Chiang Mai public transport van drivers petition against GPS speed detectors, for higher speed limit

[atyclb]

via a thai friend post graduate studies done in england regarding thai history; at about time spoken language was being introduced some wise men noted "regardless of a language to communicate with, some will only learn via throwing rocks at them"

[Redline]

Dumb as rocks

Edited February 26, 2019 by Redline

[RichardColeman]

It's probably the frustrated male ego of being overtaken whilst they are in a van

[kannot]

well im for increasing the speed  limits, they are absolutely pedestrian,minimum 110 on  dual  carriageway roads for cars/pick ups, hgv max 90kph LEFT  LANE  ONLY

[Guest Jerry787]

not only GPS, drug and alcohol test before and after driving, camera connected to traffic light, to signal how many red light they overpass.

start to implements very hard traffic rules and will see accidents and death totally decrease

[connda]

19 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

alling for sympathy and help by either cancelling the requirement for public transport vans to be installed with speed-detecting GPS devices or increasing the current 90 kilometres/hour speed limit to 110km/h.

The speed limit for van drivers should be lowered to 80 kph considering the road carnage statistics showing that the average van driver can't handle their vehicles at the current speed limit.

[Mark mark]

90k is not a very fast speed Cap, a local told me that they only book you with the Cameras only if you go faster than 120 ! ? ... I stay about lower then this but never under 90 ? .... I wonder when they will get every one used to it, and then start charging people at 100 to make more Money (Like they would in Australia ? if that was the speed limits ???) ....

[Mark mark]

2 minutes ago, Mark mark said:

90k is not a very fast speed Cap, a local told me that they only book you with the Cameras only if you go faster than 120 ! ? ... I stay about lower then this but never under 90 ? .... I wonder when they will get every one used to it, and then start charging people at 100 to make more Money (Like they would in Australia ? if that was the speed limits ???) ....

Tough Wood, I have not been booked yet ! ? Still, keeping my Fingers Crossed, like 90k is not very fast ! ? ...

[SiSePuede419]

Agreed.  When the "big roads" are clear, 80kph is a wee bit slow.

 

I do 104kph in LA all the time and have Mercedes, BMWs pass me like they're angry I'm going too slow?!?!

????

[chang1]

49 minutes ago, Mark mark said:

Tough Wood, I have not been booked yet ! ? Still, keeping my Fingers Crossed, like 90k is not very fast ! ? ...

In the UK light goods vehicles which includes vans (but not car derived vans) have a speed limit of 50 mp/h (80 km/h) on normal roads (60 mp/h on dual carriageways). So 90 km/h is not that slow. Remember these drivers try to keep this speed up around bends as well where 70 km/h is plenty.

[bristolgeoff]

They driving can be very bad most times,now they are going to be punished  for what they do.they know it as well

[from the home of CC]

It's a response similar to the pet registration, speed cams, helmet laws etc. The authorities need to unwavering with these public safety measures, everyone has to realize there is no moving forward without pain.  

[chang1]

27 minutes ago, from the home of CC said:

It's a response similar to the pet registration, speed cams, helmet laws etc. The authorities need to unwavering with these public safety measures, everyone has to realize there is no moving forward without pain.  

They could try to reduce the "pain" by bringing some of these new laws in gradually. Start with the worst offenders then work the way down through the majority. This allows most people to get used to them, adjust their ingrained habits and see the improvements before being caught out themselves. My post #83 gives an example.

Bringing in a catch all law will always be met with hostility which can mean it gets shelved. It is then looked on as a failure that is much harder to revive even if modified. It also builds up a resentment to other changes.

Edited February 26, 2019 by chang1

[outsider]

Everything this Soros idiot said is plain bullshit. 

 

"... paying thousands of baht in fines per month – for exceeding the speed limit" - then don't exceed the speed limit. Ditto the need to speed to overtake. If you came up to a slower vehicle and you have to exceed the speed limit to overtake, then don't overtake! Why does everything has to be 'me first'? There is a reason why the vans are limited to 90 km/h. It's called SAFETY. Not that any of you dimwits know what that is.

 

Taking the speed-sensing GPS or raising the speed limit for these idiots is like giving a cocked and loaded gun to a bunch of stoned monkeys.

