Chiang Mai to Pai minivan- how likely to die?
 

Hi

My wife and I have booked 2 seats near the front of a minivan departing at half 2 in the afternoon. After reading so many scare stories online, my question is a simple one: How likely are we to die? We can cope with motion sickness, but hearing about the way a lot of these minivan drivers drive along the winding mountain road is starting to scare the bejebus out of me.

Not terribly likely, but you never know. I would be prepared to tell the driver to slow down, although how effective that would be is anyone's guess. Good luck.

Cheers. We are riding with Prempracha Transport company - anyone have any experience riding with them? I've heard the Aya drivers are pretty reckless, but not sure about Prempracha.

We have only ever rented a car and driven ourselves for the Mai Hong Sorn route. The good news is that it is a wonderful drive and that there are not too many others on the road. The bad news is that those that are on the road are complete lunatics. Tee shirts sold locally pronounce 385 sharp bends on the route. On around half of those we seems to meet a minibus or truck comming at us on the wrong side of the road.

Can't comment on any minibus drivers but IME it largely depends on who you get on the day. If he looks under thirty I would think twice about getting in!

There is a 100% likelihood that you will die, eventually.

Vomit a few times and ask the driver to slow down.

I have driven this route a few times - and you are driving in daylight - the views will take your mind off things.

We her a lot about horror crashes in buses - we seldom see a comparison of those stats with deaths in other vehicles. So exactly how dangerius they are compared to a large bus or rented car is not established.

My philosophy has always bee why would I let someone drive who is clearly not as well-trained as I am?

There are some things you can do though.

Firstly make friends with the other passengers - you don't want to fill the roll of moaning minnies on this trip.

If you think the driver is going to fast you can then get a consensus from the rest of the passengers.

Telling him off in front of the passengers will only achieve one thing - the driver will lose face and HATE you for it.
So in my experience the best thing you can do if you feel uncomfortable is quietly offer him an incentive - about 200 - baht to keep the speed below 90 kph (the national speed limit). Tell hime you want to see the view better and could he take the corners more slowly.
The minimum wage in Thailand is 300 baht per day for 8 hours - drivers earn little more than this so a "tip" goes a long way and is usually appreciated.

avoid a slanging match - If you are onside with the other passengers then you will know that you have their support.
I have been on minibuses (admittedly years ago) where people have just sat back and accepted the poor driving - a best they moan to each other - this does nothing to help.

Most drivers these days are a lot better than years back - the tourist industry and the country's international reputation are major factors.

However in the end it is not just your driver's ability, the roads and other road users are factors over which you have no control.

at the end of the day the risks assessment is up to you, will you die implies a 100% chance...could you die the answer is yes, but what those odds are I don't know - I suspect they are quite small, i suggest it's up to you to deide if they are acceptable.

Driven it twice ourselves. Not much traffic and really not that big of a deal. It's got some lovely scenery, but relative to other mountain roads, it fine. That said, a maniac driver on any road is not good. Good luck!

Thanks for taking the time to reply, guys - very helpful! Especially about offering the driver a quiet tip if he gets a bit reckless, I wouldn't have thought of that!

Going tomorrow so wish me luck!

Thanks again.