How to Drive in Thailand & Return Home.

Learning how to drive in Thailand and understanding driving habits here is essential to your survival on the roads. In Thailand every year both Thais and tourists die on the roads in appalling numbers. It is reported that 20,000 people die EVRY YEAR on Thailand’s roads. With a population of around 70 million this death toll is devastating. The death rate is around 37 people per 200,000 will die on Thai roads.

The television news every night has actual footage of car accidents. These include single and multiple vehicles accidents with motorbikes, cars, trucks & pedestrians. Thai TV does not protect your sensibilities it shows the accident in FULL!

Thai’s Learning How to Drive in Thailand.

Thais learning how to drive in Thailand is a very simple process with little or no instruction given to them. There is no learner process or any driving schools that I have seen. It requires an applicant go to the Thai motor registry and with an application form, a medical health report from the local hospital. There is a fee so a driver needs to pay a minimal fee. The person at the counter takes the forms and payment first then sends you to do a few basic skills tests and eye test.

The next part is an educational video that takes an hour I’m told telling the new drivers the road rules. Once this is done you are given your driving license. No lessons, no test I’m aware of but I could be wrong. It wasn’t something I experienced anyway.

Expats Getting a Thai License in Thailand.

Expats go through some of the process as Thai’s in getting a Thai drivers license. They generally didn’t have to watch the one hour instructional video as they presumed they didn’t speak Thai. It took me 30 minutes from start to finish, but you could have a very different experience depending on current requirements. Expats have some additional requirements to attain a Thai drivers license. You must have a Non Immigration, or retirement visa holder. A tourist you should have an international license obtained in your country to rent a car or bike in Thailand.

Thai Driving is Dangerous.

Thai’s need to learn how to drive in Thailand and there needs to be some sort of learning process to reduce the currently excessive death on the roads. So many lives could be saved if they chose todo this. The Thai concept of understanding road rules is complete ignorance it seems. Watching the driving certainly shows what I would say is a very limited understanding. There is very little regard for many of the basic international rules we follow in Australia, USA and Europe.

The basics road rules such as respecting broken, solid and double solid lines is foreign to Thai people. They do not seem to know what they are or why they are there. This lack of understanding leads them to overtake cars, trucks anywhere! No matter if there is a straight road, slight curve with visibility blocked by trees or a blind hill they will overtake without regard for any safety.

It is also extremely common in the country to have cars come roaring past you even though there is a car coming the other way. Lights get flashed, but inevitably everybody makes enough room and there is no crash. There are plenty of times when it does result in fatal crashes though.

Look out for Bikes and Side Roads!

Traffic entering from side roads is another cause for great concern. There are many accidents caused when cars and bikes enter the main road without making any attempt to look for other traffic. Personally I see bikes primarily, but sometimes cars just pulling out in front of other cars when entering a road. There is no effort to look anywhere other than where they wish to go. I see it daily.

An incident in my own village had a man pull out from a side street in front of a very fast motorbike. The impact was deadly for the bile rider and the driver was left with enormous costs to the dead riders family, repair of the car and serious emotional trauma. If you choose to ride or drive in Thailand you must look to the side roads as well as dirt roads from the millions of rice paddies around Thailand.

Even More Traffic Now!

With the advent of delivery services both private and commercial there are a lot of delivery vans and pickups racing to make every baht they can without regard for road rules or your safety. These trucks, vans, utility’s and motorbikes have increased the demands on the roads and the driving skills of everyone. I know we all complain about taxi drivers driving like they own the road. Its possible these guys are even much worse! With the incentive of TIME IS MONEY, they are delivering as fast as they can to complete their rounds. They overtake and are sometimes a bit aggressive when held up by slow traffic.

Bangkok & Cities when Driving.

Driving in Bangkok and other cities can be quite frustrating for everyone. It’s often very busy and quite congested. The back streets and even the more major roads are filling with ever increasing traffic. Thai drivers have very little lane sense and wander from lane to lane to weave through the traffic. This is sometimes quite aggressive so its good not to stay in the right lane and use the middle or left lane. Thai drivers change lanes often without any notice or indication so you must be on your own guard and keep checking mirrors for possible problems. It seems they drive in a “me only bubble” where they don’t have to follow any road rules but other should.

Speed Is Important to Thai’s.

Speed is important to Thai drivers, and regardless of speed restrictions, they will often drive well over any speed limit without regard for others. We see lots of examples of erratic driving in the Thai news showing actual crashes. It’s so common it does not seem to raise an eyebrow. Its always worth being careful when approaching lights that have just gone green for you because often there will be drivers cutting the red lights to sneak out. For people that are normally so relaxed and laid back I don’t know why they change once in a car. The message remains the same, expect the unexpected because often its the norm.

Motorbikes in Thailand.

Riding a motorbike in Thailand is very popular especially with tourists wanting to explore the area on their own. It’s a great way to get around cheaply if done with some caution. You can find car and motorbike rentals especially in Phuket, Pattaya and Koh Samui to name a few. Riding bikes requires you be even more diligent. Ensuring you wear appropriate attire as well as a helmet for you and any passengers. Thai people seem reluctant to use helmets in the country but in the city its more accepted. There are laws stating everyone should wear a helmet but its just ignored by so many.

