .

 

You must be talking about me

[Scumbag]

The worse part of the trafic situation in Pattaya (and Thailand in general) is the high risk riding practices of the motorbike riders. This goes for both farang and locals. The farangs should know better but the Thais are not trained enough.. When you dirve a car here you have to check on your left for bikes before turning left. Even if you indicate to turn left the stupid idiots will try to go around you on the left!!!

 

A farang that I know here once told me he would never drive a car here. The reason being that if you hurt someone on a bike you have to cough up some money. I would prefer to have the problem of coughing up some money than being dead.

[mon]

I love driving here in Patts. I've lived here for over 2 years now, and have been driving cars around since virtually day one.

 

You do have to keep your wits about you though, as there are indeed one hell of a lot of f...king idiots driving around, especially on motorbikes. And I'm talking of farangs as well as the locals. The locals of whom many are probably not insured, and possibly don't have driving licences either.

 

This obviously goes for 10 - 15 year olds riding around without helmets. Funny that the police don't pull them over. Perhaps that's because the police know that these kids won't have any money on them to contribute to the police tea fund - but that's another story

 

A word of warning to all farangs driving around on rented motorbikes. I was told the other day, verification needed, that when you rent a bike the only insurance that you get is the Government Compulsory 3rd Part Coverage. So if you are involved in an accident, the other guy gets paid out, but you will have to cough up for damage to the rented bike, and possibly any medical expenses you might incur, as your holiday insurance company may have a loophole not to pay out if you were not taking all the right precautions. The fact that I was also told that you can not even pay extra for a more comprehensive rental insurance, may not cut any ice with them.

 

So take care out there. and pray to Buddah that you don't have an accident

[Randy]

...

This obviously goes for 10 - 15 year olds riding around without helmets. Funny that the police don't pull them over. Perhaps that's because the police know that these kids won't have any money on them to contribute to the police tea fund - but that's another story

...

 

Reminds me: last month I saw something I've never seen before in Pattaya. The police stopped everybody not wearing helmets, including the Thais!!! Pay fine, put on helmet and move on. No helmet, leave the bike and get a helmet first.

 

They got many more Thai fines than farang fines

[guru2008]

Traffic in pattaya and BKK is not that bad compared to some of the other asian countries like mine.

I drive bike in the streets of pattaya. No problems for me, comfortable. Pattaya`s traffic is nothing when

i compare that with traffic of my Home town.

 

once i was stopped by a THAI police near WS and i thought he will fine me for not having a international license , but LOL he fined me for not wearing the helmet.

[SanMiguelDrinker]

The only thing that throws me off about traffic in Thailand is that flow of traffic is on the left. Almost same behavior as in the Philippines, where you have Jeepneys and Tricycles instead. I tried learning how to drive stick for the first time in Manila, let's just say that I've never learned properly because of all the near misses I had. You get used to the traffic patterns after a while and you start to see the local thinking on how traffic flows. It's still pretty chaotic though. If it's your first time visiting a country that really doesn't follow a strict structured traffic system, you will be in quite the shock. It's quite dangerous both in Thailand and the Philippines, but the worst accidents I've seen are here in Chicagoland.

[hungryandy]

I love driving here in Patts. I've lived here for over 2 years now, and have been driving cars around since virtually day one.

 

You do have to keep your wits about you though, as there are indeed one hell of a lot of f...king idiots driving around, especially on motorbikes. And I'm talking of farangs as well as the locals. The locals of whom many are probably not insured, and possibly don't have driving licences either.

 

This obviously goes for 10 - 15 year olds riding around without helmets. Funny that the police don't pull them over. Perhaps that's because the police know that these kids won't have any money on them to contribute to the police tea fund - but that's another story

 

A word of warning to all farangs driving around on rented motorbikes. I was told the other day, verification needed, that when you rent a bike the only insurance that you get is the Government Compulsory 3rd Part Coverage. So if you are involved in an accident, the other guy gets paid out, but you will have to cough up for damage to the rented bike, and possibly any medical expenses you might incur, as your holiday insurance company may have a loophole not to pay out if you were not taking all the right precautions. The fact that I was also told that you can not even pay extra for a more comprehensive rental insurance, may not cut any ice with them.

