5 hours ago, madmitch said:

I really don't believe that the number of pedestrian deaths is as low as 500 per year, considering the overall death toll on the roads is close to 20,000.

No - the number is correct. Here in Thailand the people know that cars and bikes dont always stop, so they cross very carefully. In the west they walk out as if they are protected by God - often without even looking. One day I was driving when a bloke on a bicycle flew across a crossing and I stopped just in time. He was screaming and abusing me, so I got out and told him the law is that he must stop and get off the effing bike and walk across the crossing - so take that bike and eff off or I will shove it up your arzzze !! I probably saved him from a serious injury/death because he genuinely though he could ride across. That is why more pedestrians die in the west than Thailand - they feel entitled and just dont have any real sense about the dangers involved. 

5 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

BS - at the top are Thai Trucks Drivers - especially on the highways. 

Can’t speak for other parts of Thailand, but in Phuket minibus drivers think they rule the road and with the way they drive, they do. Everyone is just trying to get out of their way.

 

Their party trick is tailgating one inch from your back bumper while flashing their lights to get past, when it is obvious that you can’t move into the inside lane because there is a car there.

 

But they have support acts too, such as pulling out from a side road as if they have the right of way.

Maybe they could spend the budget on something radical like putting up railings along the edge of the footpaths and gate the crossings so that pedestrians could make themselves more aware and Of Course have a Serious and Sustained Crackdown on drivers…

3 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

WAW.  I have been driving on Thailand highways since 2010 mate - you are the one without a clue. You base your info on road stats??

I've been driving on Thai roads since 1998 and in the 20 odd years I lived here I covered well over half a million km. I have a good knowledge of road stats  for Thailand and more importantly their sources and how to interpret them. No need to teach you grandmother to suck eggs!

7 hours ago, Humpy said:

Perhaps some more 100+ step foot-bridges would be in order, like these in Mahasarakham !!. I have yet to see anyone using them. Perish the thought of climbing those steps carrying shopping bags on a wet day !  

these are the result of poor road design and conception - and if you have limited mobility they are an insult.

3 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

WAW.  I have been driving on Thailand highways since 2010 mate - you are the one without a clue. You base your info on road stats??

 

I base my conclusions on scientific evidence and critical thinking - Your kind of comment — trying to rank vehicles in some imagined "road hierarchy" with Thai truck drivers at the top — is really just personal perception dressed up as fact. It's  “fake news”; it’s speculative at best and says more about the poster’s own discomfort on Thai roads than it does about actual road dynamics.
Blaming one type of vehicle, whether it’s trucks, buses, or motorbikes, often reflects the fact that some drivers never fully adapt to Thailand’s road culture — even after years of living here. Thai driving isn’t necessarily wrong — it’s different, and it requires different instincts, expectations, and reactions.
But let’s not lose focus. This thread is about pedestrian safety, not four-wheeled vehicles, not motorcycles, and not truck drivers.
In traffic engineering terms, the global aim — Thailand included — is to separate pedestrians from motor vehicles as much as possible. That means safe sidewalks, proper crossings, barriers, footbridges, and clear signalling. The real failure in Thailand lies not with specific drivers, but with how poorly the road system is designed to protect pedestrians. In many areas, there are no pavements, no working crossings, and no meaningful enforcement of pedestrian rights.
So while people argue about who’s the worst on the road, the bigger issue — and the more fixable one — is road design and urban planning that consistently overlooks pedestrian safety.

 

On 6/26/2025 at 4:19 PM, angryguy said:

Youd think that thais would be more careful crossing the street but they have to start walking or else the drivers are never gonna stop. Its like a game of chicken, high stakes

They just built a roundabout at the beginning of the Palau Rd in Huahin which has been a major me first nightmare for years, it's only been open for a few days and it's still a nightmare as Thai drivers don't know how to use them or know the rules for roundabouts, they also have never been keen to stop for pedestrian crossings which are abused since I can remember. 

Then they have the cheek to increase testing for international driving licences, when Thai drivers are the worst in the world and don't know road rules or if they do they don't obey them, creating deaths from their idiot me first mentality. 

Lately it seems people walk around oblivious that their walking on a road, not a footpath, they zig-zag without looking behind them. 

spacial awarness in asia was already bad but from my observation tourists also forget where they are a lot more since the couf

23 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

I've kicked a few doors of idiots trying to hit me in a Zebra crossing, and smacked a few mirrors with a school bag, still no takers getting out of the car to confront me, the most I ever got was a curse comment out the window.  I'm waiting though, I want to make the news for ripping a Thai persons head off their body with my bare hands in the middle of a Zebra crossing. Please God, make my wish come true! 🙏

Good luck "educating" those Thais! You will only have another 71,801,279 more to go! And that's it really it isn't it -you have the ability to change your behaviour but trying to change the behaviour of others is an endless, and exhausting, story. That's why a public relations campaign is required to "mass educate".

On 6/26/2025 at 8:03 PM, ezflip said:

or driver's Ed...like other countries do... Naahhh, much to simple.

