10 annoying things about Bangkok traffic

Bangkok roads are the busiest in Thailand and this comes at great peril and cost for everyone participating in its daily traffic. Here are 10 annoying things about road traffic in Bangkok:

1. Whenever you travel by any means of transportation that has more than two wheels, you have every chance of getting stuck in a traffic jam and being late to work or missing your appointment.

2. Whenever you get on a motorbike, either as a passenger or driver, you have every chance of ending up dead under the wheels of a truck or in a hospital with broken bones.

3. Whenever the traffic cops pull you over for not wearing a helmet or for riding in the middle or the speed lane, you end up paying a bribe just to save you the trouble of going to the police station to retrieve your driving license (of course, after you’d paid your fine).

4. Whenever you get in a public van you have a high chance of ending up in flames or plunging to death from the elevated highway to the busy traffic below.

5. Only half of the pay toll barriers on busy highways are open at a time of the day when everyone is desperate to get to their destination on time.

6. The traffic cops think that they can do a better job at easing congesting intersections by manually overriding the traffic lights system and whistling the drivers here and there.

7. Public workers (or thieves) remove (or steal) manhole covers without demarcating the area (you wouldn’t expect this from a gang of thieves!), but a Good Samaritan, who probably almost got stuck with one wheel in the hole, is kind enough to put some tree branches in the hole (which, by far, are not enough to avoid disaster, especially at night).

8. Street vendors pushing their carts in the opposite direction of coming traffic think that they are not in the wrong. The traffic cop in the booth at the intersection even gets out of his air-coned heaven and buys something off the cart. The vendor then moves on, pushing his or her wares alongside speeding cars.

9. Drivers and motorists drive around railroad crossing barriers, although they can see the train approaching. Then they get upset when the cars on the other side of the tracks don’t move aside to make way for them.

10. Although there’s a pedestrian bridge nearby, people still choose to tempt fate and zigzag through moving cars until they finally get on the other side of the street (or on the stretcher of an ambulance).

What do you hate about Bangkok traffic?

P.S.: But of course, it’s not always that bad!