Thai Road Rules for Drivers in Phuket

The one big difference

If you come from Britain, Australia, Japan or another left-driving country, the layout here will feel immediately familiar and you can skip ahead. For everyone else, the adjustment is real but short: most people are comfortable within a day and fully settled within three.

Three places everyone gets it wrong

First, pulling out of a car park or a side road onto an empty street, when instinct puts you on the wrong side. Say the side out loud for the first few days; it works.

Second, roundabouts, which run clockwise here. You look right for traffic, not left.

Third, the indicator stalk, which is usually on the right. Expect to use the wipers at your first three junctions. Everyone does.

What it means for the car

A right-hand-drive car changes your view of the road as well as your controls, and two consequences are worth knowing before you need them.

Overtaking

Your sightline past the vehicle in front is different from what you are used to. Sit further back before looking, and if you cannot see clearly, do not commit. On the island's two-lane coast roads, overtaking is rarely worth the thirty seconds it saves.

Air conditioning and misting

In heavy rain the windscreen mists in seconds because of the humidity. Learn where the demist control is on day one rather than hunting for it one-handed in a downpour. Air conditioning on, directed at the screen, clears it fastest.

Speed, roundabouts and signs

Speed limits are posted and are lower in built-up areas than on the main road. There are cameras on the main north-south route, and fines arrive after the fact rather than at the roadside, so the limit is worth respecting even when the traffic around you is not.

Roundabouts

Traffic already on the roundabout has priority. Choose your exit before the approach and get into the correct lane early, because changing lanes inside a busy roundabout with scooters on both sides of you is where problems start.

Traffic lights

Lights are standard, with one local habit worth knowing: on divided roads you often cannot turn across the traffic at all. Instead you continue past your turning and use a marked U-turn slot in the central reservation. Watch for the signs and get into the correct lane in good time.

• Look right, not left, when joining a roundabout
• Keep left except when overtaking
• Expect U-turn slots instead of turns across the traffic
• Belts on in the back as well as the front

Scooters, pedestrians and local driving style

The traffic here is dense but not aggressive. People edge out, people let each other in, horns are used as a light notice rather than a rebuke, and the whole system runs on tolerance rather than rules.

Scooters are the constant. They filter on both sides, they appear in your left mirror as you turn into a side street, they carry improbable loads and they are ridden by everyone from a farmer to a tourist on their first day. Assume one is beside you at all times and you will be right most of the time.

Practical conclusions

Mirror check before every turn and before opening any door. Signal earlier than you would at home. Leave more space than feels necessary. And let people in, because that is the currency the traffic runs on and you will need it back within the hour.

What to keep in the car

Your driving licence and your international permit, together, on you rather than in a hotel safe. A roadside check is routine and takes a minute when you have them.

The car's own documents

The vehicle papers should be in the car, and you should know where. Ask at handover rather than looking for them at a checkpoint.

If you are involved in an incident, however small, stop, do not move the vehicles, photograph everything including the wider scene, and message us immediately. Do not agree a private settlement at the roadside with anyone. We are on the island and we will tell you exactly what to do next.