App Launched To Reduce Brit Road Accidents While Travelling In Thailand

[Payboy]

Wouldn't it be easier to just stay away from all vehicles with signs like Baby On Board, rescue, etc.

[laobali]

Issuing British tourists with a Buddha amulet to wear while on the road in Thailand would probably be as much use as a phone app.

[roiethome]

I am sure this will generate many responses, but lets not get carried away with bringing Thailand up to "western' standards.

I am very happy with the no points system here for infringements, travelling up country I can save several hours by travelling around 160KPH and well worth paying the police a hundred or so baht three or four times each trip. God forbid they ever allow police to impound vehicles.

A lot of ex pats came to Thailand to get away from over zealous legislators in Europe.

Having driven for seventeen years in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and other countries without an accident, I for one don't want to see more legislation.

Perhaps we should insist that tourists are not allowed self drive when hire of car and driver is so cheap.

[keithet]

There was a article about vehicle deaths... Moter bike vs. car, bus, etc...

One person mentioned that the numbers that they came up with was death on scene... Or found by police... not included died later in the hospital.

I think the number in this article 9205 seems low for what I have seen on the streets here. I wonder if it is actualy more if you add died later in the hospital.

[trevoromgh]

The original article said "In Thailand - a country with 50,000 British residents and more than 870,000 British visitors every year - there were 68,852 road traffic incidents, resulting in 9,205 deaths involving both Thai residents and tourists in 2011" but it didn't say how many incidents involved British drivers so why do they think we Brits are more risky than other nationalities then?

It isn't an app anyway it is a webpage with links and not much road safety info but general hints and tips.

Edited March 26, 2013 by trevoromgh

[Chao Lao Beach]

"such as Thailand, Australia and Spain"

Australia <deleted>?

Thailand, hub of safe roads

[lineofentry]

Farang Talk. You need to go and live in a western computer controlled police state. Bye.

[Briandajew]

We all know that Thai driving standards are very poor but to get them changed will not be done overnight (if ever).

For the non-Thais driving here now, their driving, using the same driving style as at home can be positively dangerous to themselves. In order to survive without an accident you need to change your driving style.

A couple of basic points, first assume that every other driver is an idiot about to do something stupid, it's surprising how many times the other driver confirms that assumption. Also at traffic lights never think that because you have a green light that it's necessarily safe. This applies especially if you are first in line when the lights go from red to green.

Waking up in hospital, or worse in front of the pearly gates, and claiming 'but I was in the right' is probably not worth it. Change your style and be more alert.

Good point above about headlight flash, yes it means 'I'm coming through'. Two flashes mean 'I'm definitely coming through' and three flashes mean 'didn't you see my other flashes'.

Back in the UK in the late 1970's when I passed my test, there was the same theory that you needed to "Treat every other driver like an idiot" after a few years this was frowned upon by driving instructors and the cops as it formulated the impression that everyone else on the road was an <deleted> except for yourself, which led to people thinking they were smarter than all of the other road users, and ended up causing bad driving. Instead, after a few years they began to teach drivers to drive defensively and just be cautious, sort of expect the unexpected. I still think that holds water today, despite the Thais driving like idiots!

[Briandajew]

I am in the process of writing an app for foreign drivers in Thailand that will help them through the song Krahn festival - It flashes up on your mobile "STAY AT HOME- LEAVE THE CAR AND BIKE AT HOME"

[JetsetBkk]

Just treat every other other driver as a drunken moron out to kill you and you'll get by - no need for a frigging "app".

[Briandajew]

The original article said "In Thailand - a country with 50,000 British residents and more than 870,000 British visitors every year - there were 68,852 road traffic incidents, resulting in 9,205 deaths involving both Thai residents and tourists in 2011" but it didn't say how many incidents involved British drivers so why do they think we Brits are more risky than other nationalities then?

I would almost offer a hundred quid that you can spot the Brit driver when you are on the roads here - The Brit stops when the lights are red, the Brit will pull back into the left lane after overtaking, the Brit will not sit in the right hand lane doing 30 KMH, the Brit will give way to traffic from the right, give way to pedestrians and cyclists, will not honk the horn or flash the lights 1 yard from the arse end of the car in front at 120 KMH, will not use STUPID anal road signals like putting the hazard lights on when going straight on across a junction, will not flash left then right flashers to indicate they are going straight on, will not indicate left to show that they are simply slipping around someone turning right, will not sit at a traffic light that has turned green for half an hour, will not undercut from the inside where queues are waiting at lights, and basically will not behave like a complete <deleted> that thinks he has more rights than anyone else on the road.....on the other hand Thai drivers will...........cough! It is called LEARNING TO DRIVE! YOU HAVE TO PASS A TEST!

