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Riding Safety and Thai Driver Habits
Driving in Thailand if you are not alert and familiar with Thai driving habits it is very easy to become involved in accidents. To date our tours have not been involved in any traffic accidents, our guide being in the lead of the tour will cushion between yourself and most dangerous road situations, and defuse a great percentage of the problems before they occur, but you need to be aware, you are responsible for your own well being, this is not a western country with road rules being continually policed and all the thinking is removed from driving. Although once we are out of the city there is very little traffic on the roads we choose, however being alert and self responsible is a must.
I wrote up some points of Thai driver habits for foreign riders to be aware of, and some ways i use to prevent accidents and as i mention in the list there is nothing more important than horn tooting as prevention is better than cure.
Thai Driving Habit’s.
* rarely use indicators
* rarely look anywhere else but in front
* often cross centre lines and cut corners
* often on H.w.y. or rural roads, a motorcycle will pull to the L.H.S.of the road, before crossing traffic lanes to turn right
* a L.H. blink can mean its safe to overtake (opposite to Australia)
* a R.H.blinker can mean it not safe to overtake
* don’t expect a motorcycle to be moving faster than 60km
* will overtake another car into oncoming traffic if they feel there is room for three or more vehicles on the road ( you are expected to get out of the way)
* often overtake large slow moving vehicles like buses or trucks that they cant see around with zero view of oncoming traffic
* drive erratic and move around the lanes
* will leave on the road large rocks used for wheel chocks on a incline.
* use there ears as much as their eyes to drive
* will drive short distances on the wrong side of the road
*At peak hour traffic on a 4 lane road will often use a extra lane (3 lanes) for the direction most traffic is flowing(Chiang Mai)
* will overtake you, only to turn into a left street and cut you off.
Using Thai Traffic Lights
* BE AWARE! traffic light in Thailand are used on highways if you are unaware its hard to stop at speed, and easy to run into cars traveling through the crossroad or stopped vehicles in your lane
* traffic lights tend to be a indicator only, locals will often keep passing through lights a few seconds after they are faced with a red light
* if you are the first vehicle to stop for a red light, check rear vision and move to the side, as the vehicles behind you may have plans to run the red light and will go sheer over the top of you not expecting you to stop
* usually jump green lights by 2 seconds
* are allowed turn Left on a red light (keep the left lane open)
* at a traffic light crossroad it is normal when the light turns green for people turning right to take off first and slip a few cars past the oncoming traffic
Things i do personally to protect my self when driving.
* Beep! the horn at any time i feel threaten or unsure at a vehicle on the side off the road, intersection or any time my sixth sense tells me too. all i can say is over use the horn it is not seen as a personal insult here like a western country
* Beep! the horn on sharp blind corners on remote roads
* Beep! the horn at any animal near the side of the road, animals here understand a horn, and dogs are often in packs and you don”t see them all
* hold a tight line around L.H. bends if oncoming traffic are cutting corners you have a less chance off hitting them.
* if a car is on the side of the road or intersection look at the cars wheels particularly the slots in the rims this will give you first indication if the car is moving or starts to creep
* scan continually
* don’t be the first to go at a traffic light and still look left and right before proceeding
* being the first to stop at a traffic light check rear vision and get to the side as people running red light may just go straight over the top of you
* if i’m on a highway with a medium strip and little traffic i ride in the fast lane closest to the medium strip as you have less people pulling out in front of you.
* Make sure your brakes work well will the proper amount play in the pedal and lever
* if you riding in a pack the lead rider will take most likely 85% of the risk whoever is in the lead needs to be most alert
* don”t follow directly behind riding in a pack, offset yourselves to you wont run into the back off the guy in front (don’t laugh i have taken a very experienced rider on tour that rode like this and almost took us out 3 times)
* telegraph you moves, there nothing more dangerous, unnerving or accident causing than a erratic rider
* if possible when riding in a big group still use hand signals (you intended moves are telegraphed to the riders who vision is obscured to see you lights
* often on some motorcycles you can stand to see over crest and make a safe pass
* remember at 100km/ hour you are traveling at 28m per second if you are only 20m behind the guy in front and a problem occurs you have less than 1 second to react.
* cow dun means there are cattle in the area
Helpful hints for tours
Money
You get your best currency exchange rate for Thai baht in Thailand so waiting until entering the country to exchange money is best, all airports have currency exchange vendors.
Thai Atm’s are internationally linked so you may use your local bank card to withdrawal money while in Thailand, but beware bank charges are high. On tour you can access a ATM everyday.
If using traveler’s cheques it is best to do so in Chiang Mai before your tour and exchange enough money for the period of the tour.
Cash exchange: Can be done in major tourist areas, however again its best to exchange your money in Chaing Mai before the tour as not to inconvenience the group.
You need to carry enough money for food and beverages with you, I would suggest dining for 3 meals, drinks and snacks will cost about 600bht/ day if you are a huge eater and like 1 or 2 western meals a day. If you are a moderate eater 400bht will be enough.
If you like a beer at night that is totally up to you, a small bottle can range from 50bht – 100bht so dependent on how much you drink is how much cash you need to bring.
