Which lane to use as motorcyclist

[Opossum]

Hi

 

As you can see on the attached picture, there are 3 lanes. I was told today from my thai teacher and from a Farang who is driving in Thailand every day, that I should use the outmost left lane Nr. 1, which indeed almost all Thai people are using and that it is even forbidden to use lane Nbr. 2 and Nbr. 3 except for overtaking a vehicle.

My question: Is it forbidden to use lane Nbr. 2 by Thai law?

In the country where I come from, lane Nbr. 1 is forbidden to use and only in case of emergencies and in case your car is broken down.

 

Thanks for any answers

 

 

[chickenslegs]

"Lane" number 1 is not a lane at all, but a hard shoulder that should be used in case of emergency or breakdown.

However, it is commonly used and referred to as a motorcycle lane and this practice is unlikely to change.

IIRC the law states that motorcycles should occupy the leftmost lane (your lane 2) and keep to the left side of that lane, unless overtaking.

Often, the rules of the road are in conflict with the practical use of the road.

[tifino]

characters like me are the bane of those motorbikes...

Lane one 'belongs' to me, and my 107cm width hogs it all........ ????     

 

[jackdd]

As pointed out by the previous poster, number 1 is the hard shoulder, that's not a lane for driving, unless your vehicle breaks down you are not supposed to be there.

You drive in lane 2, and if you overtake you do this in lane 3.

Driving on the hard shoulder is not only illegal but is also dangerous, due to all the debris which accumulates there, as well as other vehicles who pull out of small sois (or into them) without looking, or dogs running around there.

Edited February 4, 2021 by jackdd

[VocalNeal]

The law as i understand it is no different from an country that drives on the left. ie. UK. 

All traffic will drive on the left unless overtaking. The only difference here is whether your "1" lane is actually a lane. I would say not as it has a solid line. Locals will use it for whatever they want stopping for a leak, passing on the left in a queue, et al. 

Your have to use the right lane 3 when doing a U-turn.

 

I was following a mate today and he used a right-hand lane at traffic lights. That would get him a ticket if noticed in Bangkok but here up north ? 

 

Generally in Bangkok the RTP only stop motorbikes for this "infringement" on three lane roads like, say, Rama 4. Doing so on a two lane road would cause too much disruption. Whether this is the case in Pattaya I do not know. So if in doubt on a three lane road stay on the left.

 

Note: Motorbike in Bangkok only seem to be prohibited on bridges/overpasses which do not have an emergency shoulder as shown in your example. Where this has been converted into a regular lane they are prohibited, but when in Rome...

[topt]

25 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

Whether this is the case in Pattaya

Motor Cyclists seem to go in whatever lane they want at traffic lights here. Where there is no barrier even the incoming lane to beat the others away from the light.......

 

That is when they bother to stop for the light in the first place.......

Edited February 4, 2021 by topt

[Opossum]

Thank you for all your replies. I was unsure, if Thai law consider the lane Nbr. 1 as lane in the picture. Therefore I asked my thai teacher and my colleague at school if Nbr. 1 is a shoulder = "emergency lane" and my teacher told me, that in Thailand emergency lanes do not exist. From Thai style point of view, she is probably correct because everyone is using it as lane and I was thinking about if I'm breaking any rules/ laws until now. It's completely insane driving on it - extremely dangerous in every aspect.

 

 

[jackdd]

I did some digging on how it works under Thai law, here the explanation:

Technically the hard shoulder is considerd to be a sidewalk (yes, even on a motorway). You are allowed to walk there, or to ride a bicycle (On a motorway they probably won't let you though). Obviously you aren't allowed to drive a motorbike or car on a sidewalk.

In case of an emergency you are allowed to stop on a sidewalk (the hard shoulder in this case), but have to turn on your hazard lights.

Parking on a sidewalk is not allowed. If you wanted to park legally on a road as shown in OP you would have to park in lane 2, less than 25 centimeters away from the hard shoulder (I would not recommend doing this though, unless you want somebody to crash into you).

 

Sources (in Thai):

https://www.grandprix.co.th/การขับรถบนไหล่ทาง/

http://web.krisdika.go.th/data/law/law2/%A803/%A803-20-9999-update.htm

[Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai]

Lanes 1,2,3 or for weaving high speed  black pickups. Motorcycles no chance.

????❤????????

[bobandyson]

Lanes 1,2 and 3 for going from A to B.

 

Use lane 1 when returning from B.

????

[EricTh]

I see a lot of Thai people using lane 1 to park their cars while they go and buy something which is illegal. 

 

It's for emergency parking and not for lazy people who don't want to park further away in proper parking bays.

 

Lane 1 is supposed to be for emergency but is informally used for motorcycles due to heavy traffic on lane 2 and 3.

