Terrifying driving countries and experiences
Discussion
The worst I've experienced is Thailand, I was wasn't driving but was being driven in a minibus up a very steep mountain road, they just drive up the arse of the car in front, phone in hand and overtake (very slowly) on blind bends.
The roads in general, especially in the citys and towns are mental, however no one gets stressed with anyone else, no beeping, no shouting, no fist waving, everyone just gets on with it; pull out in front of someone, oh well never mind, off you go, have a nice day, it is very refreshing.
The roads in general, especially in the citys and towns are mental, however no one gets stressed with anyone else, no beeping, no shouting, no fist waving, everyone just gets on with it; pull out in front of someone, oh well never mind, off you go, have a nice day, it is very refreshing.
Moscow was interesting.
The ride from the airport seeing cars doing u turns on 6 lane motorways and driving against the traffic as their exit was blocked was an eye opener.
Some of the 'private taxi's' were not that road worthy. I got in one and you could see the road through the holes in the floor.
In general it seems going flat out is the answer to everything traffic lights etc are optional.
My friend was one of 4 drivers in her family and they only one to have taken any form of test. The rest had just bought their licence and started driving.
The ride from the airport seeing cars doing u turns on 6 lane motorways and driving against the traffic as their exit was blocked was an eye opener.
Some of the 'private taxi's' were not that road worthy. I got in one and you could see the road through the holes in the floor.
In general it seems going flat out is the answer to everything traffic lights etc are optional.
My friend was one of 4 drivers in her family and they only one to have taken any form of test. The rest had just bought their licence and started driving.
Pericoloso said:
Italy.
No more detail required.
Having read the stories here I don't even think Italy is in the same league.No more detail required.
But having been driven in Rome it was entertaining to see. Last second merges in turn off autoroutes just accepted without threat of murder, changes of lane with margins for error that would've UK traffic jumping on the brakes causing those ghost tailbacks just accepted and kept flowing. Making use of any empty road space to make unofficial lanes around junctions and lights for merging in, again without murderous reactions.
Interesting to see all the driving and parking in and around the tiny streets and ancient buildings while Edinburgh is moaning about want to close certain streets to private vehicles to protect the city.
Edited by Don Veloci on Thursday 5th April 11:09
Countless experiences in remote parts of Asia mainly. Makes Italian and other European driving styles seem very conservative
In India, Indonesia, Cambodia etc it is normal to drive the wrong way up a dual carriageway
Normal to overtake with oncoming traffic
3-5 people on a motorcycle on steep mountain roads with no barrier, normal. Combined with HGV’s with bits hanging off them and bald tyres
Drink driving, not an issue
Traffic lights, not worth bothering
In India, Indonesia, Cambodia etc it is normal to drive the wrong way up a dual carriageway
Normal to overtake with oncoming traffic
3-5 people on a motorcycle on steep mountain roads with no barrier, normal. Combined with HGV’s with bits hanging off them and bald tyres
Drink driving, not an issue
Traffic lights, not worth bothering
India, by a country mile worse than any other place on the planet.
From Car-o-Bars in Delhi, where you basically drive about stopping to drink "scotch" in your car, then drive on to another location drinking "scotch" all the time.
To the guy who leaves the far right booth on a toll road and decides he wants to be in the left lane, does he filter? Nope turns at 90 degrees across 9 or 10 lanes of oncoming traffic!
From Car-o-Bars in Delhi, where you basically drive about stopping to drink "scotch" in your car, then drive on to another location drinking "scotch" all the time.
To the guy who leaves the far right booth on a toll road and decides he wants to be in the left lane, does he filter? Nope turns at 90 degrees across 9 or 10 lanes of oncoming traffic!
Not as a driver but being a passenger on various coaches in Peru and Bolivia scared the living s
t out of me every time. Thank god the beer is dirt cheap in those countries so the drives were made somewhat more manageable. Once a coach we were in was in a crash with another coach coming the opposite way. Ours was on the wrong side of the road (it appears it is customary for coach drivers to take the racing line around all corners!). Didn't stop the driver doing exactly the same thing for the rest of the journey once we got on our way again
t out of me every time. Thank god the beer is dirt cheap in those countries so the drives were made somewhat more manageable. Once a coach we were in was in a crash with another coach coming the opposite way. Ours was on the wrong side of the road (it appears it is customary for coach drivers to take the racing line around all corners!). Didn't stop the driver doing exactly the same thing for the rest of the journey once we got on our way againJakarta said:
Following on from XJSJohn complaining of the roads between Surabaya and Banyuwangi discussing hire cars I figured I'd move the discussion here.
