Dear Sir
I am writing in response to the letter you printed last week from Clembo regarding the view that he was taking regarding the driving habits here in Thailand.
I have to say that I whole heartedly agree with Clembo’s view on this subject. As a retired Advanced Driving Instructor from the UK I can only state that in my personal opinion the standard of driving here in Thailand is in general abysmal. This opinion is not reserved just for the Thais, but also to quite a large number of Farang, who appear to have totally disregarded their knowledge of the highway code, and adopted the Thai Mai Pen Rai version (in other words I will do what I like).
Clembo mentioned in particular the large number of people riding motorbikes without helmets. The other evening my wife (a Thai) and I sat in a Darkside restaurant, and counted the number of bikes whose riders were bare headed. In the space of 5 minutes this totalled 48 bikes carrying 59 people.
The other day I also followed a young boy on his motorcycle, he was so small that he could not reach the floor when he stopped but had to jump off the seat. Hence No License, No Insurance, so what happens when he has an accident?
Red Lights are optional, pavements are to be ridden on, one way streets do not exist. The list is almost endless, and there seems to be a reluctance by the police to enforce the law fully and fairly.
I do enjoy living here in Thailand and any measures which would make the roads safer for all would be a major step in the right direction.
Yours Sincerely
Dale
