ThefirstruleofdrivinginThailandis:Don’t!
Thesecondruleis:Don’t!
ThemostincrediblethingaboutdrivinginThailandisthatapeoplewhoaresolovely,friendlyandforgivingturnintocompletemonsterswhensittinginacarorcompleteidiotswhensittingonamotorbike.
ActuallydrivinginThailandisn’tquitesobadasitsreputationwouldhaveyoubelieve,butitstillisnottobeundertakenbythefaintofheart.
ThingstoRemember
Driveontheleft.Althoughothersseemtodriveanywheretheylike,officiallythey’remeanttobeontheleft.
Motorcyclesgeteverywhere.Thelocalsrefertothemasaswarmofflies.Ifyoudon’tknowwhatsidemirrorsarefor,yousoonwill.
Peopleflashingtheirheadlightsmeans’don’tgo’-theoppositeofwhatit(normally)meansintheUK1.
Whenovertakingsomeone,it’sagoodideatosoundyourhornrepeatedlysothatthevehicleyouarepassingknowsnottopullout.Thismayatfirstseemtobequiteanaggressivewayofdriving,butit’sforyourownsafety.Evenifyouareovertakingsomeone,it’snotunknownforthecarbehindyoutoovertakewhileyou’reovertaking.
AlsobeawarethatalthoughdrinkinganddrivingisillegalinThailand,somepeoplestilldoit.Youmaybesober,butotherdriversmaynotbe.
Ifthere’sanaccidentit’syourfault.No,really.
Youwillgetstoppedbythepolicefordoingwhateverybodyelseisdoing.Payupandlivewithit.
First(andsecondandthird)impressionsoftheroadsinThailandwillhaveyouthinkingthatdrivingisimpossible.Itworksbecauseeverybodyontheroadknowswhattoexpect,butdon’tforgetthatyoudon’tknowwhattoexpect.
BeforegoingtoThailandtodrive,practicewhatyoulearntinyourdrivinglessons,particularlyhowtouseyourmirrorsandbeveryawareofwhatisgoingonaroundyou.Aclearcountryroadisn’tanexcusetodrivequickly-amotorcycleisquitelikelytoappearfrombehindabushandpulloutwithoutlookingandyoureallydon’twanttodriveintothemateven30mph.Youcankillanentirefamilylikethat.
GettingaCar
Carscanbehiredatairportsandtherearemanysmallprivatehirecompaniesscatteredalloverthecountry.Acarshouldcomewithinsurance,butcheckthisbeforedrivingoff.GetanInternationalDrivingPermit2asyouwillneedthis.Areasonablesaloon(autoormanual)shouldbeabout?0perday.
GettingStoppedbythePolice
TheThaipoliceare...well,they’rethepolice.Ifyou’restoppedbythepoliceyouwillgetafine.FinesareaboutB400(about?),butyoumaybeaskedforless;aroundB200(about?)isacommonamount.
Whateveryoudo,sortthingsoutatthesideoftheroad.Don’targue.Youdidsomethingwrong(evenifyoucan’tunderstandwhatitwas)andgivethemthemoneytheyaskfor(butbediscreetwhenhandingitover-foldingitinyourlicenceorhandingitoverunderyourlicenceisnormallybest).Don’targue.It’llcostyoumoreifyoudoandcausemoreinconveniencetoeverybody.
Youwon’tbeabletotellifthepoliceofficerisgenuinelygivingyouafineorpocketingthemoneyasabribe.Althoughtherearesomeofficerswhodoearnmoneyfrombribesinthismanner,noteverypolicemanisdoingthis.Eventhosethatdopocketthemoney3aretryingtomaketheroadssaferandwillonlytargetyouifyoudidsomethingwrong.
HavinganAccident
Ifyouhaveanaccidentthendon’tmoveyourvehicleatall.Thepolicewillturnupandyoushouldtrytogetyourinsurancecompanytocomeaswell.Ifyou’rerentingacarthenaskthemwhattodoandwhotocontactbeforeyoudriveoff.
Parking
It’snormaltoparkwithoutputtingonyourhandbrake(butonlywherethecarwon’trollaway).Itisalsonormaltodoubleortripleparkandtoparksoastoblockothersinatacarpark.Alwaystrypushingcarsoutofthewayifyou’reblockedin.
Neverputonyourhandbrakeifyou’reblockingsomebodyelsein.Youwillnotbepopular.
Althoughparkingappearstobeafree-for-all,thePolicedowriteouttickets,soyoucannotjustparkanywhere.Mostoftheno-parkingsignswillbewritteninThai,sotheywon’tbeofmuchusetoyou,unlessyoucanreadThaiofcourse.
Don’tparkbyakerbthatispaintedredandwhite,orinfrontofrailingsthatarepaintedredandwhite.
GettingAwaywithIt
Evengettingstoppedandfinedbythepoliceisn’ttheendoftheworld.Solongasyouhaven’thurtanybody,drivinginThailandisaverygoodwaytogetagoodlookaround.
OnceyoulearnthewaysoftheroadinThailand,itisagreatplacetodrive(ormotorcycle)andasuperbwaytoseealotofthecountrythatmanytouristsmiss.
RelatedBBCiLinks
SeewhatelseBBCihastosayaboutholidayinginThailand.
1Thisisactuallywhatit’smeanttomeanintheUKtoo,butitisn’toftenusedcorrectly.
2AvailableatmanymainUKpostofficesfor?orfromtheAA.Bringapassportphoto.
3TheThaipoliceofficersthatyouseeontrafficdutywillnormallybeearningB6000toB7000permonth
