Why Are Asians Such Horrible Drivers??

Answer 1

There are several reasons, many of which have already been stated.

I will add a further two. I have been driving in Asia for 20 years, and the question has often crossed my mind, so I decided to try to find out.
One day, in Thailand, I was driving very slowly down a narrown city street, when a car came the other way. Usually when I saw this, I would immediately pull well into the side to let them past, because they all think their vehicle is 6 feet wider than it really is. But on this day, I decided to keep going, so that I could notice when the other driver saw me. Eventuall;y I had to give in, because we were getting so close that I thought they would never see me. From this I thought that it was perhaps that they don't look very far ahead, and various other experiments proved this to be the case. They look no more than ten feet in front of them, which means they react very late, and very jerkily to everything.

Then I wondered why this was. It is a fact that they have very poor eyesight.
I teach in a Chinese school, and literally more than half the kids cannot read anything on the blackboard without glasses. Many of them do not wear glasses due to pride, so they cannot see well.

Another thing is that they are very poor judges of speed and distance. A previous answerer mentioned that they start to drive much later in life, but this is only a part of it. Very few Asians have the opportunity to ride in a car regularly when they are youngsters. I have been in a car almost everyday since I was born, and as a result I had ample opportunity to become accustomed with speed and distance. If you are in your late teens when you start sitting in a car regularly, then the learning curve is much greater.

And as stated before, driving tests are a very low standard, law enforcement is negligible, and there are no such things as advanced drivers clubs.

Answer 2

Stereotypically they are bad drivers because Asian immigrants come from places where most people do not drive cars, and when you do, there are very few rules and regulations about how close you can get to somebody else's car, how fast you go, etc. Majority of people in many Asian countries use public transportation or bicycles. As a result they may just haven't had a lot of experience driving yet, that's why teenagers aren't great drivers either.

Saying Asian people are horrible drivers is definitely an overgeneralization, as Asians born and raised here, or ones who have been here for very long drive no different than anybody else. Also it's a fact that people tend to see what they want to see based on their beliefs - there may be a dozen bad drivers you experience on the way to work, but you may only notice the Asian one because you have that mindset in your head that they are bad drivers.

Answer 3

They aren't necessarily, in general.

However, as a foreigner living in Korea I can say that in general Koreans are lousy drivers.

Reason #1: They don't start driving as early in life as in the U.S. I got my learners permit when I was 15 and received drivers training in high school. Koreans generally start driving in or after college. Many drivers here can't back up correctly or parallel park, which tells me they haven't had good training. Also, it is not common for a high school student to drive a car, so the experience is not built up.

Reason #2: City drivers are more aggressive and Koreans are urbanites.

Reason #3: Police don't enforce many rules and people commonly run red lights and break common traffic rules. Society is pretty controlled, so I think one freedom people have is to break traffic rules rather than more important social rules.

Reason #4: Selfishness and pride. I have been told that traditional culture here states that if you don't know someone then you have no relationship to them on the hierarchical system. Therefore, they are non-persons and you don't have to respect others. Many times I have heard that Koreans are the greatest drivers in the world. Most conceited, proud drivers are lousy.

Reason #5: Bus drivers and taxi drivers are terrible role models. Bus drivers here commonly run red lights and drive with poor technique (not slow and steady, but fast and jerky). If you are in a hurry, it is nice to have Mario Andretti as your bus driver, but not good, safe driving. The normal drivers copy what they see the "so-called" professionals do.

Answer 4

I'm Asian!

and I have to say...

...its TRUE!!

I agree 100% with what David W says. Because I honestly don't think I can see that well... I could probably benefit from some glasses!!

Answer 5

I am offended by that comment, my best friend is asian and his whole family are perfect drivers. Horrible drivers are in every race, you probably just don't notice it.

P.S. Skittles that's cruel.

Answer 6

That is a great question and I would like to know that answer myself. It is very frustrating sharing the road with them!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Answer 7

i dont think theyre horrible drivers, we can say that asean are well verse in driving technique. of course they knew the pros and cons of driving. like my ex husband, he drives terribly fast but with full cautions.

Answer 8

Ya..... I HATE getting stuck behind one that can barely see over the wheel going 32 mph in a 45 zone, going from left to right in the same lane in a little mitsubishi or toyota. But idk why.

Answer 9

Asians have small eyes thats why

Answer 10

Because they can't read the ENGLISH road signs? I'm not a racist though :)!.. I promise.