What’s causing the traffic here?

[Maxbkkcm]

What are the causes? 
 

Is it due to the size of the roads that are too narrow? Is it because a lots of lands on the side are private? So it reduce size of driving.

 

Or is it because there is too much cars? Apparently way more than 5 years ago but not sure about that.

 

What’s your take on this? 

[hotsun]

Do thais seem like they plan anything very well?

[Harrisfan]

Only bad in big cities. 

[Maxbkkcm]

Just now, Harrisfan said:

Only bad in big cities. 

Not what Ive seen. Ive seen it all over. Hua hin, Lopburi, Isan Mukhdahan. Its eveywhere.

[Harrisfan]

Just now, Maxbkkcm said:

Not what Ive seen. Ive seen it all over. Hua hin, Lopburi, Isan Mukhdahan. Its eveywhere.

Take a drive around Loei.

[Yagoda]

Most of the Highways were built/paid for by the USA during the Vietnam war, they are getting a bit long in the tooth.,

[Tomtomtom69]

Simple. Poor road design and layout. Too few roads for the volume of cars. A reliance on u-turns over intersections, a lack of right hand turns, no grid layout. Many dead end sois.

 

Bangkok has only 8% of its surface area dedicated to roads. The international norm is 25%, in some cities its even 50%. 37% of all roads in Bangkok have no exit (dead ends). 

 

That's why everyone has to pile onto the main roads as there are few alternatives. 

 

Other cities are only marginally better; whether it's Nakorn Ratchasima, Chiang Mai etc. still no grid road system and thus few secondary road options.

[Tomtomtom69]

1 minute ago, Yagoda said:

Most of the Highways were built/paid for by the USA during the Vietnam war, they are getting a bit long in the tooth.,

 Most? Only two, which are the Friendship Highway between Saraburi and Nong Khai and route 304 between Prachinburi and Nakorn Ratchasima.

[Maxbkkcm]

Just now, Yagoda said:

Most of the Highways were built/paid for by the USA during the Vietnam war, they are getting a bit long in the tooth.,

I thought that it was the japanese who build their roads, in exchange of them buying their toyota and honda. Wasn’t? 

[Yagoda]

2 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

 Most? Only two, which are the Friendship Highway between Saraburi and Nong Khai and route 304 between Prachinburi and Nakorn Ratchasima.

 

1 minute ago, Maxbkkcm said:

I thought that it was the japanese who build their roads, in exchange of them buying their toyota and honda. Wasn’t? 

Check the funding.

[Tomtomtom69]

The Americans did squat in terms of helping to design a grid road system for Bangkok. Nothing at all was done for Bangkok until the early 80s when the first expressway was built, with fast progress during the 90s and early 2000s but very gradual since then. 

 

Bangkok builds a new road only once every 5 years or so.

 

The Srinakarin-Romklao road, connecting road between Phuttamonthon 1, 2 and 3, the new connecting road between Viphavadi Rangsit and Phahonyothin road south of Don Muang Airport (not yet opened to traffic) and the newly opened connecting road at Chaeng Wattana, 1km in length to the canal road that connects Chaeng Wattana with Ngam Wong Wan are the ONLY new road construction projects that aren't expressways to have been built or currently under construction over the past 10 years. Just 4 road projects (again, excluding expressways, of which 2 are currently under construction along Rama 2 highway).

[Maxbkkcm]

5 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

Simple. Poor road design and layout. Too few roads for the volume of cars. A reliance on u-turns over intersections, a lack of right hand turns, no grid layout. Many dead end sois.

 

Bangkok has only 8% of its surface area dedicated to roads. The international norm is 25%, in some cities its even 50%. 37% of all roads in Bangkok have no exit (dead ends). 

 

That's why everyone has to pile onto the main roads as there are few alternatives. 

 

Other cities are only marginally better; whether it's Nakorn Ratchasima, Chiang Mai etc. still no grid road system and thus few secondary road options.

So why not get rid of cars? And implement carpooling? More minivan ? To reduce it. 

[Tomtomtom69]

3 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

 

Check the funding.

 

Again, only 2 projects that the Americans built and both connecting with the north east because that's where the air force bases were.

 

Recent projects are entirely Thai funded. 

[Maxbkkcm]

2 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

 

Again, only 2 projects that the Americans built and both connecting with the north east because that's where the air force bases were.

 

Recent projects are entirely Thai funded. 

And no Japanese involved anyhow? 

