Are Thais bad drivers?
Article published on 18 September 2022
last modification on 22 August 2025

by Pierre

Do Thais drive badly?

In any case, this is my first impression as soon as I arrived in Bangkok.

The contrast with driving in France and Spain is striking:

  • The drive is on the left
  • We see vehicles going in all directions
  • There are hundreds of scooters, which do not seem to respect any rules
  • Pedestrians are vaguely tolerated, they have no priority over cars, on the contrary
  • Cars stop at a red light, but not those turning left
  • There are endless and very complex phases of fire, with many lanes crossing, and during this time, scooters cross a little in all directions
  • All vehicles, scooters, taxis, tuktuks, etc., start when they want and start from their parking space without taking care of those who arrive

Yes BUT: Since I’ve been in Bangkok (15 days), I haven’t seen any bumps, no accidents. It sometimes goes very well, but it almost always happens.

So I changed my first impression and I now think Thais are exceptional drivers. That said, I won’t have fun renting a scooter or a car. It is better to trust them, whether by getting into a taxi, in a tuktuk or on a motorcycle taxi (I have not yet dared).


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