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One thing I noticed while abroad in china, india, and thailand, is that drivers in those countries are much more alert. This could be by necessity because of na

One thing I noticed while abroad in china, india, and thailand, is that drivers in those countries are much more alert. This could be by necessity because of narrower lanes, or the general amount of chaos on the roads beight higher. In any case the result is that we get lulled into a false sense of security in the US because most people do follow the rules and drive predictably. Since the pandemic especially I see someone actively doing bullshit on their phone/infotainment touchscreen while behind the wheel almost daily.

graemep 3y ago
Those countries have higher rates of road deaths, so that is not it.
- efitz 3y ago
  I visit Thailand frequently with my family and drunk driving is rampant there. I never drive there after dark due to the danger. Anecdotally I have also noticed an increase in driving aggressiveness there over the last couple of years (mainly, how aggressive passing behavior is on two-lane undivided roads that are prevalent there).
- Delfino 3y ago
  In Thailand at least, this is due to the high number of motorcycles/scooters. They're far more likely to die in a collision (about 80% of the fatalities are from motorcycles)
stephenr 3y ago
Having lived and driven in Thailand for the last decade I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. Drivers here are notoriously unaware of their surroundings, often have no concept of who has right of way, largely seem oblivious to the concept of a blind spot, and in general just ignore any road rules that are inconvenient to them. - "why are you stopping here?" (At a red light) - "why is he turning his head can't he see the mirrors?" - "what are they honking at me for, what's your hurry?" (After pulling out and cutting off traffic All things my mother in law said while driving or when I/my wife was driving her somewhere.... and she actually has a licence. Now think about all the people here who don't have one or paid someone to take the test for them.

graemep 3y ago

Those countries have higher rates of road deaths, so that is not it.

efitz 3y ago
I visit Thailand frequently with my family and drunk driving is rampant there. I never drive there after dark due to the danger. Anecdotally I have also noticed an increase in driving aggressiveness there over the last couple of years (mainly, how aggressive passing behavior is on two-lane undivided roads that are prevalent there).
Delfino 3y ago
In Thailand at least, this is due to the high number of motorcycles/scooters. They're far more likely to die in a collision (about 80% of the fatalities are from motorcycles)

stephenr 3y ago

Having lived and driven in Thailand for the last decade I'm gonna have to disagree with you here. Drivers here are notoriously unaware of their surroundings, often have no concept of who has right of way, largely seem oblivious to the concept of a blind spot, and in general just ignore any road rules that are inconvenient to them. - "why are you stopping here?" (At a red light) - "why is he turning his head can't he see the mirrors?" - "what are they honking at me for, what's your hurry?" (After pulling out and cutting off traffic All things my mother in law said while driving or when I/my wife was driving her somewhere.... and she actually has a licence. Now think about all the people here who don't have one or paid someone to take the test for them.