Driving Quiz

Check your answers at the bottom of the page

1. Imagine you're a young native of Bangkok. Which of these is of the most value to you?

a) A loving family, a fulfilling job and a comfortable home
b) Life itself
c) Your car

2. Rank these in terms of social desirability.

a)   Having a Benz
b)   Having a Toyota
c)   Having leprosy.
d)   Having a city bus ticket fall out of your pocket in front of people.

3. When is 'rush hour' ?

a) 6:00 a.m until 8:00 a.m.
b) 5:30 a.m. until 9:30 a.m
c) 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m.

4. How long does it take to drive from Sukhumvit Sol 49 to Charoen Krung Road?

a) 40 minutes.
b) Three days
c) If you have to ask "how long?" then you don't really need to go.

5. What do policemen and street dogs in Bangkok have in common ?

a)   Neither can hear a dog whistle.
b)   Neither is fully appreciated by the average Bangkokian.
c)   Nothing

6. Why did the authorities declare a two-day holiday plus organise a bunch of festivals and other events upcountry in mid-October, 1991?

a) This was intended to allow the citizens of the City of Angels to join in the joyful welcome for the delegates to the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Conference and their families.
b) It was merely a whim.
c) To ease the traffic sufficiently that the delegates to the International Monetary Fund/World Bank Conference and their families would see the advantage in coming to stay in Bangkok while attending the conference, rather than commuting daily from their home countries.

7. What is the average speed of Bangkok traffic?

a) 5kph
b) 15 kph
c) The movement of Bangkok traffic is often imperceptible to modern science.

8. What is the average rate at which a pedestrian walks?

a) 5.5 kph.
b) 15 kph.
c) 3.5 kph

9. The average Bangkok driver spends the equivalent of how many days a year in traffic?

a)    18.5 days per year
b)   44 days per year
c)   32 days per year

10. Which solution to Bangkok's traffic woes was once proposed by a candidate for city governor?

a) Leave all the traffic lights green.
b) Promote the whole phenomenon as a tourist attraction - "Come to Bangkok and see the world's most intractable traffic jams! Watch time stand still! Maybe you will be lucky enough to be there when total gridlock sets in!"
c) Summary smashing of headlights and/or windscreens of traffic offenders with official batons.

11. How many new vehicles are coming onto Bangkok's roads every day?

a) A few
b) About 400.
c ) About 1100.

12. What has the national government actually done to address the problem of traffic congestion in Bangkok?

a) They have passed legislation permitting odd-numbered license plates on the roads only some days. and even-numbered licenses on alternate days.
b) They have increased taxes on private cars, thereby encouraging people to use public transportation Instead
c) They have cut taxes on private cars so that more people can buy them, even though hundreds of new cars, trucks, and motorcycles are already coming onto Bangkok's streets every day.

13. The car serves which main function in modern Bangkok?

a)   It lets neighbours and passersby know you are somebody.
b) It gets you from A to B.
c)   It sometimes offers shelter from the rain.
14   In 1997 the government eventually succeeded in lessening the problem of traffic jams in Bangkok. Just how did they do that ?

a) By convincing people to see that the pollution from the traffic was harmful to their health and it would be for the good of everyone if more people took the bus.
b) Providing free school buses and a park and ride program for commuters from the suburbs.
c) By bankrupting the country and thereby plunging most of the financially overstretched middle classes into debt, forcing them to give up at least one of their cars and take the bus instead.

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