I had a concerning experience during a recent Grab ride in Bangkok and I am still trying to figure out if my reaction was reasonable.
I frequently travel between Bang Na and the Phrom Phong area, so I am very familiar with the normal route. During this ride, the driver suddenly began heading in a completely different direction and continued past the airport area instead of following the expected route.
At first I assumed it might be due to traffic, but I noticed the driver was no longer following navigation and appeared to be changing the route manually. When I asked about it, I was only told it would be “faster,” even though the route became significantly longer and the estimated travel time increased.
What made me even more uncomfortable was receiving a safety alert from Grab itself, stating that the trip had deviated from the planned route and asking whether I wanted emergency assistance.
As the ride continued, I felt increasingly uneasy and eventually exited when traffic slowed in a public area because I no longer felt comfortable staying in the vehicle.
Some people later suggested it may have simply been an alternative route, but for me the concern was not just taking a different road. It was the combination of a major route change, ignored navigation, increased travel time, and the app's own safety system being triggered.
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