 

So take care out there. and pray to Buddah that you don't have an accident

 

This can be a serious problem with your home country insurance if you have a serious accident and want to claim say disability. You will be required to show you were driving legally in the country of the accident - IE that you have a valid motor cycle license at home and that the country in which you had the accident accepts the validity of your license. DONT drive a motor cycle here if you don't have a valid license at home.

 

If you are responsible for injuries to a another person then locally you will be required to pay compensation. This could be as little as say 300k for death to a low status person, or over 2 million for the death of some one with a family that can afford a better lawyer and judge.

 

The days of it ALWAYS being the farungs fault are over - but only just. If teh offending party was Extremely to blame then these days you have a chance of getting off. Also you will be required to pay the settlement BEFORE you are allowed out of teh country.

[takaianaa]

all I would like to say something about motorbikes:

 

only rent a motorbike or even a scooter if you are an experienced motorbike rider - why? well look carefully and you will see a lot of farangs with Thai Tattoos especially on southern islands... there are streets which are in a horrible condition and even experienced driver have to fight with them ;)

In addition always keep in mind what mon & hungyandy already mentioned - there is no possiblity for an insurance which could you make feel safe in a case of an accident - you can get huge problems because of that!

 

I have a Motorcycle at home and I am driving since 6 years now and I still would never rent a bike in Thailand because of that insurance issue...

[onenosite]

Driving In PATTS is out of the Question for me. Walking is tough enough, Crossing 2nd road is like playing

a game of human frogger. I live and drive in the LA. area. Even with the nutballs driving here does'nt compare

to the mayhem called LOS. Any body else had your knee bashed on a bumper as your MB taxi thinks he

can fit through that little bit of day-lite!

[takaianaa]

yeah... before I arrived in Bangkok I thought I was one of the guys who are tough at crossing streets... I have been in a lot of countries... Italy and stuff where a lot of people talk about chaos on the streets... never had a problem...

but when the first 100 year old grandma walked over a street where I still waited 5 minutes after she already has been on the other side... I knew that walking around in thailand can be tough and I am not tough enough

[Topcat60]

The only thing that throws me off about traffic in Thailand is that flow of traffic is on the left. Almost same behavior as in the Philippines, where you have Jeepneys and Tricycles instead. I tried learning how to drive stick for the first time in Manila, let's just say that I've never learned properly because of all the near misses I had. You get used to the traffic patterns after a while and you start to see the local thinking on how traffic flows. It's still pretty chaotic though. If it's your first time visiting a country that really doesn't follow a strict structured traffic system, you will be in quite the shock. It's quite dangerous both in Thailand and the Philippines, but the worst accidents I've seen are here in Chicagoland.

Agree with you about driving in Manila, total battlefield conditions and no traffic rules that I can see. Unlike you I have no problem with Thailand being a Brit, its the correct side of road for me. Almost kiss the ground when I get back to Thailand from Philippines, its sane driving compared to Manila.

 

Go ahead and hire a car and drive yourself around. You will soon adjust, just keep your wits about you and dont react to others bad driving, but above all, HAVE FUN.

[Loso4ever]

The only thing that throws me off about traffic in Thailand is that flow of traffic is on the left. Almost same behavior as in the Philippines, where you have Jeepneys and Tricycles instead. I tried learning how to drive stick for the first time in Manila, let's just say that I've never learned properly because of all the near misses I had. You get used to the traffic patterns after a while and you start to see the local thinking on how traffic flows. It's still pretty chaotic though. If it's your first time visiting a country that really doesn't follow a strict structured traffic system, you will be in quite the shock. It's quite dangerous both in Thailand and the Philippines, but the worst accidents I've seen are here in Chicagoland.

A big difference between the traffic in Thailand and the Philippines is, that in the Phils they constantly use their horns lol. In Pattaya you might get cought in the accident already before the driver uses his horn to warn you. So be carefull out there fellas.

 

Adrie.

[minimadness]

never driven out there and dont think i ever will, same as someone else mentioned i too have been riding motorbikes for many years at home but just dont think its worth the risk in patts, especially since its so cheap to jump in a baht bus, motorbike taxi or normal taxi to get you anywhere you need to go.. just my 2p's worth.. lol