Riders of powerful "Big Bikes" will take separate tests and have different licenses to other motorcyclists

[stanleycoin]

3 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

One problem people seem to forget, regarding allowing motorcycles on the toll highways, is that if they decided to allow some bikes on them (i.e. anything over 600ccs), the very next day the toll highways would be clogged with every Somchai in the country on his rusted out 100cc scooter with food vendor cart attached.

Much like the majority of TV readers, most people would only read the headline of an article and if they saw something like "Motorcycles over 600ccs allowed on Toll Highways as of 1 April", all they would read would be "Motorcycles - Allowed - on - Toll Highways" and the next day they'd be queuing up at the toll booths with their smoking braziers of chicken/catfish, som tam, drink carts, fruit carts, etc, etc .
 

And no - they won't stop those smaller scooters from entering the toll ways because, like everywhere else in the country, what happens (or is supposed to happen) in one place will be different than what happens in another place.
Entry point "A" in this area may stop the smaller stuff but 2 kilometers away on a different entry point they'll be waving them through as fast as possible to avoid traffic jams. And that would probably happen all over the country. In another part of the country they might stop just the food carts but not the scooters. In another place they may let anything that looks like a "big bike" through, even if it's just a 150cc Phantom or 250cc CBR.

And if they try to stop the smaller "bikes" from entering they would risk confrontations at every entry point from every Thai who would likely be screaming, ranting and raving about how he/she has every bit as much right to be there as that guy who just blatted past on his 1400cc cruiser or crotch rocket.
I can literally see it now, when you get to the first toll booth and there's a traffic jam as each lane is blocked by scooter food carts arguing that they are now allowed onto the tollways because they are "motorcycles" too.

 

Good-bye to having clear shoulders to pull onto in the event of a flat or other problem. 

Good-bye to being able to pull into the middle or right lane to pass anyone, as the trucks that are normally in the left lane will all be in the middle lane, trying to pass all the food vendors who are in the left lane, because the shoulder is full of broken down scooter/carts and people who have decided to set up "shop" on the shoulders, meaning all the other traffic will be squeezed into the right lane, which will often be blocked by big trucks and buses trying to pass slightly slower big trucks and buses. Much like what happens already, except with a lot more scooters trying to squeeze in and around every other vehicle on the road.

I'd love to be able to travel on the toll highways. Would make some of my trips a lot easier (and faster) and I might even be tempted to try and ride down to Phuket/Krabi one day, but you'd be really rolling the dice on riding on those highways. (It's a pain in the @55 to get to Phuket from Pattaya without going on toll highways apparently, to get around Bangkok.)
 

I've seen people do some seriously stupid things (in cars, trucks, big trucks and buses) and there have been more than a few close calls as the driver of the vehicle I was in (taxi or friend's vehicle) was nearly in an accident.

The big difference I've noticed between the toll highways and the regular ones is that everyone does the same things, only at faster speeds. Sudden braking, lane changes, no signal lights, driving like they own the road because their vehicle is more expensive than someone else's.

(But there are fewer "u-turns" and people suddenly entering from the left without looking which is probably the cause of 25+% of the total accidents)

Obviously, most of the accidents that happen now (involving motorcycles) happen on the regular roads and highways. Most of them are probably caused by either driving too fast or drinking (or both). I've seen a lot of people that think they don't need to slow down just because they can't see the road (due to monsoon rains or smoke from burning cane fields).

There is no such thing as "driving to the conditions" (or in other words, slowing down when the conditions are poor) over here and even the concept of not driving faster than you can see (i.e. if you are doing 140 but your headlights are only illuminating 10 meters of road ahead of you).
I made the girlfriend get her headlights fixed after one trip. At a stop, her lights barely lit up the road 10 meters (30 feet) ahead of her and then she'd be flying down highway 331 or 359 at 120-140 without a care in the world. Absolutely no chance in h3ll of stopping or avoiding anything that may have been on the road ahead of her and absolutely no understanding about "overdriving your lights".
 