 

[pellets]

On 2/26/2019 at 11:34 AM, Formaleins said:

Someone needs to petition the land transport department to have those damn idiots that drive those red songtaews around Chiang Mai taken off the roads. If they cleared these incompetent idiots off the roads (most of them are approaching 70 years old) the rest of the traffic would actually be able to "flow" properly. Most of these stupid old ba$tard$ drive at about 10KMH, they pull out on anyone they like, they swap lanes willy nilly, they suddenly will cross three lanes of fast traffic at 10KMH to reach the roadside to tout for walking customers. Most of them are a bunch of scamming old ba$tard$ that try to rip off anyone that isn't a local. They are a menace to ordinary traffic. They double and treble park on some of the busiest intersections causing chaos.

 

Please, when driving in Chiang Mai, do your utmost to block these ba$tards into the left lane wherever possible, and never let them out!

EXACTLY the same problems with the darkblue Songtaews at Jomtien, where i live, AND in Pattaya as well.
The roads are crowded with this shit, making problems, and stops EVERYWHERE!
Sometimes i can see 4 - 5 of them, following each other - EMPTY!

[rickudon]

If they do 110 KPH uphill, how fast do they go downhill? 120 KPH, 140 KPH?

 

Given the competence of many Thai drivers, the state of the roads and the lack of vehicle maintenance, I adopted a maxim i was told when i first arrived here - 'Whatever speed you would do in the UK in MPH, do here in KPH'. Result - no accident in  10 years (but my wife still thinks i drive too fast!). Sensible Thai drivers also drive like this. I rarely exceed 100 kph at any time, and only on a straight dual carriageway with little traffic and going downhill during daytime  ...

 

Only yesterday a motorbike on our village road decided to try to overtake TWO pickup trucks while i was coming the other way. They were aiming straight for the middle of my car bonnet. I thought they would slow down and slot back in behind one of the Pickup trucks but they just kept on coming! The road is just barely wide enough for 2 cars. I had to do an emergency stop and they just managed to squeeze in front of me before the pickup trucks got there.....  I reckon on about 3 or 4 near misses a day as i have to drive during rush hour twice a day. If i drove at UK speed, there wouldn't be enough time to react and avoid an accident on many occasions.

 

All the long distance coaches i have travelled on in Thailand have been driven carefully, but i only travel on scheduled routes with main operators. 

 

90 KPH is fast enough for ANY commercial vehicle.

[kannot]

On 2/26/2019 at 2:55 PM, connda said:

The speed limit for van drivers should be lowered to 80 kph considering the road carnage statistics showing that the average van driver can't handle their vehicles at the current speed limit.

do  you think  not  paying attention at 80  will be any different form not  paying attention at 90?

[kannot]

On 2/26/2019 at 11:13 AM, chang1 said:

If you read the OP you would see that it has made a change. Why do you think they are protesting? My "theory" is that it works because it bypasses the police so is not so susceptible to "payments". The question is, how long will Thais want to keep rigorously enforcing the gps based system? That is how to judge if there is a genuine change in attitude to road safety.

Do  you  think this  stops  them driving dangerously??

If the answer is yes then Id  suggest youd  be wrong, they will still drive 30cm from your  bumper, whether 90 or 110 the result  will be the same.

Whether overtaking into oncoming traffic at 90 or 110 the result will  still be the same, swerving in and  out without signals  will still be the same.

The ONLY reason they are complaining is  because by speeding they achieve more trips per day and get paid  more, it does not improve their driving in any way.......speed  is  NOT  the issue yet everyone seems to think by slowing them to 90 the result  will be different.....it  wont, theyr e still going to  kill you at 90....................your stopped at a junction and they go thru red at 90............or  110......result EXACTLY the same.

 

Edited February 27, 2019 by kannot

[kannot]

6 hours ago, rickudon said:

All the long distance coaches i have travelled on in Thailand have been driven carefully,

yes its  GREAT  fun to  follow a  convoy of 5  of them going 90kph in the outside  lane when the inside lane is totally clear for  KILOMETRES

[Prairieboy]

On 2/25/2019 at 7:48 PM, snoop1130 said:

Van drivers were continuing to shoulder the fine for driving beyond 90km/h, as they still had to violate the speed limit to get past slower-moving vehicles, he said. 