[Tomtomtom69]

The north-south highway is the only road that connects Southern Thailand with the rest of the country via the narrow province of Prachuab Khiri Khan.

 

There is no alternative; you'll find that out if you attempt to use secondary roads coming up from Thab Sakae, you can only drive less than 20km north before the road ends in a coconut plantation and you're forced back onto the main highway.

[Tomtomtom69]

Just now, Maxbkkcm said:

And no Japanese involved anyhow? 

 

In the past, yes. Nowadays, generally no.

[Maxbkkcm]

11 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

Simple. Poor road design and layout. Too few roads for the volume of cars. A reliance on u-turns over intersections, a lack of right hand turns, no grid layout. Many dead end sois.

 

Bangkok has only 8% of its surface area dedicated to roads. The international norm is 25%, in some cities its even 50%. 37% of all roads in Bangkok have no exit (dead ends). 

 

That's why everyone has to pile onto the main roads as there are few alternatives. 

 

Other cities are only marginally better; whether it's Nakorn Ratchasima, Chiang Mai etc. still no grid road system and thus few secondary road options.

Tom thanks for this great insight! You have a deep knowledge. Frustrating thing in real life here you can never get answer even from farangs. Who are extremely shallow and never wonder about stuff. On this forum people are deep. 

[Don Giovanni]

7 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

The Americans did squat in terms of helping to design a grid road system for Bangkok.

And why should they?

 

Don.

[Tomtomtom69]

When I say 2 American funded projects, I am talking about major highways. Of course it's possible the American military funded smaller roads from their bases that connected with the 2 major highways they helped to construct, but those are too small to be significant.

 

The Japanese did fund a lot of road infrastructure in the 80s and 90s, but since the early 2000s, Thailand has generally become quite capable of building its own infrastructure. 

 

Assistance is needed only where the highways department lacks experience such as when it comes to road tunnels through terrain (of which there is only one in the entire country down near the Malaysian border). 

 

The highways department did say they would hire the Japanese to teach them how to build road tunnels back in 2020 but then Covid came, the borders closed and there has been no follow up since despite the world getting back to normal 2.5 years ago.

[Yagoda]

 

3 minutes ago, Tomtomtom69 said:

In the past, yes. Nowadays, generally no.

"Yes, generally no". OK, its minutiae anyway

[Yagoda]

2 minutes ago, Maxbkkcm said:

You have a deep knowledge.

Thats been repeated over and over on message Boards for 30 years.

[Tomtomtom69]

1 minute ago, Don Giovanni said:

And why should they?

 

Don.

 

Well, considering that America and its allies requested to use Thailand as a base for their bombing campaigns over IndoChina, one of the requirements should have been that they improve Thailand's infrastructure overall, not just that which connects with the air force bases they used.

[Ralf001]

Where is "here" ?

 

In Chonburi province I find the traffic to be mostly ok, mild congestion around peak hours but thats about it.

[KhunLA]

27 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Only bad in big cities. 

 

Corrected ... only bad in congested cites.  Along with timing is everything.  Weekends & rush hour should be avoided most places, worldwide.

 

25 minutes ago, Maxbkkcm said:

Not what Ive seen. Ive seen it all over. Hua hin, Lopburi, Isan Mukhdahan. Its eveywhere.

 

Corrected above, as HH, Lopburi are congested cites.  Been a while, but I didn't think Mukdahan was bad. 

 

Don't forget, since you are in the traffic, you are part of the problem, not the solution.

 

 

[bkk6060]

It is a major tourist destination. 

People and cars=traffic.

[KhunLA]

17 minutes ago, Maxbkkcm said:

So why not get rid of cars? And implement carpooling? More minivan ? To reduce it. 

You first 

[bkk6060]

1 minute ago, Ralf001 said:

Where is "here" ?

 

In Chonburi province I find the traffic to be mostly ok, mild congestion around peak hours but thats about it.

Yes, Where is here?

Chonburi is a gigantic place.

Pattaya is jammed, so is Sukhumvit to Ban Saen or to Sattihip.

 

 

[theshu25]

24 minutes ago, Yagoda said:

 

Check the funding.

As usual,no facts,just guesses. 

[jvs]

25 minutes ago, Maxbkkcm said:

So why not get rid of cars? And implement carpooling? More minivan ? To reduce it. 

Do you have a car in Thailand?

 

[Maxbkkcm]

11 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

It is a major tourist destination. 

People and cars=traffic.

Most cars are thais nothin to do with tourism