And as we (should) all know, there are a lot of riders (Thai and foreign) who seem to think that every time they get on a bike they have to be red-lining it or it isn't really "riding", regardless of the conditions (road, weather, traffic, sobriety).

There is ZERO reason to believe that they'd act any differently on the toll highways.

 

So yes, it would be nice (and convenient) to ride (big bikes) on the toll ways but I don't think it will happen anytime soon and I think it will be utter chaos if they try it.

 

 

Well at least you would be able to get some sticky rice and chicken , if you get a flat  tyre, whilst the wife / Gf / Mia Noi  changes the wheel.

So it's not all bad. the glass is still half  full you know.  

 

[bheard]

If these Thai riders you are on about used some common sense there would be no reason for increased carnage, and you can forget about "large speed differentials". Dr Tuner is not correct.

Huh? Thai riders using common sense? You're in a parallel universe. And if you can't see large speed differentials on Thai roads every moment of every day then you're. . . blind.

Sent from my F3116 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[NoshowJones]

4 minutes ago, bheard said:

Huh? Thai riders using common sense? You're in a parallel universe. And if you can't see large speed differentials on Thai roads every moment of every day then you're. . . blind.

Sent from my F3116 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Yes, I am that blind that on my road trips, I cannot see all these big bikes overtaking the other traffic, and the big bikers are way ahead of them in no time.

I will grant you one thing though, most Thai riders cannot use common sense as they just do not have it.

[Kerryd]

5 hours ago, stanleycoin said:

Well at least you would be able to get some sticky rice and chicken , if you get a flat  tyre, whilst the wife / Gf / Mia Noi  changes the wheel.

So it's not all bad. the glass is still half  full you know.  

 

Oddly enough, that is pretty much what I'd expect to see ! (The sticky rice part, not the wife/g-f/mia changing the tire part.)

But seriously, I don't think it'd take long before the toll highways started looking like pretty much every other highway/street (with all the scooters and such).

 

Unless they actually did manage to keep all the "small" stuff off of them, then it might not be too bad.

 

[kwilco]

I'd like to say the depth ignorance about road safety is surprising.... sadly it's par for course.......

It seems that no one on this thread is even aware of the different road specs classifications used in Thailand or how riding here differs from other countries, or why, or how the roads themselves affect death rates not to mention emergency services.... They just find it much easier to put it down to thinly veiled racist comments about Thai people.

[dallen52]

5 hours ago, kwilco said:

I'd like to say the depth ignorance about road safety is surprising.... sadly it's par for course.......

It seems that no one on this thread is even aware of the different road specs classifications used in Thailand or how riding here differs from other countries, or why, or how the roads themselves affect death rates not to mention emergency services.... They just find it much easier to put it down to thinly veiled racist comments about Thai people.

Jeez.

You are putting your head on a chopping block with the above comment.

 

I for one have been driving since 1968.

Many countries and vehicles. 

Bikes, big and small,  cars and trucks.

Heavily involved in the forward model vehicle testing for a major car company all over the world. 

I hold full licences for several countries, and I mean full.

B double combinations in Australia. 

 

I've driven cars, bikes, agricultural vehicles and trucks in Thailand for over nine years now.

City and country.

 

I think you will find the overall references to Thai drivers is based on the grounds of how, if at all they got their licences.

The general couldn't care less about any other person way they drive.

And the way the powers that be enforce the road laws. 

 

Possibility this helps to demonstrate the daily issues everyone here is up against. 

 

[dallen52]

22 hours ago, kwilco said:

I'd like to say the depth ignorance about road safety is surprising.... sadly it's par for course.......

It seems that no one on this thread is even aware of the different road specs classifications used in Thailand or how riding here differs from other countries, or why, or how the roads themselves affect death rates not to mention emergency services.... They just find it much easier to put it down to thinly veiled racist comments about Thai people.

Need we say any more?

 

A picture paints a thousand words. 

 

 

[kwilco]

8 hours ago, dallen52 said:

Need we say any more?

 

A picture paints a thousand words. 

 

 

Sadly they don't but some people daft enough to think that.