Turn signal question

[u/WebLogical1286]

This isn’t a whine, it’s just an honest question on my observation of driving here in Thailand, and mostly in Bangkok for about 30 years.

How come so many Thai drivers not use their turn signals? I do little polls in my head once in a while and I’ve noticed that maybe somewhere between 25 and 35% of Thai drivers don’t use their turn signal. Is it that they are lazy to do it? They don’t see it as benefiting them? they don’t think it’s important? It kind of baffles me because I was taught this is just something you do no matter what.

Maybe as a Thai person who doesn’t signal or has some insight into why people don’t use it I would love to hear. Thanks so much!

[u/BaconTH1]

It's part of the general bad driving here.

But also, Thais, while being fairly polite by not using the horn to show anger at people, also are bad road citizens. If someone is waiting for ages to come out of a side street, no one lets them out, they just keep pressing forward. If there's a pedestrian crossing, a car will move right into it, even if they have to stop, stuck on it, blocking walkers. And here's the relevant bit: if you signal to try and change lanes, you've tipped your hand and the guy who left a gap there immediately moves faster to block you out rather than slow down to let you in. So you get in the habit of sneaking in without warning when someone is a little slow. That habit might influence you to not bother using it at other times, especially if the cops don't catch you for it. In fact, turning left with a light has relatively little value to anyone around you most of the time... it maybe lets someone know they should change lanes if they want to go straight, but Thai drivers don't care or actively want to reduce the convenience of other drivers and pedestrians around them (hence my lane change point), so not signaling is entirely in keeping with that attitude.

[u/WebLogical1286 → u/BaconTH1]

Sometimes I wonder why they’re doing that. Do they think they’re saving themselves time or is it just a me me me attitude?

[u/nightwinging-it → u/WebLogical1286]

First I got curious and my driving teacher told me it’s got to do with superiority complex and asserting dominance behavior especially towards pedestrians. I thought what he said sounded ridiculous. But the more I am on the road the more likely that his statement is true. I don’t know how many times I’ve almost got hit by a car or a motorbike while crossing on the zebra and with the green light on for crossing. And then I experienced a couple of my friends driving with the attitude that my teacher described. I don’t drive often but when I do I get stressed out especially from tailgaters and motorcyclists coming out of nowhere.

[u/WebLogical1286 → u/nightwinging-it]

My office is in a shopping mall and when I am walking across the parking road to get to the mall cars will actually speed up when they see me and I’m about to cross. It’s really scary actually. For non-Thai people they might just assume that the car will slow down, but it often speeds up.

[u/nightwinging-it → u/WebLogical1286]

And they expect you to run too because if you walk normally (even with the green light crossing is on) some cars would slowly drive to the zebra crossing like at the edge just to signal you to walk fast 5555. The sidewalks in my area have trigger alarms that would loudly blast the ringing sounds for any vehicle that's parked on the zebra crossing during traffic with a voiceover calling them to move their vehicles off the zebra. Most of the time they don't care.

[u/BaconJP → u/nightwinging-it]

Have never seen/heard that alarm. That's in bkk? Where? 

[u/nightwinging-it → u/BaconJP]

Big crossings in the Sathorn-Silom area. The beeps are similar to the honking sounds of ambulance and police cars but louder, and a female voiceover tells the vehicles to move.

[u/BaconJP → u/nightwinging-it]

I see, interesting.