Road Rules

Stepping out onto the airport curb the first things you notice about Thai traffic is that every vehicle is going the opposite direction. Who knew? It only takes a few more seconds to realize that Thai traffic laws are nearly nonexistent. The lines painted on the roads are merely suggestions. When lines indicate that there are two lanes, there are really three, one for fast traffic, one for slow traffic and one for motorbikes. The vehicles pass extremely close to each other and motorbikes are always wizzing in between cars. Motorbikes are everywhere! Technically there is a law that you have to wear a helmet, but you’d never guess by watching the traffic. For motorbikes helmets and shoes seem to be optional. Girls wearing skirts (and aren’t the drivers) have to sit on the back of the bike side-saddle. I’ve done it before on the back of my host father’s motorbike and it is quite scary. Often times I see girls fly by with their heels inches from the ground. I hate to think of what would happen on a sharp turn. Traffic lights also seem to be pretty optional, except in really big intersections. Basically, if a Thai driver sees an opening, he or she will take it, regardless of the color of the light.

It is especially important to look both ways before crossing the street in Thailand, because even if traffic should only be flowing in one direction, I often see some motorbikes and bicyclists going the wrong way on the shoulder. This is usually because they only need to travel a short distance and don’t want to use the designated u-turn area. On all of the main roads around Chiang Mai the two sides of the roads are separated by a medium and you can only make a u-turn at certain places. For example, to get to my friend Mike Lee’s house my host father has to drive a kilometer or two past the actual turn for the neighborhood, use the u-turn and then drive back the 1-2 kilometers. Sometimes it seems inefficient, but I think that having the medium there probably prevents a lot of accidents.

Despite all of the close calls and tight two-way roads (that you thought were one way, but then suddenly see a motorbike zooming the wrong way) I’ve yet to see Thai drivers become affected by road rage. I think that the common goal of Thai culture-social harmony- and the idea of being jai yen has a big effect on traffic. To be jai yen means to be chill, quiet and subtle. These are all traits that Thai people value…much like my brother does. As a result, many Thai people don’t let things get to them. They may be bothered by something, but they wont get too upset about if there is nothing they can do to change the situation (although Thai people are on the whole passive people, they will work to change situations when the time is appropriate and they can do it without anyone losing face). I’ve seen this same attitude applied to traffic. The only times I’ve ever heard my host father honk the horn is when we are going around a sharp corner on a narrow road and he wants cars to know he is coming. I’ve seen the same use of the horn from many song tao drivers as well. I much prefer this helpful use of the horn.