 

If there is light traffic, then use lane 2. If there is medium to heavy traffic, use lane 1 which is normal in peak hours.

 

Never ever park your car in lane 1(like what some Thais do) except in an emergency breakdown.

Edited February 4, 2021 by EricTh

[scubascuba3]

 1 is the most unsafe lane but hey we're in Thailand, I usually come out of it into 2 when a junction comes to ensure a bozo coming out sees me. On Sukhumvit Pattaya area most bikers use 1 and 2, no idea of the law

[transam]

I thought the "hard shoulder" was for m/bikes, our in town roads have them too for bikes, bikes overtake using them.

Can't remember the last time a m/bike overtook me on the right....????

[Opossum]

Why I came up with this question is: Driving on almost empty roads like in the picture on lane Nbr. 2, some cars came very close on my side and are on my lane while  Nbr. 3 is completely empty like in the picture, as if they want to tell me, it's their lane and I should use the shoulder. This happens at least once a week. For a moment I was unsure about my sanity if signs and rules in Thailand are so much different to the rest of the world.

 

[tifino]

1 hour ago, transam said:

I thought the "hard shoulder" was for m/bikes, our in town roads have them too for bikes, bikes overtake using them.

Can't remember the last time a m/bike overtook me on the right....????

yes... that would be an out of left field move eh wot 

[DaLa]

OK, we all know this is a wind up , however for clarification we all know it's either 4 or 4a

 

 

[actonion]

Lane 1 is seperated from lanes 2, & 3 by an unbroken White line, an unbroken White line must not be crossed except in emergencies ..Lanes 2, & 3 are seperated by a broken White line which indicates  that in can be crossed for overtaking puposes...sadly most Thais  don't understand  why White lines are painted

[Moonlover]

12 hours ago, Opossum said:

Thank you for all your replies. I was unsure, if Thai law consider the lane Nbr. 1 as lane in the picture. Therefore I asked my thai teacher and my colleague at school if Nbr. 1 is a shoulder = "emergency lane" and my teacher told me, that in Thailand emergency lanes do not exist. From Thai style point of view, she is probably correct because everyone is using it as lane and I was thinking about if I'm breaking any rules/ laws until now. It's completely insane driving on it - extremely dangerous in every aspect.

 

 

Concerning what your Thai teacher told you, as most Thais receive no driving/riding instruction at all and I doubt if any of them read the 'Thai Traffic Laws', I would take what have to they say with a 'pinch of salt'. (do please note, I am NOT a Thai basher as most folks will know)

 

I believe that 'lane 1' (your definition) is not for riding or driving in. Moreover I believe it to be a potentially dangerous practice to do so. I could give a long list of why I believe it to be dangerous, but most people should be able to work it out for themselves.

 

I've been riding here for 7 years now and I always ride in the middle of the left hand lane (your lane 2) and endeavor to keep pace with the general flow of the traffic around me. This, by the way is a practice taught to and recommended by UK police motorcyclists who call it 'claiming your space'. And I always overtake on the right. This maximizes your range of maneuverability, should you need it. And in Thailand you inevitably will do!

 

Safe riding all.

 

[Kwasaki]

14 hours ago, Opossum said:

Thanks for any answers

My practical point of view.

Lane 1 in pix is a hard shoulder area use by people walking, bicycles, vehicle breakdowns and scooters/ Waves etc that want to stay to the left as far as possible out of the way of following traffic. 

 

Lane 2 in pix is the left inside lane of the dual carriageway road which most people should use and scooters/small motorbikes should kept to the inside left of the lane.

 

Lane 3 in pix is the outside lane which is supposed to be used for overtaking or moved into if wanting to exit the road at a junction for turning right.

[yeahbutif]

It just goes to show. No body really knows. As most not even told the rules. All I know is even if right. If a falang.. You would be wrong. If a excident accured. 

[canthai55]

If safety is paramount, get ahead of traffic. Have no one close behind you, and do not be close to those ahead of you.

Then you only have to worry about oncoming traffic and those entering from side roads

[Gecko123]

3 hours ago, Opossum said:

Why I came up with this question is: Driving on almost empty roads like in the picture on lane Nbr. 2, some cars came very close on my side and are on my lane while  Nbr. 3 is completely empty like in the picture, as if they want to tell me, it's their lane and I should use the shoulder. This happens at least once a week. For a moment I was unsure about my sanity if signs and rules in Thailand are so much different to the rest of the world.

 

You bring up an excellent point. The attitude that motorcyclists belong on the shoulder - if one is available - is very common and does not get enough mention in discussions on road safety in Thailand. I am not a motorcyclist myself but encounter this same attitude while bicycling. Aside from debris, overgrown roadside brush, potholes, and parked cars, you also encounter situations where the shoulder is unexpectedly cinched in or disappears completely which can force the cyclist to dangerously merge into the adjacent lane.