I've driven the road John mentions, the wife decided we should drive from Jakarta to Bali for Christmas / New Year.
This is a 740 mile drive that maps suggests takes 26 hours, we did the return journey over 2 weeks.
We stopped along the way at Semarang, Surabaya for Christmas, Mt. Bromo, Gilimanuk and then Bali for New Year, return journey was Banyuwangi, Jogjakarta and then home from there.
Only once did we drive at night, the drive from Jogjakarta is 11 hours and with a maximum of 12 hours of daylight here we had to do a couple of hours in the dark on the outskirts of Jakarta.
In general, the roads are awful, but more terrifying is the buses and trucks, regularly attacking you on the wrong side of the road, they will overtake each other on blind bends and disregard anything in front of them unless it is bigger.
Every roadside is littered with stalls selling random fried foods so no escape route either.
There have been instances here where buses have careered out of control into the local population, bus driver legs it, gets caught and quite literally is lynched by the local mob.
There is no MOT or equivalent here, the police have a fairly lackadaisical approach to upholding the law. Quite frankly, a truly terrible place to drive and not something I would wish to repeat.
I do drive here although not much, I usually just sit in the back and let the driver take the stress.
Having experienced thailand, vietnam, malaysia and Indonesia, I can easily say that Indonesia was the most scary!!!!I've driven the road John mentions, the wife decided we should drive from Jakarta to Bali for Christmas / New Year.
This is a 740 mile drive that maps suggests takes 26 hours, we did the return journey over 2 weeks.
We stopped along the way at Semarang, Surabaya for Christmas, Mt. Bromo, Gilimanuk and then Bali for New Year, return journey was Banyuwangi, Jogjakarta and then home from there.
Only once did we drive at night, the drive from Jogjakarta is 11 hours and with a maximum of 12 hours of daylight here we had to do a couple of hours in the dark on the outskirts of Jakarta.
In general, the roads are awful, but more terrifying is the buses and trucks, regularly attacking you on the wrong side of the road, they will overtake each other on blind bends and disregard anything in front of them unless it is bigger.
Every roadside is littered with stalls selling random fried foods so no escape route either.
There have been instances here where buses have careered out of control into the local population, bus driver legs it, gets caught and quite literally is lynched by the local mob.
There is no MOT or equivalent here, the police have a fairly lackadaisical approach to upholding the law. Quite frankly, a truly terrible place to drive and not something I would wish to repeat.
I do drive here although not much, I usually just sit in the back and let the driver take the stress.
I flew into Jakarta late one night and jumped in a taxi to my hotel not really thinking anything of it. first warning sign was the lack of seatbelt in the back of the taxi. From then it was a high speed run using all lanes of the motorway including the hard shoulder to undertake and overtake all sorts of vehicles some with lights, some without and some that were stopped in the middle of a lane for no apparent reason, massive pot holes all over the place and debris strewn across the carriageway the speed was almost never below 60MPH too utterly terrifying!!!
The next day wasn't much better we had a 4-5 mile trip to make but because it was raining it took us four hours by taxi, most of the time surrounded by a swarm of scooters. crossing the road is ridiculous just got to hope that they all manage to avoid you. Absolutely crazy city but loved every moment of it!!!
Bali wasn't as bad but I was always astounded how long it took to go what seemed like only a couple of miles on the map
nikaiyo2 said:
India, by a country mile worse than any other place on the planet.
From Car-o-Bars in Delhi, where you basically drive about stopping to drink "scotch" in your car, then drive on to another location drinking "scotch" all the time.
To the guy who leaves the far right booth on a toll road and decides he wants to be in the left lane, does he filter? Nope turns at 90 degrees across 9 or 10 lanes of oncoming traffic!
Haha.. Pakistan is the same...but i absolutely love driving there. The roads Themselves are pretty decent if only 2 lane motorway in tbe entire country. The Grand Trunk or GT road.. Love the undertaking overtaking crazy speeds.. Absolutely no lighting in the night haha great times. Would love to dribe on some of the roads you guys have. From Car-o-Bars in Delhi, where you basically drive about stopping to drink "scotch" in your car, then drive on to another location drinking "scotch" all the time.