[jamhar]

"App Launched To Reduce Brit Road Accidents While Travelling In Thailand"

So how are you going to get the Thai public to use this app?

Cause from what i've seen on my limited time on TV,

It aint the brits fault most of the time.

On a more serious note

if it saves one brits life

i'm all for it.

just my 2 cents

[laobali]

I am in the process of writing an app for foreign drivers in Thailand that will help them through the song Krahn festival - It flashes up on your mobile "STAY AT HOME- LEAVE THE CAR AND BIKE AT HOME"

Get it translated into Thai and it would do a lot more good – except for the bus and minibus drivers.

[LucidLucifer]

I am sure this will generate many responses, but lets not get carried away with bringing Thailand up to "western' standards.

I am very happy with the no points system here for infringements, travelling up country I can save several hours by travelling around 160KPH and well worth paying the police a hundred or so baht three or four times each trip.

A perfect example of the completely reckless, totally selfish, and utterly irresponsible behaviour Thailand needs to stamp out.

[hellodolly]

This article is convoluted. Is it talking about educating Brits on how to drive? Why not bring Thailand up to global standards. The Wai may be heralded and seen in public but put a Thai behind the wheel of any vehicle and look at the Jekyll and Hyde scenario happen. The statistics are staggering by why not report the numbers for 2012 or in fact, shows meaningful stats like how many involved tourists?

You will find a surprisingly high number involving tourists. Part of the reason is they are not the brightest lot in the world.

They come to a country they have never been to and promptly rent a motor bike they have never ridden before in their life.

Then they assume the driving laws are the same as where they come from and do not even take the time to notice that the Thais are a different breed of driver than where they comer from.

A sure fire recipe for disaster.

I hope the Brit App included the advice to study the way the locals drive and make sure you can ride a motorbike.

[mok199]

ha ha ha i feel safer already.....

[carib102]

Stop renting motocy to tourists. Problem 90% solved.

[JetsetBkk]

The original article said "In Thailand - a country with 50,000 British residents and more than 870,000 British visitors every year - there were 68,852 road traffic incidents, resulting in 9,205 deaths involving both Thai residents and tourists in 2011" but it didn't say how many incidents involved British drivers so why do they think we Brits are more risky than other nationalities then?

I would almost offer a hundred quid that you can spot the Brit driver when you are on the roads here - The Brit stops when the lights are red, the Brit will pull back into the left lane after overtaking, the Brit will not sit in the right hand lane doing 30 KMH, the Brit will give way to traffic from the right, give way to pedestrians and cyclists, will not honk the horn or flash the lights 1 yard from the arse end of the car in front at 120 KMH, will not use STUPID anal road signals like putting the hazard lights on when going straight on across a junction, will not flash left then right flashers to indicate they are going straight on, will not indicate left to show that they are simply slipping around someone turning right, will not sit at a traffic light that has turned green for half an hour, will not undercut from the inside where queues are waiting at lights, and basically will not behave like a complete <deleted> that thinks he has more rights than anyone else on the road.....on the other hand Thai drivers will...........cough! It is called LEARNING TO DRIVE! YOU HAVE TO PASS A TEST!

8 out of 10 for the rant. However,

- flashing indicators once left and then constantly right means: do not pass me on the left side as the reason I am indicating right is that I am avoiding something on the left and am passing it on its right side.

- flashing indicators once right and then constantly left means: do not pass me one the right as the reason I am indicating left is that I am avoiding something in the road and I am passing it on its left side.

You can, of course, interpret these your own way and smash into whatever the thoughtful driver ahead of you is trying to get you to avoid.

[grantbkk]

Wow! Now the Brits can't complain that the embassy is totally useless.

If the App saves anyone it's well worth the time and effort. However, no amount of defensive driving can protect you from an unlicensed, drunk, enraged, mobile phone using, privileged and/or entitled Thai driver who needs to get somewhere.

It is their country and as guests we should be aware of the local customs and dangers. No amount of ranting on Thai Visa will get the locals and some of the foreigners to drive better.

[Thaifever]

I love some of the comments here, "Why not bring Thailand up to global standards." "Be nice if the road repair signs were also in english, the world language, that's a start."

Well, why not take a holiday where you feel "safe" instead of whining about how to tame the place. If you've spent some time there, it doesn't take much to realize that Thailand ain't gonna change any time soon fellas. Things could be a lot worse there and people would still flock in droves for the beautiful beaches, cheap shopping, fun in sun, and beautiful girls. When traveling in Thailand, avoid the vans, take the buses like the locals. At least then you can relax a bit, I refuse to take any of the white knuckle rides. Also, look up a company called "Nakhon Chai Air". They are like an airline for buses and have hottie stewardesses to boot.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Thaifever

[cheesyd]

Since when has a website, in this case, www.fcowidget.com been an 'App'? Few potential tourists are going to look at yet another govt website before travelling. But at least the UK govt covers itself. Can tell people who had accidents "Well we did warn you." - which is the main purpose of the site.