 

My advice for handling this problem is to ride on the shoulder when you are familiar with the road and can be reasonably confident that it is safe. If you are keeping pace with traffic in not overly congested and moderately paced traffic, fully "own" the lane, i.e., ride in the middle of the lane. If you are riding significantly slower than the slow lane traffic, I would consider riding on the shoulder whenever possible. For whatever reason, if you are riding in the left hand lane, but not on the shoulder, it is very important NOT to ride at the extreme edge of the lane, which will encourage vehicles approaching from the rear to pass you at full speed. The trick is to encourage the vehicle approaching from the rear to slow down when passing you and make it visually unambiguous that you are in the lane and not riding on the shoulder, while not antagonizing an aggressive driver into trying to run you off the road in retaliation for your unnecessarily hogging the road.

[condobrit001]

I follow the Thai example and ride on the sidewalk for most of the time.

[jackdd]

24 minutes ago, Gecko123 said:

You bring up an excellent point. The attitude that motorcyclists belong on the shoulder - if one is available - is very common and does not get enough mention in discussions on road safety in Thailand.

The problem is that some municipalities have no clue about the law and set up signs as shown below.

One sign says "use the hard shoulder", the other "ride on the hard shoulder". Obviously they are blue colored, which means it's just a recommendation, nothing you have to do.

The problem with this recommendation is, that if you follow it and ride on the hard shoulder (as a motorcycle), you are still breaking the law, these signs don't overrule it.

Many people do of course not know that these signs make no sense and are just wrong, but might believe that motorcycles should ride on the hard shoulder after seeing them.

 

[Blue Muton]

You've got a choice really, get on the Highway to Hell or buy a Stairway to Heaven.

[Gecko123]

1 hour ago, jackdd said:

The problem is that some municipalities have no clue about the law and set up signs as shown below.

One sign says "use the hard shoulder", the other "ride on the hard shoulder". Obviously they are blue colored, which means it's just a recommendation, nothing you have to do.

The problem with this recommendation is, that if you follow it and ride on the hard shoulder (as a motorcycle), you are still breaking the law, these signs don't overrule it.

Many people do of course not know that these signs make no sense and are just wrong, but might believe that motorcycles should ride on the hard shoulder after seeing them.

 

Just shooting the breeze about traffic safety here...

 

The above road is single lane and undivided (no median barrier between oncoming traffic) which happens to be, statistically, the most dangerous highway there is. I suspect they've put up the "motorcycles use shoulder" signs in order to reduce the need for passing into oncoming traffic. The stretch of road also looks like it might have a fair amount of side streets, and maybe has times of day when sun reduces visibility which would further increase the passing danger, so having slower traffic use shoulder is trade-off for reducing the need for passing into oncoming traffic. I was not aware that blue signs were "advisory only."

 

Edited February 5, 2021 by Gecko123

[GreasyFingers]

If you want to stay alive do as the Thais do unless your bike is traveling at least 90 kmh. Then, as others have said, ride in the middle of lane 2. Remember a car driver has no respect for you no matter what lane you are in as they are bigger than you.

[Gandtee]

Any lane as the mood takes you.???? I read yesterday that a motorcyclist here  is killed ever half hour. A good reason not to ride one if you don't have to.

[soi3eddie]

 

Good, interesting and varied debate so far. I do, and will continue to, ride in whatever lane I feel appropriate to avoid being killed by some maniac road user here. I rarely ever ride on the hard shoulder - what is referred to as "Lane 1" above as that's almost suicidal with people pulling out without looking, turning in front of you at the last minute with no indication or riding/driving wrong way against you! If it costs me a fine from the boys in brown then so be it.

 

[pacovl46]

20 hours ago, Opossum said:

Thank you for all your replies. I was unsure, if Thai law consider the lane Nbr. 1 as lane in the picture. Therefore I asked my thai teacher and my colleague at school if Nbr. 1 is a shoulder = "emergency lane" and my teacher told me, that in Thailand emergency lanes do not exist. From Thai style point of view, she is probably correct because everyone is using it as lane and I was thinking about if I'm breaking any rules/ laws until now. It's completely insane driving on it - extremely dangerous in every aspect.

 

 

As long as you always stick to the proper outer lane you’re golden in terms of being fined. Having said that, in my opinion the outer lane is the most dangerous because the sois go off it, vehicles come in and out, busses, taxis and motorcycles taxis stop on them so you have to weave around them and swerve into the second lane with traffic coming from behind. I always used the second lane and every now and then I got caught and forked out a little something and that was it. More often than not, they even let me go without a fine when I told them I didn’t know, but that doesn’t work in touristy places like Pattaya or when it’s a proper police checkpoint with lots of cops at hand. 

Edited February 5, 2021 by pacovl46