To the guy who leaves the far right booth on a toll road and decides he wants to be in the left lane, does he filter? Nope turns at 90 degrees across 9 or 10 lanes of oncoming traffic!
Stay safe
China, shanghai specifically...utterly appalling driving everywhere you look, all the time.
i was there a week (a week too long, it's a sh*t place), and saw maybe a dozen crashes or their immediate aftermath.
people basically do whatever they want on the road, with no consideration to other drivers or the environment...the standard of driving is horrendous.
i was there a week (a week too long, it's a sh*t place), and saw maybe a dozen crashes or their immediate aftermath.
people basically do whatever they want on the road, with no consideration to other drivers or the environment...the standard of driving is horrendous.
bristolracer said:
Im in Vietnam right now .
Hanoi has 5 million scooters on the roads,it is total mayhem, the stuff you see carried on the backs of them, air conditioners,wardrobes,cages of ducks, four members of the family.
Traffic lights are optional, and to cross the road you just take a deep breath and go,and hope the river of motorbikes will part and flow around you!
However, you don’t really seem to get traffic jams, and the traffic seems to keep on moving,maybe we could learn from this?
Brilliant isn't it?Hanoi has 5 million scooters on the roads,it is total mayhem, the stuff you see carried on the backs of them, air conditioners,wardrobes,cages of ducks, four members of the family.
Traffic lights are optional, and to cross the road you just take a deep breath and go,and hope the river of motorbikes will part and flow around you!
However, you don’t really seem to get traffic jams, and the traffic seems to keep on moving,maybe we could learn from this?
I honestly think that if our climate was better we could use their same system within cities - the disorganised traffic means that speeds are always kept low, but most of it moves without trouble.
On the really big roads in HoChiMinh in particular they still have lights, but anything less than 6-wide and they tend to just leave it.
Once got a taxi from Kota Kinabalu to Mt. Kinabalu and sat in the back seat had to escalate my discussion with the driver from "take it easy we're not in a hurry" to "this isn't impressing anyone" to "fking stop will you!" The back shocks were duff and we were fully loaded - driver, 4 passengers and a weeks worth of luggage, and this guy was giving it full gas from the start, and totally ignoring oncoming traffic. I should have known he fancied himself as a driver with all the toy Ferrari F1 cars and trinkets set out on the dash.
Another experience, which still gives me the heebeegeebees, involved an overnight bus from Niarobi to Kampala across the Great Rift Valley. I can only surmise because it was pitch dark during the worst bits but it seemed to be perpetually downhill, fast, on the brakes, and with no section of road being straight for more than 50 meters.
king stop will you!" The back shocks were duff and we were fully loaded - driver, 4 passengers and a weeks worth of luggage, and this guy was giving it full gas from the start, and totally ignoring oncoming traffic. I should have known he fancied himself as a driver with all the toy Ferrari F1 cars and trinkets set out on the dash. Another experience, which still gives me the heebeegeebees, involved an overnight bus from Niarobi to Kampala across the Great Rift Valley. I can only surmise because it was pitch dark during the worst bits but it seemed to be perpetually downhill, fast, on the brakes, and with no section of road being straight for more than 50 meters.
I've just got back from Vietnam, the traffic is spell binding. 80% scooters with all manner of loads, so one Honda 50 step through with 2 adults and three kids on, two very small toddlers.
As with many Asian countries there is a specific language to the use of the horn that is totally alien, it's actually quite sensible to use the horn to communicate with other road users rather than a last resort to release your anger like in the UK.
Crossing the road with 3 kids in tow was exhilarating to say the least.
As with many Asian countries there is a specific language to the use of the horn that is totally alien, it's actually quite sensible to use the horn to communicate with other road users rather than a last resort to release your anger like in the UK.
Crossing the road with 3 kids in tow was exhilarating to say the least.
Taaaaang said:
I usually spend 6 months of the year in Thailand.
It has got better over the last few years, tbf to the Thais.
However, it's still mentally exhausting driving over here; I refer to it as Wacky Races...think of the most insane, dangerous things possible and then expect it to happen on every journey.