[Buckaroo]

The original article said "In Thailand - a country with 50,000 British residents and more than 870,000 British visitors every year - there were 68,852 road traffic incidents, resulting in 9,205 deaths involving both Thai residents and tourists in 2011" but it didn't say how many incidents involved British drivers so why do they think we Brits are more risky than other nationalities then?

It isn't an app anyway it is a webpage with links and not much road safety info but general hints and tips.

It never said that Brits were more risky than other nationalities, it's advice given to Brits when travelling to other countries. Maybe if other agencies from other countries did the same there would be less than the quoted figure of deaths involving both Thai and tourists.

[ikbenhet]

Very good rules we miss in Thailand according the UK site

Many countries in Europe have unusual road laws which Britons may be unaware of.

These include:

:: France - drivers are required to carry a breathalyser

:: Belarus - it is illegal to drive a dirty car

:: Serbia - drivers must have a tow bar and 3m of rope in their vehicle

:: Spain - if you wear glasses, you are required to carry an additional pair when driving

These kind of things we really don't need in Thailand. I like it the way it is.

[spectre324]

This article is convoluted. Is it talking about educating Brits on how to drive? Why not bring Thailand up to global standards. The Wai may be heralded and seen in public but put a Thai behind the wheel of any vehicle and look at the Jekyll and Hyde scenario happen. The statistics are staggering by why not report the numbers for 2012 or in fact, shows meaningful stats like how many involved tourists?

The main issue is Thai driver manners and arrogance IMO. With no way to address this nor the ability to administer severe and enforceable punishments a solution is impossible.

They are deficient on the roads in so many areas that they need a panel to get together and start to piece together a workable for the longer term. Unfortunately the buffoons only seem to have hair-brained schemes to paper over the cracks and ensure the status quo of bribery in lieu of punishment is maintained. If we had efficient enforcement then these suggestions (among others) would help;

• They need a proper training and education system for drivers with minimum amount of practice time in control of a motor vehicle
• The driving tests need to be improved especially the practical element with the introduction of one-on-one examinations and assessments
• A points system needs to be brought into effect ensuring unsafe drivers are taken off the roads and there is more driver responsibility
• A plate system needs to be brought into effect. L plates for learners and P plates for new drivers. They need to display them at all times for a set period of time.
• More rigorous vehicle checks including an MOT type system for older vehicles.
• The Police need more sophisticated technology to track vehicles and licenses.
• Advertising revenues for safer driving and antisocial road behaviour need to be increased.
• Instant bans for drunk drivers.
• Vehicle seizure and impound for offenders.
• Pedestrians must be considered at all times. Failures to stop at road-crossings or for pedestrians should be punished severely.
• Budgets increased for road infrastructure and better public transport options.

There's a few to get us going, not really difficult to make a difference if they really wanted to.

IN YOUR DREAMS! NONE OF THESE THINGS WILL HAPPEN.

[thomash]

The #1 advice they neeed to give those Brits is not to drink and drive!

[Briandajew]

The original article said "In Thailand - a country with 50,000 British residents and more than 870,000 British visitors every year - there were 68,852 road traffic incidents, resulting in 9,205 deaths involving both Thai residents and tourists in 2011" but it didn't say how many incidents involved British drivers so why do they think we Brits are more risky than other nationalities then?

I would almost offer a hundred quid that you can spot the Brit driver when you are on the roads here - The Brit stops when the lights are red, the Brit will pull back into the left lane after overtaking, the Brit will not sit in the right hand lane doing 30 KMH, the Brit will give way to traffic from the right, give way to pedestrians and cyclists, will not honk the horn or flash the lights 1 yard from the arse end of the car in front at 120 KMH, will not use STUPID anal road signals like putting the hazard lights on when going straight on across a junction, will not flash left then right flashers to indicate they are going straight on, will not indicate left to show that they are simply slipping around someone turning right, will not sit at a traffic light that has turned green for half an hour, will not undercut from the inside where queues are waiting at lights, and basically will not behave like a complete <deleted> that thinks he has more rights than anyone else on the road.....on the other hand Thai drivers will...........cough! It is called LEARNING TO DRIVE! YOU HAVE TO PASS A TEST!

8 out of 10 for the rant. However,

- flashing indicators once left and then constantly right means: do not pass me on the left side as the reason I am indicating right is that I am avoiding something on the left and am passing it on its right side.

