Keep your lane

[Jerry]

I understand that in the US, there's this "keep your lane" rule, whereas here in Europe we have a "stay to the right" system. I've always thought the "keep your lane" method looks messy and chaotic and is bound to cause more accidents due to the various speed differences between lanes. In Europe, the further you go to the left, the higher the speed is of the vehicles in that lane. Of course this causes more traffic to weave in and out, but whenever I watch videos of motovloggers it just kind of scares me when I see a big ass truck driving in the 3rd lane of a 4 lane road and the motorcyclist passing the truck on the right side while there's vehicles to the right of the motorcyclist as well. How do people deal with this sort of stuff? Is it more dangerous or is it just me because I'm so used to overtaking on the right being illegal here?

 

[Thomas]

I understand that in the US, there's this "keep your lane" rule, whereas here in Europe we have a "stay to the right" system. I've always thought the "keep your lane" method looks messy and chaotic and is bound to cause more accidents due to the various speed differences between lanes. In Europe, the further you go to the left, the higher the speed is of the vehicles in that lane. Of course this causes more traffic to weave in and out, but whenever I watch videos of motovloggers it just kind of scares me when I see a big ass truck driving in the 3rd lane of a 4 lane road and the motorcyclist passing the truck on the right side while there's vehicles to the right of the motorcyclist as well. How do people deal with this sort of stuff? Is it more dangerous or is it just me because I'm so used to overtaking on the right being illegal here?

If only all people would follow that rule.
The most annoying thing on this planet are the people passing someone on the middle lane doing 130 km/h while they are driving 131 km/h on the left lane. With dual lanes it´s even worse because then there are my beloved elephant races (truck vs. truck - also with 1 km/h difference)

 

[h0ck3y]

I loved driving in Germany for the fact that everyone followed proper driving etiquette -- drive on the right, pass on the left. I also like the fact that on some highways in Germany there are electronic signs that forced trucks to stay in specific lanes during certain times of the day (i.e. rush hour).

 

[baugustine]

Just to clarify: you are supposed to stay in the far right lanes unless you are passing. No cops actually enforce it, mostly because they would never be able to deal with the abysmal driver training (re: none) that most people received when they were 16. The net effect is pin heads doing 60 mph in the far left lane when the speed limit is 70, causing massive backups and forcing us to pass them on the right as we salute them for their incompetence.

They are starting to limit trucks to the far right lanes on some more congested roads, which helps a bit. Also, we now have the stupid HOV lanes where the dorks in their Prius’ think its a special lane for them to hyper-mile. Social engineering at its worst.

 

[Road Hog]

It's great driving in thailand,i think we drive on the left side,can't be sure at times.Now passing is different than most countries.
If you can't pass on the right,than pass on the left it's up to you, as no one enforce's it.Speed helps you get out of most dangerous
situations as does a loud horn.If i go back to australia on a holiday and drive like i drive here i would be in a world of hurt.

 

[Road Hog]

You really need eyes in the back of your head driving over here!

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topi...80205-1225&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

 

[Thomas]

You really need eyes in the back of your head driving over here!

https://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topi...80205-1225&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news

And that´s why you wear a helmet (one that doesn´t fly off in the best case) and proper gear. Won´t prevent that sh*t but helps to reduce the harm.

And what´s up with all the people there? Oh, she got wrecked, let´s just keep filming and watch...... Oh, her face is llying on the tarmac, just keep filming.
I hope denial of assistance (in an emergency) is a crime in Thailand, too.

 

[Road Hog]

A lot of people over here put the helmet on but fail to do up the chin strap.What's the point?
I too have been in a accident a few years ago and no one helped me either.Lucky for me i wasn't
too badly hurt but it would have been nice if someone could have got the bike off of me.

 

[Jerry]

Just to clarify: you are supposed to stay in the far right lanes unless you are passing.

Oh really? I thought the rule was to stay in the lane you're driving in. Guess that says enough about how badly people over there stick to the keep right rules.

 

[Jerry]

A lot of people over here put the helmet on but fail to do up the chin strap.What's the point?
I too have been in a accident a few years ago and no one helped me either.Lucky for me i wasn't
too badly hurt but it would have been nice if someone could have got the bike off of me.

I've only been witness of a (minor) traffic incident once, where me and my brother were waiting to cross the road on our bicycles and this girl stopped next to me with her scooter. I think she fumbled with her clutch or something because suddenly the scooter jerked forward about half a meter and the oncoming car couldn't stop in time and hit her front wheel throwing her off the scooter. Of course assistance was given immediately. Funnily enough, the first thing she asked us was to take her packet of cigarettes and get rid of it, because she was afraid her parents would find out Turned out she had a broken leg, which is pretty nasty but she could've ended up a lot worse.

 

[Thomas]

A lot of people over here put the helmet on but fail to do up the chin strap.What's the point?
I too have been in a accident a few years ago and no one helped me either.Lucky for me i wasn't
too badly hurt but it would have been nice if someone could have got the bike off of me.

Yeah. First check the condition of the person (decide if you need to call the ambulance or whatever) and try to help.

If there´s already someone caring about the person / and or calling the ambulance, please, for the love of god, go and check the bike!
This is one thing that really annoys me. Instead of 100 people standing around the person just look for the bike. If it´s running, turn it off, check for leaking liquids, pick it off the ground.
If it´s an accident with more stuff involved get a picture first of course.

 

[Somchai]

You really need eyes in the back of your head driving over here!

Europe and north America are not too far apart as far as traffic behavior is concerned (I travelled extensively with private vehicles all over both continents).
The countries in Asia I've visited (India and Thailand) are almost a different planet in that respect.
The mindset/culture in these Asian countries is so different. Lives seem not to matter that much.
There are a lot of rules, but almost no enforcement.

 

[Road Hog]

Another thing Thomas,many of my friends that live here in thailand who stopped at a traffic accident to help, end up
being blamed for the accident,paying out heaps of money to the family's of the injured and all they did was
to stop and help. This is real sad.

 

[Somchai]

Another thing Thomas,many of my friends that live here in thailand who stopped at a traffic accident to help, end up
being blamed for the accident,paying out heaps of money to the family's of the injured and all they did was
to stop and help. This is real sad.

Yes, unfortunately that happens here. Hit and run is very common because of that.
Thailand truly broadens your mind.
Another particular thing here are the defamation laws. Even if you are 100 % right, you cannot blame anyone, because causing "loss of face" is a more severe crime than any other.