If the police can't enforce the law and make drivers/riders stop at pedestrian crossings then the solution would be to install a steel grate to pop up from the road about a meter high at the crrossing to stop all vehicles. This would then retract after a certain time and allow everyone to continue their journey. This would be expensive but what price do you put on a life ??

1 hour ago, zackxx said:

Good luck "educating" those Thais! You will only have another 71,801,279 more to go! And that's it really it isn't it -you have the ability to change your behaviour but trying to change the behaviour of others is an endless, and exhausting, story. That's why a public relations campaign is required to "mass educate".

That's what I came to realise too around 2006. I am NOBODY here. No one gives a stuff what I think or how 'farangs' drive. I have a Korean, German and Australian drivers license, and most states have issued me a DL too when moving interstate. But Thais get offended if a 'farang' gives well meant advice. Thais don't want to know how others might do things better. My wife freaked out recently when I drove our brand new car. She said: "Drive safely!". After slapping me for no reason, I pointed out that she drives in the middle of the road (the two lanes), very rarely uses her indicator, overtakes on the left in the emergency stopping lane, does a right turn whereby oncoming cars have to brake hard to avoid a collision, exceeds the speed limit and harasses cars in the right land by driving really close behind them for them to move to the left so that she can overtake. Yep, I've heard and seen it all, including a video how my niece's father's brain was scooped up by ambulance workers onto what looked liked fish-n-chip paper because his head cracked wide open when his head hit the asphalt after being hit by a truck. It was on the news. I still have the video somewhere. The news crew did not blur the video. The gruesome details are there to see: brain lying next to head. At least he had a quick death. So, I'm kind-of jaded by being the funny, nice 'farang' who knows better than 71,801,279 Thais. I know nothing. It's their life, their risk, they own it all.

 

But since Thailand doesn't even have a physical copy of road rules, what exactly do you want to educate them on?

21 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Traffic lights and Stop signs do not stop the drivers, are you new here?!  I can walk out in a Zebra crossing, be more than half way across, and they are still trying to run me over.. I'm literally stuck in the middle of the road with no way out...IT'S INSANE! 

I have 35 years in traffic here (6+ moths a year on MC) and I am used to see trafic stop for red lights. Now, I cannot remember seing trafic lights at these zebra lines. Might I have missed it in some way?🙄 

2 minutes ago, harryviking said:

I have 35 years in traffic here (6+ moths a year on MC) and I am used to see trafic stop for red lights. Now, I cannot remember seing trafic lights at these zebra lines. Might I have missed it in some way?🙄 

 

Come to Bangkok my friend, Zebra crossings with Stop Signs and Redlights before them. Again, are you new here, or do you pretend to live here?

13 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

Can’t speak for other parts of Thailand, but in Phuket minibus drivers think they rule the road and with the way they drive, they do. Everyone is just trying to get out of their way.

 

Their party trick is tailgating one inch from your back bumper while flashing their lights to get past, when it is obvious that you can’t move into the inside lane because there is a car there.

 

But they have support acts too, such as pulling out from a side road as if they have the right of way.

Yes - and when it is a truck behind you doing the same - it is much worse.  Have you ever seen how Thais will very carefully pass a truck - they are scared of them - for good reason. You can be doing 100K in the outside lane and a truck on the inside will change lanes right in front of you - because he wants to overtake a slower truck before the next hill 1km ahead. They are vermin scum and if there was a button that would turn the truck over and into the ditch I would press it without any remorse and drive on.  

12 hours ago, kwilco said:

I've been driving on Thai roads since 1998 and in the 20 odd years I lived here I covered well over half a million km. I have a good knowledge of road stats  for Thailand and more importantly their sources and how to interpret them. No need to teach you grandmother to suck eggs!

Quote "I have a good knowledge of road stats  for Thailand and more importantly their sources and how to interpret them"  What an absolute <deleted> - you know Thai roads and drivers because you read the road stats  - WTF!!  I drive the roads mate and I see it first hand - road stats are statistics - as in lies, damn lies and statistics.   Just like you driving 25,000 a year every year for 20 years is lies - total and absolute rubbish. 

1 hour ago, harryviking said:

I have 35 years in traffic here (6+ moths a year on MC) and I am used to see trafic stop for red lights. Now, I cannot remember seing trafic lights at these zebra lines. Might I have missed it in some way?🙄 

Come to my neighbourhood, I will show you some traffic lights at zebra crossings.

4 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

happily married to a Thai I first met in 2012 who never worked in a bar and does not have any kids. 

What a lovely cliche!!

Bickering posts removed.

How we lost:

 

This thread is about pedestrians.

Contrary to all you experienced drivers (what are you doing in this thread?)

I am a very experienced pedestrian. I have walked millions of steps,  in dozens of countries,  in many decades. 

After you (yes, you, the drivers) killed that poor doctor,  a zebra crossing was painted at our BigC. We would walk across,  cars would stop. We were finally free to walk. 