- flashing indicators once right and then constantly left means: do not pass me one the right as the reason I am indicating left is that I am avoiding something in the road and I am passing it on its left side.

You can, of course, interpret these your own way and smash into whatever the thoughtful driver ahead of you is trying to get you to avoid.

Thanks for the info! I've been driving here for over ten years, and never have I once seen flash left constant right, or a flash left constant right, usually it just means the XXXXwit forgot to turn the switch off... "The Thoughtfull driver" - Have you ever been on a road here...there are no thoughtfull drivers, they will pull up to a junction and block anyone trying to turn right or left rather than wait, imagine you are queuing in a lane of traffic wanting to go ahead, the light is red, on your left side there is a junction, there is no way you can move, so, instead of leaving the left junction open for oncoming traffic turning right, you sit there in you SUV blocking any oncoming traffic - They are so stupid that they cannot even see that this just causes more blockage at the lights! - Thoughtfull drivers my ARSE - What spaceship did you just get off!

Can you tell me what flashing constant right means in the fast (Right hand lane) for 10 KM? or flashing constant left for 10KM means? Is this some sort of indication that sometime in their lives they actually intend to make a turn? But we have to guess whether it will be today or tomorrow?

Also, an interpretation of the motorbike signals, where they leave the left indicator on for half an hour after turning out of the Big C car park onto a three lane highway then decide to cross the three lanes to the right to make a U turn? - In fact, is anything you posted in any highway code in any country in the entire world? Or are you just imagining it?

An indicator is an indicator - It isn't a game of guess what the idiot is going to do in the next 10 KM!

You need to get a job writing the Highway Code for Thailand - then we can all understand it!

Edited March 26, 2013 by metisdead

[thomash]

The original article said "In Thailand - a country with 50,000 British residents and more than 870,000 British visitors every year - there were 68,852 road traffic incidents, resulting in 9,205 deaths involving both Thai residents and tourists in 2011" but it didn't say how many incidents involved British drivers so why do they think we Brits are more risky than other nationalities then?

It isn't an app anyway it is a webpage with links and not much road safety info but general hints and tips.

It never said that Brits were more risky than other nationalities, it's advice given to Brits when travelling to other countries. Maybe if other agencies from other countries did the same there would be less than the quoted figure of deaths involving both Thai and tourists.

Actually it says "High numbers of crashes involving British tourists and expats" so it is not really saying they are more risky but that they have lots of accidents which I am willing to bet it connected with drinking and driving as lets face it the Brits drink like crazy!

[skippero]

To me, SPEED, is a huge killer. Don't control that and we don't have a chance. Google auto deaths by country and you will see that Thailand is #5 or 6 in the world and the yearly toll is over 23,000 deaths.

[tigermonkey]

Very good rules we miss in Thailand according the UK site

Many countries in Europe have unusual road laws which Britons may be unaware of.

These include:

:: France - drivers are required to carry a breathalyser

:: Belarus - it is illegal to drive a dirty car

:: Serbia - drivers must have a tow bar and 3m of rope in their vehicle

:: Spain - if you wear glasses, you are required to carry an additional pair when driving

These kind of things we really don't need in Thailand. I like it the way it is.

We don't have "these kind of things" in Thailand, but did you know that it is illegal to drive a car while not wearing a shirt in Thailand ? ... and of course you must be wearing underwear, since it is illegal to go outside your home in Thailand without underwear. I hope that these things are mentioned in the 'app'.

[Briandajew]

I love some of the comments here, "Why not bring Thailand up to global standards." "Be nice if the road repair signs were also in english, the world language, that's a start."

Well, why not take a holiday where you feel "safe" instead of whining about how to tame the place. If you've spent some time there, it doesn't take much to realize that Thailand ain't gonna change any time soon fellas. Things could be a lot worse there and people would still flock in droves for the beautiful beaches, cheap shopping, fun in sun, and beautiful girls. When traveling in Thailand, avoid the vans, take the buses like the locals. At least then you can relax a bit, I refuse to take any of the white knuckle rides. Also, look up a company called "Nakhon Chai Air". They are like an airline for buses and have hottie stewardesses to boot.

It would be nice if once in a while they filled in some of the potholes in the roads, the underpants can get a bit difficult to remove some stains even with "VANISH" if you hit some of the Thai Goldmining prospectors mineshafts at 120! A little unnerving to say the least - Anyone who has the misfortune to drive from Chiang Mai to Bangkok on highway one will understand what I mean - Wher the lorries, cars trucks suddenely pull onto the hard shoulder to avoid the holes, without actually flashing one left and constant right or one right or constant left, or both hazards on together! Despite being so thoughtfull.