Traveling to or from Chiang Mai
Chiang Mai is serviced by a limited international airport, most flights land at Bangkok and connect to Chiang Mai. From Bangkok to Chiang Mai there are numerous ways to travel, The best budget airline to use is Air Asia as it operates out of the international airport and if pre-booked online tickets go as cheap as 1200bht one way.
Thai Airways is a well known and comfortable airline to also use.
There are also sleeper trains and V.I.P. buses available to Chiang Mai.
Chiang Mai also have direct flights to most south east Asian major cities although sometime not daily.
What to bring on tour
We basically us the same riding gear day in and out with a wash day every 3 days.
Transmotosport supplies you with Helmet, Gloves and gogles, and we have off-road style riding boots (150bht / day) and touring jackets (50bht / day) for hire. please advise before hand what riding gear is required, but if you can, wearing your own gear is always more comfortable. I would also suggest bringing some bicycle pants or similar padded pants for more comfort as buttocks can become tender.
If traveling in a small group of less than 4 people, we do not use a service vehicle so all gear is carried on our motorcycles, I suggest you pack what you are wearing to ride plus.
*3 riding t-shirts or similar
*3 sets of underwear and socks
*flip flops to wear at night
* 1 pair of shorts for walking
* 1 pair of jeans or shorts for night time
* December and January we carry jeans and a warm sweater
* toiletries
* for November, December and January I carry with me a set of outdoor thermal underwear for warmth, it surprising how cool it is at altitude in the mountains, thermals are light and pack small, well worth the investment.
* July, August, September and October if you fear being wet from a warm rain storm, pack your wet weather gear, cheap raincoats are available every where in the area and are good enough but do not always keep you 100% dry.
It is my suggestion to pack and travel light and leave the complications of every day life behind you while on tour, again,.. basic needs are easily accessible and cheap.
Weather, What time of the year is best?
Weather
In relation to the rest of Thailand, Chiang Mai is considered to be quite cool with an average yearly temperature of 25.4°C. The highest temperatures are in the low 40s and the lowest 5-10°C. There are three seasons in Northern Thailand: summer (hot and humid), rainy (wet – monsoon) and winter (cool and dry).
Contrary to guide books recommendations, Chiang Mai is a great destination for motorcycle riding 8 months of the year
The favorite time for many visitors is therefore in winter (November-February) when temperatures drop to a pleasant cool and chilly in the mountains, with bright sunshine and clear blue skies. There is also an abundance of flowers, making this a time when Chiang Mai is at her prettiest. November to mid December the country side is still green, however from January until the rains hit in April, vegetation and the countryside can appear to be quite barren and dry.
Come to Chiang Mai in summer (March-June) and you will find April and May at times the weather quite uncomfortably hot. Mid march the country side is affected by pollution as the local authorities controlled forest burning fills the air with smoke. I deter customers and friends from coming riding or visiting from mid March until mid April and the start of the first rain clears the sky’s.
April and the Songkhran festival marks the start of the rainy season, however, April, May and June the rainfall is usually isolated showers and rarely affects motorcycle touring. I still find April and May very hot for road touring and again deter customers from road touring during this period, however, May in my opinion is the peak of the best off-road riding time, with dust settled and low water levels still for creek crossing, the undergrowth is fire burnt clean, the rain has greened and rejuvenated the forest and off-coarse it is much cooler under the shade of trees.
June is a great road touring month with great photo opts and rarely do you get wet.
In the rainy season (July-October) you will be lucky to get a week of clear skies, but monsoon rains are isolated and the landscape beautiful as the mountains are lush and green. July is still good motorcycle tour riding as it is possible to dodge the isolate showers, and if we happened to hit a downpour we can usually ride through the warm rain within 15 minutes. I enjoy riding in August and September however the roads will mostly be wet even if we manage to dodge the showers, bring your skills and wet weather gear for this period.
November – only a little rain, great road, great off-road
December - dry weather, awesome road and off-road
January - dry weather, great road and off-road month
February - dry weather, great road and good off-road a little dusty
March - dry weather, ok road, off-road until usually mid march then the sky’s littered with smoke pollution, don’t come then.
April – we still have pollution till usually mid April until the start of the rain clears the sky’s and put out the fires, From mid March off-road is ok under the shade of the tree’s, but to hot for road tours
May – odd showers, awesome off-road, too hot for road.
June – odd showers, great road, it has cooled a little and off-road is good but can be slippery
July – rainy, good road although can be a little damp, good off-road but slippery and wet
August – wet lots of rain, no off-road still good road but expect to be wet
September – wet lots of rain, no-offroad still good road but expect to get wet
October – rain has eased great road, ok off-road but restricted with trails
Low Season Flight Discounts Bkk-CNX
Airlines are offering low season flight discounts at this time for May and June, Thai Airways are charging about 1,300bht one way Bangkok to Chiang Mai or 2600bht return
AirAsia are offering about 800bht oneway.
Well worth checking.
Links to Golden Triangle Attractions
Click on the photo’s links for information about these
attractions out tours visit.
MaeSa Elephant Camp Chiang Mai
Khun Sa Opium Warlord. Doi Mae Salong
Thom's Elephant Swimming. Pai
Doi Suthep Wat Phrathat Chiang Mai
