Driving in Udon Thani
Traffic drives on the left side of the road - just like the UK, which is a bonus for us ex-Brits as we don't get confused at crossroads and the odd roundabout (there are not many roundabouts in Thailand). There is a road tax charge and MOT certificates are required (after 5 years) and the police may fine you if they find the tread on the tires is too low or they identify any other item that they deem as unworthy to be on the road at any time. It is very much at the individuals discretion it would seem. There are also many people driving around that do not have a driving license for the vehicle they are using, and you will see police checkpoints at random location to try and catch these people out.
There are written traffic laws and regulations but I confess I have not read them in full yet as they are only produced in Thai. It is possible to obtain a vastly condensed version in English which basically cover most of the essentials, which are mostly common-sense anyway.
Overtaking is typically done on both sides, this applies to cars as well as the mopeds and is hardly surprising that many accidents occur. What I fear most however, as a ferang is, if I have an accident the chances are I will be at fault by default, as I am likely to have the money available to pay a fine and or costs of repairs etc.
Read more about the car driving test in Thailand.
There are written traffic laws and regulations but I confess I have not read them in full yet as they are only produced in Thai. It is possible to obtain a vastly condensed version in English which basically cover most of the essentials, which are mostly common-sense anyway.
Overtaking is typically done on both sides, this applies to cars as well as the mopeds and is hardly surprising that many accidents occur. What I fear most however, as a ferang is, if I have an accident the chances are I will be at fault by default, as I am likely to have the money available to pay a fine and or costs of repairs etc.
Read more about the car driving test in Thailand.
Cars & Motorcycles (mopeds)
Motorbikes, or rather mopeds to be more accurate (most are 50cc up to about 125cc), is the favoured mode of transport as it is the cheapest by a long, long way. VAT on a car is a staggering 200%, even a 2nd hand car of 3 years old will set you back in excess of £12,000 (600,000+ baht)! However the gasoline is cheaper than most European countries, currently 43 baht a litre but it has been rising in the last 2 years, it was 35 baht a litre when I first came 3 years ago.
The image on the left - okay, I have not seen that many people on a bike yet but I have seen 5 (once), seeing 3 or even 4 to a bike is not that uncommon though.
The picture to the left is a typical family outing somewhere.
The image on the left - okay, I have not seen that many people on a bike yet but I have seen 5 (once), seeing 3 or even 4 to a bike is not that uncommon though.
The picture to the left is a typical family outing somewhere.
From what I understand car and bike tests do not actually take place on public roads and I have never seen a car with an "L" plate on it to date, nor any indication of a "driving school" vehicle anywhere. I have no idea of what the standard is to pass the driving test but I guess it must be reasonably low compared to the UK as they do not need to demonstrate their capability in real traffic situations. That may explain why so many people drive so slowly, they are not confident enough to open it up and drive at 50 or 60km/hr.
The police love motorcyclists though and you will see police checkpoints in Udon Thani, popping up on most busy roads. If you ride motorbikes in Udon Thani, you must wear a crash helmet and that is fair enough, however so many people do not. The action taken - 200 baht fine and sent on your way and that's it! A simple on the spot fine that does not do anything to solve the problem. It is of course ridiculous as a crash helmet can be bought for as little as maybe 300 baht so there is no real excuse on the part of the individual to not buy one. Many Thai's do not hold a driving license for their mopeds and the police are out most weekdays to catch them and rake in the fine money too!
Traffic lights are great when they turn red and one by one the motorbikes, like ants, weave in and out of the cars to get to the front of the queue, then as the lights are about to turn green, they are off and it is like something from the old Wacky Races cartoon. The jumping of red lights is quite common, just as it is in the UK and quite a few accidents occur as they do at another location just the UK - car parks! People just do not seem to pay any attention to what they are doing as they are either talking to someone else in the car or using their mobile phone. I have witnessed many near misses in car parks all round Udon Thani and it is always the car pulling out of the parking space at fault.
The police love motorcyclists though and you will see police checkpoints in Udon Thani, popping up on most busy roads. If you ride motorbikes in Udon Thani, you must wear a crash helmet and that is fair enough, however so many people do not. The action taken - 200 baht fine and sent on your way and that's it! A simple on the spot fine that does not do anything to solve the problem. It is of course ridiculous as a crash helmet can be bought for as little as maybe 300 baht so there is no real excuse on the part of the individual to not buy one. Many Thai's do not hold a driving license for their mopeds and the police are out most weekdays to catch them and rake in the fine money too!
Traffic lights are great when they turn red and one by one the motorbikes, like ants, weave in and out of the cars to get to the front of the queue, then as the lights are about to turn green, they are off and it is like something from the old Wacky Races cartoon. The jumping of red lights is quite common, just as it is in the UK and quite a few accidents occur as they do at another location just the UK - car parks! People just do not seem to pay any attention to what they are doing as they are either talking to someone else in the car or using their mobile phone. I have witnessed many near misses in car parks all round Udon Thani and it is always the car pulling out of the parking space at fault.
Tuk Tuk's
In addition to bikes and cars on the road you will find plenty of Tuk Tuks in Udon Thani. Miniature and slow, but convenient taxi's. Many of them are pretty old but there are newer and larger model popping up sometimes but at a cost of 70,000 baht not too many Thai's have the money to invest in one of the modern types.
If you need one, flag one down or in many cases if they see a ferang walking they will automatically slow down and look in the hope to catch your attention and hopefully a fare - which they are likely to overcharge you, so make sure you haggle a better price than they are asking.
If you need one, flag one down or in many cases if they see a ferang walking they will automatically slow down and look in the hope to catch your attention and hopefully a fare - which they are likely to overcharge you, so make sure you haggle a better price than they are asking.
Trucks
You will see plenty of trucks on the road carrying produce, livestock, furniture, people etc and many of these look like they have seen much better days. Again there are some more modern trucks in existence but it's all about cost and unless a business absolutely must buy a new truck they simply will not do it. 4x4 trucks are very popular though as they are cheaper than a 20 tonne vehicle and these small "trucks" are used to move more than you can imagine.
The art of loading a truck so it is what we might call safe has not arrived yet, as demonstrated in the image to the right, although the ingenuity cannot be underestimated.
The art of loading a truck so it is what we might call safe has not arrived yet, as demonstrated in the image to the right, although the ingenuity cannot be underestimated.
Bigger Trucks
There are of course much larger trucks around and you will dozens of them but they all appear to be very old and probably would struggle to be permitted to go on roads in a western European country. I have seen one or two clean, shiny and new truck models on the Udon Thani ring road but they really are in the minority.
These old 'bangers' are really slow, dangerously slow in my humble opinion as the only real option if you get behind one, is to get passed it as quickly as possible.
These old 'bangers' are really slow, dangerously slow in my humble opinion as the only real option if you get behind one, is to get passed it as quickly as possible.
Bike use in Udon Thani
Here are some amusing and somewhat dangerous examples of how Thai mopeds are used.