Driving in Thailand

Driving in Thailand... Besides the steering wheels being on the wrong side of the car, and you should be driving on the left of the road, there are some other tricks to driving in Thailand. For anyone who may be thinking of visiting, here are some simple "rules" of the road.

1.) Roads are for pedestrians/animals, and anything with wheels.

-Expect to find cars, trucks, buses, taxis, dogs, bicycles, wheelchairs, vendors, elephants, and worst of all, motor scooters on the road. These can be in either lane (see rule #2), going in any direction (see rule #3). Pedestrians are allowed to enter traffic at any time as long as they put their arm out and signal that you are supposed to stop. Dogs they just go and hope the other people on the street stop or only lightly graze them.

2.) Lanes, signs, and signals, are only there as mere suggestions not rules.

-Red lights, stop signs, one way signs, yield signs, no U-turn signs, and lane lines are all optional. While some people think that two lanes means two cars sit next to each other in traffic. Here, people feel there is enough room for two cars, a taxi or Baht Bus (See rule #4), 12 motor scooters, 2 bikes, and a lady driving her flaming grill and selling squid. And if traffic is actually stopped then there are also the random dogs that try to make a run for it and the people walking kindly to your car to sell you stuff so you don't have to get out of the car to shop. What a life saver! If you have a car, those side-view mirrors will be pressed against the car, as they take up room that could be used for another motor scooter.

3.) Any vehicle with wheels will go any direction at any time.

-Most common occurrences involve one way streets. There is an unwritten rule that you are allowed to go backwards on a "one way" if you are only going a little ways (less than 10 km), or it would be more convenient than going around the block. Buses can take up four lanes if they need to turn, and vehicles will turn any direction, from either lane, and so will anyone who realizes they may miss their turn.

4.) Baht buses will take the right of way.

- A Baht bus is a nickname for a taxi consisting of a pickup truck with two benches in the back end. The bus will circle the downtown, and it is 10 baht (about 25 cents) to ride on the bench for as long as you need to get where you are going. If you want them to stop you hit their buzzer and they stop no matter where they are at in the street and you jump off the back.

If pedestrians are in sight, the bus will speed up to them, then slow down and travel next to them, honking to make sure the person on foot knows that they could get ride if they desired. If the person shakes the bus off, they will speed up to the next set of pedestrians or, if a rider wants off, they will stop to collect their money. They do not have mirrors, and will run anything over to get to the next pedestrian.

5.) Parking is allowed anywhere, at any time, as long as you turn on your hazards.

-This includes the fast lane, slow lane, sidewalk, other driveways, facing backwards, or behind other cars in the parking lots. In parking garages, triple or quadruple parking is fine, but you must leave your car in neutral so when the trapped car needs to get out, they can push you someplace else. Also, do not expect your car to be where you left it. Since you need to leave your car in neutral, it will be pushed to whichever corner is most convenient. Imagine Tetrus with cars!

With no speed limits enforced, the traffic can go from 150 km/hr to stopped because someone is buying a flower from the vendor in the middle of the road. Apparently flower vendors have little to live for here. In short, I recommend driving in Thailand, as it will make you appreciate that boring commute to work a little more.