Did you know there are approximately 60 serious road accidents every month on Koh Samui, and every month about 4-5 lives are lost in these unfortunate incidents?  

Reducing this number of incidents, even by one, would be a wonderful thing.  

How safe it is to drive on the roads is  in the end up to every one of us . Every time we hop on that car or motorcycle and get on the road , it is our decision to make  how behave in the traffic.  

It’s not  like you’re doomed to have an incident while driving, but to keep safe, you need to take a few precautions. These are very simple to do and can make a huge difference.

At Cocovolt, we want to keep you safe on the road and we want to raise awareness around the topic.  Spending just a few minutes thinking about the topic and recognizing the special attention needed when driving here will already make a difference and help you stay safer.

First Things First

In addition to having a proper license, having the necessary driving experience helps you to focus on your surroundings and not just controlling the vehicle.

You will see a lot of people driving without helmets.  One very basic thing to do to keep yourself safe is not to join those people – wear a helmet without exception.

It is, in the end, your most precious personal asset you’re protecting.

Starting Up

One of the risky situations is supprisingly when kicking-off as  sometimes you see people lose control of the bike when they start up. This is something to keep in mind, especially when taking off with a motorcycle not familiar to you. The power may surprise you.

Start off carefully to get the feeling on the bike you are driving and go gentle on that throttle.

Eyes on the Road – eyes on your back  , assume nothing

A dive center owner from Ao Nang gave us a simple, but effective tip to driving  in Thailand: “Keep your eyes on the road, but have eyes on your back as well. Assume nothing because anything can happen.”

The traffic is very hectic, no one can deny that and this tip we were given is a valuable one.

Imagine yourself driving in Chaweng. it’s a busy day and there’s quite a lot of traffic.

You have cars on the road, motorcycles zigzagging in between them, you have a fruit seller pushing their cart on the side of the road and people joining the road from the sideroads.  A stray dog is walking on the side of the road. Someone is just parking their car and exiting.  At the same time a street kitchen is cooking some spicy curry and traces of chili get into your eyes.  Even though the traffic is moving ahead slowly, there’s a lot of things happening at the same time: all around you.  

To be able to control the situation, you need to be aware. 

Key is to keep your speed down and focus on driving. Keep your eyes on the road ahead, but actively use your mirrors to stay aware of the situation around you. 

Situation in front of you changes quickly and you may need to do sudden adjustments to your driving. 

It’s not just the vehicles in front of you that can cause risky situations with sudden movements, but also things like:

• • Damaged road: The roads on Samui are in varying condition. Paved roads have quite a lot of pitholes and damages that in some cases the pavement can have sharp edges. Driving into a pithole can startle you or damage the bike you are driving so spot and detour pitholes.
  • Sandy spots, which can be slippery so better detour them.
  • Ponds. You never know how deep they are so just like sandy spots, better detour ponds.
  • Animals: Usually chickens or dogs crossing the road or even sleeping in the middle of it. Sometimes, more seldom, it can be a snake.
  • Cars or motorcycles parked on the side of the road

Sometimes things like this are hard to spot well in advance and they may require quick adjustments while you are driving, In these situations it’s important to be aware if you have room to maneuver in case needed.

So you see, keeping a low enough speed ,  focusing on driving and using your mirrors is very important. 

Relearning the rules of the game

When gaining enough experience we start driving relying much on our muscle memory and ability to read and anticipate the traffic based on how other people on the road behave. 

The traffic rules and your way to read the traffic may not apply here and you need to be able to reset your mindset. 

Don’t get me wrong, traffic rules do exist, but in real life, the driving culture is more careless than in western countries. 

Anticipate risky situations and take precaution

Let me give you a few examples what you can experience on the roads:

• • Roundabout rules don’t seem to be clear for people or they are not really respected.  Instead of relying on others to abide by the rules thrwad carefully.
  • Driving speeds, especially on high powered motorcycles can be high and even if you check your mirrors often , sometimes it can feel they appear out of thin air. Use your mirrors actively, use signals and take precaution when switching lanes.
  • Drivers joining the traffic from side roads may do it with little caution.  When ever you see someone looking to join from the side-streets, keep in mind , they might not pay attention and you might have to be ready to react.
  • Cars joining from the side streets often crawl their nose blocking the side lane. If you’re driving on the side lane, keep in mind you might have to react to this. 
  • For car drivers it’s not easy as well to drive in the hectic traffic and their visibility may be limited.
  • Sometimes you see motorcycles driving to the wrong direction on the side of the road
  • Drivers may do sudden moves when they avoid obstacles on the road like sandy spots, damages on the pavement, ponds etc.
  • There are often vehicles parked on the side-lane which reduces the lane space. If you spot a car parked on the other side of the road, you can expect the oncoming traffic to take space from yours.
  • If you’re driving behind a car it will block your view on what’s happening in front of it. Don’t ever rush into taking over a vehicle , but instead take precaution by slowly advancing to make sure there’s no obstacles in front of the car e.g. signalling to turn. It may be there’s a halted car right in front of the car you’re about to takeover e,g, in a traffic jam.

In general a good rule of thumb is not just to react to the traffic situation, but to constantly assess the things you see around you. If  there’s a lot of things going on in traffic,  slow down.

Another good rule of thumb is , do not assume anything. If your view is blocked, assume there could be something risky in front.

Zigzagging in between the cars, driving fast, taking over vehicles- these are in many cases unnecessary risks which should be avoided.  

Special things to take into consideration on Cocovolt scooters

When taking off the first time, we recommend you start off with first gear and when you get the hold of how the scooter behaves, shift over to higher gears.  

Cocovolt scooters are in general very easy to handle, but still  it’s a good precaution to take.

The Cocovolt scooters are limited to a maximum speed of about 65 kilometers per hour . This is really a bit faster than you ever need to drive on this island, as the top speed allowed is 60 km/h. This, in its part, helps keep the roads safe on this island.

As our motorcycles are powered by an electric engine, they are almost totally silent. This gives you a very comfortable ride, but this also means you might be nothing but a ghost to the other drivers ,  pedestrians but also for animals, such as dogs resting. 

When e.g. taking over a vehicle in front of you, give a gentle and polite sound signal on the scooters horn before making moves to let them know you exist.

Summarizing

• • Have a license and the needed skillset to drive safely
  • Wear a helmet. No reason not to do this.
  • Remain alert when driving and be prepared for surprises- assume nothing
  • Pay attention not only to what’s happening right in front of you but anticipate the traffic identifying risky situations – react to them  well in advance.  
  • Spot ponds ,  sandy spots and damages on the pavement in advance and avoid them. 
  • Don’t take unnecessary risks like takeovers or high speed etc. 
  • Drive on the side lane to give space to cars driving on the actual lanes
  • Check your mirrors actively to keep track of what’s going on behind you

We wish you safe rides !

We take pride in keeping our scooters in the best condition they can be for your use. Now we ask you to do your part in keeping yourself safe by using it in a smart way.