Riding a motor bike can be fantastic way to see Thailand’s country side and sites away from the main tourist areas. I recommend it so you can experience more of the Thai countryside nd people. It’s a beautiful country and as always the smiles of Thai people meet you everywhere you go. The people who are friendly and welcoming.

WARNING: If your going to rent a bike be aware that the most tourists killed in Thailand every year are in motorbike and car accidents. There are about Eighty TOURISTS killed every year and 166 Injured.

A lot of the time deaths are from motor vehicle accidents where alcohol is a primary factor. Driving drunk after a night at the bar and deciding to go get some snacks or food ends in tragedy to often. There are a lot of accidents where the inconvenience of personal injuries and damaged bikes ruined a great Thailand experience. Tourists often ride in minimal clothes or swim ware as well as no helmet. Yes you can get away with it but when a car collides with you , you want every bit of protection you can.

Bike Lanes are for Motor Bikes TOO!

Thailand has two very separate places for cars and bikes on all its roads. This may not actually be in law, but this is how Thai’s operate, so understand and remain left of the line on a bike. What most westerner’s look at as a push bike lane is actually for motorbikes in Thailand as well. If you stay in the bike lane the chances of being run over is a lot lower I believe. Stay in these lanes as much as possible and I believe you could be a lot safer. There are never one hundred percent guarantees, but its the way Thai people treat bikes as separate entities here so will make life easier understanding this use of the road.

Slow Vehicles You May Encounter.

Venturing out in the country side there are some additional risks knowing how to drive in Thailand with farm vehicles bound to appear from anywhere depending on the time of year. There are small pump motor trucks called “Lot Itan” that plod around the country roads as well as trucks transporting rice headers and excavators. A lot of trucks are present in some areas to contend with. There is a massive four lane highway being built from Laos to Thailand which passes only 1k from me and the trucks feeding soil to this monster are incredibly busy. Hence the surrounding roads are also incredibly busy. There are other vehicles that ill picture below that you need to be looking for. Nothing worse than coming around a corner at 80 to 100K to find a slow moving farm vehicles in front of you with no where to go!

Alcohol Drunk Driving Culture.

Thailand is terrible for drink driving and riding. This can be seen at anytime of the day when your driving on country roads especially. Driving at 7am in the morning you can come across cars and bikes weaving down the road, struggling to stay straight doing 40kph. You need to understand the risks especially on country roads. Thai people generally will have a drink anytime of the day if offered to them. Its rude not to when offered and most will just accept it.

Friends and family can turn up to your home unannounced at breakfast time or any other time. It’s more common at particular times like Thai new year in April for this to happen. It’s expected you will feed them and offer the popular clear spirit called “Lao Kao” or beer with a meal. Your visitors will drink and have a fun with you for hours then jump into their cars with the whole family and drive home without a second thought. There needs to be a lot of government intervention and education but Thailand has higher priorities on the funds so I don’t expect anything to change.

Policing the Roads.

Thailand’s police force are quite visible in major cities like Bangkok, Chiang Mai as well as tourist areas like Pattaya, Phuket and Ko Samui. They have police posts on major corners and intersections and are quite visible. They can be seen on motorbikes at busy times at known trouble spots and often walking on and near the road with ticket books at the ready pulling over those without helmets or expired registrations.

In the country you can drive past police stations at a lot of smaller villages but never see a police patrol on country roads. It is probably down to lack of finances limiting road patrols. Driving around Chiang Rai where I live, I see a police car on the road about once every two months that is probably going to some incident either private or car accident. It seems they are more a reactive force going to reported incidents and accidents.

STAYING ALIVE and Learning How to Drive In Thailand.

Lets look at the major things you can do to remain safe on holiday! These are pretty common sense and I know as you do some will just get ignored after you have been out partying and you have keys in your pocket.

• Don’t Drive Drunk! (Please don’t!)
• Don’t Speed: Country Roads especially – Speed Kills Even More Here.
• Get a Taxi When your out Partying. They are so cheap!
• Wear a helmet when riding a motorbike.
• Look at your mirrors constantly for cars in side roads & lanes.
• Look down side roads and farm rice paddies for small dirt roads and motorbikes.
• Keep to the left on multiple lane highways. Let the racing trucks and vans past.
• Look both ways even when the traffic lights turn GREEN. People jump lights regularly.
• Riding Motorbikes, Use the side lane and not the main road. Unless your traveling as fast as the cars.

Author:

Brendon McAliece is an expatriate Australian who has visited and lived in Thailand for nearly 40 years. He lives with his Thai wife, speaks fluent Thai and loves life.

Other Thailand Posts:

• How to Survive a Hospital Stay in Thailand.
• How to Order Food Like a Native Speaker.
• How to Cook Thai Fried Rice and Make it Spectacular.
• Thailand Village Life – Expats Point of View.
• Expat Life in Thailand – Religion in Daily Life.
• How to get a Spouse Visa – Stay in Thailand.
• Thai Expat Guide to Culture and Daily Life.
• Thai Language Beginners Guide.
• Women in Thailand – What Are they Really Like.
• Thailand Life – Will You Go Crazy in the Village?
• Is Thailand Safe – Guide for Tourists.
• Thailand Land of Smiles!