Motorcycles to the left of me, pickups to the right. Into the Valley of Death I ride. That's how most foreigners feel when they first experience Thailand traffic. At first glance it would appear that traffic here is utter chaos and anarchy. But then you go through a day of heart stopping near misses, and oddly enough, no accidents. Maybe there are rules of the road here that you're not aware of.
Thailand has its own driving philosophy and rules. If we are going to live here and feel free getting around we need to learn some of these 'rules'. Then we can get through a day of driving without our blood pressure hitting the stratosphere, or someone hitting us.
The first thing to learn is basic road philosophy. In Thailand the one who sees is the one responsible. If I don't see you but you see me then it is your responsibility to get out of my way. That is why you will notice how a motorcyclist who has just cut you off will almost always be looking the other way. It's the reason a driver entering a stream of traffic will look away from the on-coming cars.
Here are some basic rules of the road. This is not a list of suggestions of how you should drive. It is a list of what you will probably encounter. And if you understand why something is happening you can react in a safer manner.

Red lights
If you get to an intersection and the light has just turned red then at least 2 cars (or 3 motorcycles) can still go through. So a red light means Stop, but only if you are the third car after the light has turned.

Green lights
Because of the red light rule above, if you start to drive as soon as the light turns green then you chance hitting one of the 2 cars or 3 motorcycles coming through after their light turned red.

Yellow lights
No one knows what these are for.
Stop signs
Sometimes a car might slow down just a tad, especially if he's made the mistake of looking at the on-coming traffic.

Entering traffic
When you enter the flow of traffic on an impossibly busy street inch forward little by little. Never look at the on-coming cars. Continue forward until you are so far out into the road that the on-coming cars have to stop and let you in. In Los Angeles this technique quite often leads to gunfire. But in Thailand that is the accepted way to enter on-coming traffic. Cutting someone off is what you Should Do.

Right of way
The bigger one has the right of way. It's the old law that states if you throw a rock at a glass or you throw a glass at a rock, it is the glass that will come out the loser. It is why drivers never let pedestrians cross the street. It's the pedestrian's job to stop for the car, they're smaller. If you have a smaller vehicle, let the other guy go first.

Drinking and driving
Don't do it. But if you are driving at night or on a holiday weekend drive defensively as if everyone else on the road is drunk. They just may be.

When you return to your home country forget all of the above, or you just might end up in jail. But seriously, the rules are different here, but they work and work well. The most important safety rule of all is to do everything slowly. Turn slowly, merge slowly, cut people off slowly. Didn't mama say never to play in traffic? But if you do, do it slowly.

For more info on driving in Thailand try: http://driving.information.in.th Send your questions on retirement to Thailand to: retirement@chiangmaicitylife.com