There's a reason why the roads are the second most dangerous in the World...I'd never seen a dead body till I started coming here...I've seen more than I can remember now...all on the roads here.
See I’ve always found it to be not too bad.It has got better over the last few years, tbf to the Thais.
However, it's still mentally exhausting driving over here; I refer to it as Wacky Races...think of the most insane, dangerous things possible and then expect it to happen on every journey.
There's a reason why the roads are the second most dangerous in the World...I'd never seen a dead body till I started coming here...I've seen more than I can remember now...all on the roads here.
We used to have a house just outside Hua Hin (Black Mountain) and spent quite a bit of time over there with a car and while some elements were strange a little crazy it was generally OK. It’s been about 3yrs since I was last over there with a car. Most of the driving centred around Bangkok, Hua Hin and Pattaya and in between so pass on the rest of the country.
I would say China (Beijing) was worse tbh.
India is madness, total chaos. But fortunately in cities, traffic is so slow that it never feels truly dangerous. Haven't driven there myself thankfully. I think it requires a totally different mindset. You cannot simply give way to stuff and wait for gaps, you have to create your own space by whatever means, and if that means hitting other vehicles, so be it. Lanes have little meaning and the width of the road seems to bear no relation to how many vehicles can squeeze down it side by side. If a dual carriageway has one direction closed for roadworks, the diversion will point you onto the other carriageway, except that's still fully open so you just have to pick your way down the wrong side of the road for a few miles. Madness. First time I visited, we were involved in three would be insurance claims in the UK and that was one short journey from airport to hotel. Nobody even acknowledges them. My eyes were on stalks.
Major European city centres tend to be exhausting too. Paris and Barcelona weren't much fun, it's the mopeds in Barcelona that are a bugger to avoid.
Naples taxis deserve special mention too. Never has so much performance been extracted from such mundane vehicles in such confined surroundings. It would be really quite impressive if you dared to open your eyes.
Lithuania in winter. Snow on the road. I was sat in the passenger seat thinking, wow everybody drives quite quickly in these conditions, I guess they all fit winter tyres and are just used to driving on slippy stuff. And then the car in front of us spears off the road into a ditch which turned out to be the first of many incidents on a fairly short journey. The guy driving me didn't seem to notice any of them.
Major European city centres tend to be exhausting too. Paris and Barcelona weren't much fun, it's the mopeds in Barcelona that are a bugger to avoid.
Naples taxis deserve special mention too. Never has so much performance been extracted from such mundane vehicles in such confined surroundings. It would be really quite impressive if you dared to open your eyes.
Lithuania in winter. Snow on the road. I was sat in the passenger seat thinking, wow everybody drives quite quickly in these conditions, I guess they all fit winter tyres and are just used to driving on slippy stuff. And then the car in front of us spears off the road into a ditch which turned out to be the first of many incidents on a fairly short journey. The guy driving me didn't seem to notice any of them.
Jakarta said:
In general, the roads are awful, but more terrifying is the buses and trucks, regularly attacking you on the wrong side of the road, they will overtake each other on blind bends and disregard anything in front of them unless it is bigger.
Every roadside is littered with stalls selling random fried foods so no escape route either.
There have been instances here where buses have careered out of control into the local population, bus driver legs it, gets caught and quite literally is lynched by the local mob.
There is no MOT or equivalent here, the police have a fairly lackadaisical approach to upholding the law. Quite frankly, a truly terrible place to drive and not something I would wish to repeat.
I do drive here although not much, I usually just sit in the back and let the driver take the stress.
This sounds a lot similar to my home country Sri Lanka where buses and trucks cause lot of accidents and deaths and sadly one of my family member was a victim tooEvery roadside is littered with stalls selling random fried foods so no escape route either.
There have been instances here where buses have careered out of control into the local population, bus driver legs it, gets caught and quite literally is lynched by the local mob.
There is no MOT or equivalent here, the police have a fairly lackadaisical approach to upholding the law. Quite frankly, a truly terrible place to drive and not something I would wish to repeat.
I do drive here although not much, I usually just sit in the back and let the driver take the stress.
also there is no MOT equivalent there only an emission test
Loads of newly rich folk with good roads and high powered vehicles but NO ROAD RULES which is a deadly cocktail in Sri Lanka
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