If the vehicle is slower moving then maintaining 90 kph will still permit the van to pass - the root of the problem is they want to pass as rapidly as possible because they can't wait until it is safe to do so due to oncoming traffic or they want to pass as quickly as possible so they can cut in front of you then jam on their brakes to pick up or drop off a passenger.

 

They have no patience and a me first attitude.

[scorecard]

On 2/27/2019 at 1:51 AM, outsider said:

Everything this Soros idiot said is plain bullshit. 

 

"... paying thousands of baht in fines per month – for exceeding the speed limit" - then don't exceed the speed limit. Ditto the need to speed to overtake. If you came up to a slower vehicle and you have to exceed the speed limit to overtake, then don't overtake! Why does everything has to be 'me first'? There is a reason why the vans are limited to 90 km/h. It's called SAFETY. Not that any of you dimwits know what that is.

 

Taking the speed-sensing GPS or raising the speed limit for these idiots is like giving a cocked and loaded gun to a bunch of stoned monkeys.

 

 

And it all comes back to lack of education and lack of analysis and questions skills and behaviors, lack of knowledge of why law exists and why specific laws exist and their purpose (reduce the road toll etc.)  and lack of good community communications and lack of teaching at a family level about what is right and what is wrong and what behaviors are acceptable in a civil society and what behaviors are not acceptable in a civil society and why. 

 

Expecting that adults (in any society) who fit the profile above will suddenly change is unfortunately not realistic and for many reasons.

 

Until the foundations change IMHO there will be no change and no progress. 

 

 

[scorecard]

1 hour ago, Prairieboy said:

If the vehicle is slower moving then maintaining 90 kph will still permit the van to pass - the root of the problem is they want to pass as rapidly as possible because they can't wait until it is safe to do so due to oncoming traffic or they want to pass as quickly as possible so they can cut in front of you then jam on their brakes to pick up or drop off a passenger.

 

They have no patience and a me first attitude.

'they'

 

'no patience and a me first attitude'

 

Both points are applicable to all folks regardless country and society.

 

And plenty of farang living in LOS who are the same.

 

 

[outsider]

On 2/28/2019 at 9:06 AM, scorecard said:

 

And it all comes back to lack of education and lack of analysis and questions skills and behaviors, lack of knowledge of why law exists and why specific laws exist and their purpose (reduce the road toll etc.)  and lack of good community communications and lack of teaching at a family level about what is right and what is wrong and what behaviors are acceptable in a civil society and what behaviors are not acceptable in a civil society and why. 

 

Expecting that adults (in any society) who fit the profile above will suddenly change is unfortunately not realistic and for many reasons.

 

Until the foundations change IMHO there will be no change and no progress. 

 

 

 

True! I was in a car driven by a Thai friend over the weekend. We approached an intersection, the lights turned amber, and she muttered, "Should I stop or go... ". And I said "STOP!". And she did. Right at that moment, a motorcycle zoomed past in front of us. He obviously saw our side turned amber, had no time to wait until his side turned green, and decided to shave a few seconds off his waiting time.

 

My friend asked, would I stop if I was driving and I said "Yes! No questions about it!" and she said "Well you see, you follow the law. But you are not Thai driver and in Thailand it's not the same." Therein lies the whole core of the problem! So in Thailand, amber means accelerate? It means everybody does it, so even a wrong becomes right? It also underlines the fact that the law in Thailand is just words written on toilet paper.

 

I argued, "But if you had gone, the motorcy would've crashed into you!" And her reply was, "No, he can see that I stopped, that's why he proceeded. If I went ahead, he wouldn't have run the reds." So much (misplaced!) faith amongst Thai motorists! In my judgement, the motorcy idiot literally did the "Amber on that side means green on mine" routine, because there was no lapse between our stopping and he appearing in front of our bonnet. I'm just lucky I didn't have to waste my lunchtime being a witness in an unnecessary incident.

 

Mind you, this friend of mine is a 'law-abiding' (to use the term loosely), educated and a lovely person all-round, well-mannered and all. But in this incidence, and if a crash happened, BOTH are idiots - my friend for trying to squeeze past an amber light and the motorcy idiot for running a red.

 

[sharktooth]

I don’t know even know why they have amber lights here, or red, come to think of it.