As it turned out, we are the vast majority.  So there was a continuous stream of pedestrians,  cars could hardly found a gap to squeeze themselves through. 

To give you poor drivers a chance,  some zebra-guards were posted  with flags and whistles.  Now cars had a chance to pass,  too.

 

But this was not enough for you insatiable drivers. 

You had a red light installed,  which gives you, the car's,  300 seconds,  and us, the people, 15 seconds. 

We lost.

 

please is it so complicated ? As long as they do not enforce the laws these problems will remain.. But let us be honest , they simply don't want. The lazy underpaid RTP will not do any effort unless paid correctly. They (the authorities) can blabla as much as they like nothing will ever change under this constellation. So the system remain, the bigger you are the bigger priority you get. Yes TIT is a third world country

On 6/27/2025 at 11:48 AM, baansgr said:

Your gonna get shot down in flames for that comment 😁 

And you think I care about that?

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3060138/taxi-fatally-hits-lao-woman-on-zebra-crossing-her-baby-survives

 

 

19 hours ago, kwilco said:

What a lovely cliche!!

What a douce****

On 6/27/2025 at 9:21 AM, lordgrinz said:

 

I've kicked a few doors of idiots trying to hit me in a Zebra crossing, and smacked a few mirrors with a school bag, still no takers getting out of the car to confront me, the most I ever got was a curse comment out the window.  I'm waiting though, I want to make the news for ripping a Thai persons head off their body with my bare hands in the middle of a Zebra crossing. Please God, make my wish come true! 🙏

You must be rock-hard.

On 6/27/2025 at 9:03 AM, zackxx said:

The pedestrian crossing that Dr Waraluck "Kratai" Supawatjariyakul died on while hit by a policeman (out of uniform) who was riding a "superbike" is right in front of my Condo. Kratai used to live in the same building. That crossing now has traffic lights to stop traffic while you cross. 

 

Pedestrian crossings in Thailand do not have the same "road rules" as in western countries. Stand at a pedestrian crossing without traffic lights in Thailand waiting to cross and it's up to motorists to decide whether they want to stop or not. Overseas it is commonly compulsory, by law, to stop. And in Thailand, even if a car, or cars have stopped there's always the chance a motorcyclist comes whizzing though those stationary cars.

 

My attitude in Thailand while crossing a road in Thailand is always give way to motorists whether your at a pedestrian crossing or not. If you don't do this you may be the party to lose out, maybe with your life.

A recent story in The Nation newspaper about that crossing I mentioned: https://www.nationthailand.com/nsews/general/40045605

On 6/26/2025 at 4:17 PM, snoop1130 said:

law enforcement failings

If you know what the problem is, why don't you fix it? 

On 6/26/2025 at 11:50 AM, dinsdale said:

Lighten up mate. Do you not find it a bit odd that a department concerned with disease reports on pedestrian deaths? Every year there's a report or two like this. Nothing will ever happen until Thai driver's change their driving attitude. Do you honestly think this will happen? Crossing roads here is dangerous and that's a fact and pedestrian crossings mean nothing if there are no traffic lights linked to them. Even then you have to watch out for idiots blasting through red lights.

And police ignoring the lights as well

On 6/26/2025 at 3:47 PM, snoop1130 said:

The capital city’s footpaths, often misused by motorcyclists, exemplify these challenges. Poor footpath design, narrow pathways, and uneven surfaces exacerbate risks, particularly for the elderly.

 

Most footpaths in Bangkok (and Thailand) are designed to be used by motorbikes. Cops use them, as do delivery drivers, moto taxis, and everyone else. And that crossing a road, using zebra crossings, can likely be dangerous is a national shame! (Particularly as other countries in SE Asia don't have such problems.)

 

On 6/27/2025 at 9:26 AM, PeeJayEm said:

... meaning drivers still ignore pedestrian crossings even though these are painted red and have flashing lights.  - Police should be stoping and fining drivers who charge through these crossings - easy to do and good money to be made!  (But I guess it would cause the mother of all traffic jams because 99% of cars would be stopped.

Better idea might be just to cancel driving licenses after two or three offences. 

And after second offence, confiscate the vehicle & sell it at auction.  Half of proceeds to police benevolent funds.  Other half to Thai Treasury.

On 9 August 2025 I  got hit by a motorcycle while I was on a pedestrian crossing walking across a road in Bangkok. Cars were waiting for the lights to change so had stopped on the crossing forcing me to walk in between them. That's when a motorcycle "superbike" zipping through these parked cars hit me. Luckily he stopped suddenly to avoid running me over so I survived unscathed but it could have ended very differently.

 

This episode reminds me of the student doctor that got killed on a pedestrian crossing 3 years ago on Phayathai Rd here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/s9cSP8k4ujpBgkzAA?g_st=al She was run over by an off-duty policeman riding a "superbike". Her nickname was กระต่าย ("Rabbit"). A more recent incident at the same pedestrian crossing after they installed traffic lights in the wake of Krathai's death. https://www.nationthailand.com/nsews/general/40045605