Picture courtesy of Khaosod.

 

A leading rescue foundation in Pattaya has issued strict new rules banning its ambulances and volunteer vehicles from running red lights, following a deadly crash in Rayong that claimed several lives.

 

The directive was announced by Prasit Thongthitjaroen, president of the Sawang Boriboon Thammasathan Rescue Foundation in Pattaya. He said the move was prompted by last week’s tragedy in Ban Chang district, Rayong, where an ambulance ran a red light and collided with another vehicle, leaving multiple people dead and injured.

 

Prasit said that although staff had already been repeatedly warned not to ignore traffic signals, the Rayong incident underscored the urgent need for a written order prohibiting the practice outright. “Safety on the road must come first, not only for the public but also for our rescue personnel,” he stressed.

 

The foundation confirmed that all its ambulances are fully registered and that crews have undergone training with the National Institute for Emergency Medicine. In urgent cases, rescue staff are required to coordinate with local police, who can help manage traffic or provide a green light to allow ambulances through safely.

 

Officials hope the policy will prevent further tragedies and improve public confidence in emergency services operating in the Pattaya area.

 

Related article:

https://aseannow.com/topic/1370555-student-killed-several-injured-in-ambulance-collision/

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-08-27

 

 

 

 

But everybody else can.

Sounds wrong, go dead slow through lights yes, sensible, but stop and wait 5+ minutes no, will cost lives

10 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

Sounds wrong, go dead slow through lights yes, sensible, but stop and wait 5+ minutes no, will cost lives

You are correct, I am in the West now, and all ambulances or police cars go through the red light but slowly.

they need training

 

you cannot just breeze through a red light assuming every vehicle is going to stop and let you through

 

 

if you have flashing lights it still means you need to stop..............at a red light

 

most people will let you continue  when it is safe to do so

 

I have noticed a trend - "oh my flashing are on"I can go through a red......no you cannot, you can only go through red or a juction when .....................IT IS SAFE TO DO SO

1 hour ago, still kicking said:

But everybody else can.

I suspect that is part of the problem, the 10 vehicles closely chasing the ambulance taking advantage of it's help  to get through traffic. 

1 hour ago, still kicking said:

You are correct, I am in the West now, and all ambulances or police cars go through the red light but slowly.

yes they do it cautiously  - i get the impression that thai's just assume that because  they have lights and sirens everyone will stop .................no, that is not how it works, you need to slow or stop then when it is safe to proceed do so ........................ you are not indistructable and niether are other road users

 

I'm pretty sure (100%) that in the uk they are not trained to sail through red lights unless it is safe to do so

In the good old days people could actually hear emergency vehicle sirens and would stop and let them go through red lights. Different story these days with most vehicles well insulated and air-conditioned. Windows up and music playing can make it very hard to hear a siren.

Agree with above posters about emergency vehicles slowing/ stopping before crossing a red light, seems to be the norm on Oz these days.

I did read about a system that allowed emergency vehicles to take local control of traffic lights to turn them green as they approached them but I don't know how that developed further.

Typical Thai knee jerk reaction. This is a ridiculous policy. Emergency vehicles globally have the right to go through red lights albeit with lights and sirens on and with due care.

3 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Typical Thai knee jerk reaction. This is a ridiculous policy. Emergency vehicles globally have the right to go through red lights albeit with lights and sirens on and with due care.

One could only imagine what Thai roads would like if drivers showed due care.

59 minutes ago, dinsdale said:

Typical Thai knee jerk reaction. This is a ridiculous policy. Emergency vehicles globally have the right to go through red lights albeit with lights and sirens on and with due care.

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Typical for Thais to impose disastrous consequences to the wrong thing. Simply because one time an accident happened. I am inclined also to believe that accident that happened causing this was because the previous ambulance crossed the  intersection with lights and sirens and the other car failed to yield. Either way, it does not make a difference if that was the case. Ambulances have the right of way but in Thailand when people see and hear them. They either do nothing to make room or they use the ambulance to get through the traffic faster by staying close behind it. Stopping and waiting for a red light. could mean the death of the person inside who urgently needs to get to the hospital. But, i doubt we will be seeing news like that now after this action. 

I hear a siren I pull over I drive to arrive alive

4 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Prasit said that although staff had already been repeatedly warned not to ignore traffic signals, the Rayong incident underscored the urgent need for a written order prohibiting the practice outright. “Safety on the road must come first, not only for the public but also for our rescue personnel,” he stressed.

So a dying patient is now a low priority because someone cannot stop for an emergency vehicle ?

Thai logic, never did understand.

4 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Sounds wrong, go dead slow through lights yes, sensible, but stop and wait 5+ minutes no, will cost lives

That's what they do in Australia.

Words fail me

26 minutes ago, thesetat said:

I was thinking exactly the same thing. Typical for Thais to impose disastrous consequences to the wrong thing. Simply because one time an accident happened. I am inclined also to believe that accident that happened causing this was because the previous ambulance crossed the  intersection with lights and sirens and the other car failed to yield. Either way, it does not make a difference if that was the case. Ambulances have the right of way but in Thailand when people see and hear them. They either do nothing to make room or they use the ambulance to get through the traffic faster by staying close behind it. Stopping and waiting for a red light. could mean the death of the person inside who urgently needs to get to the hospital. But, i doubt we will be seeing news like that now after this action. 

It's knee jerk reaction stuff. Thais think they are so smart drawing a universally binding conclusion from a single incident - like the banning of alcohol on trains because of a single incident involving an alcihol affected conductor and a thirteen year old girl, This of rule just deneens the life of the victiom and gives drivers less reason to take seriously the urgency of Thai drivers.

I spent 23 years as a firefighter & paramedic in the suburbs of Chicago (on both ambulances & fire trucks) - we had a rule to always stop completely at red lights & make eye contact with every driver that had a green light before we were allowed to proceed...  It only took 10 seconds or so per red light.

Locking the barn door after the horse has bolted.  This is Thailand in a nutshell, as Spock points out above.  No-one in authority is capable of foresight; they wait for something bad to happen then make a rule or law up.  IF Pattaya had a police force they would note HUNDREDS of red light runners every HOUR.

2 words..............ferkin ridiculous 

Bearing in mind TIT, perhaps it would be better to actually train all emergency drivers in emergency driving as is done in the West. As opposed to any johnny come likely getting behind the wheel after driving around in his low slung, smoke belching pickup! Then getting overwhelmed by his flashing lights and multi tone sirens!

I know, there is nobody to train them!!!

2 hours ago, emptypockets said:

In the good old days people could actually hear emergency vehicle sirens and would stop and let them go through red lights. Different story these days with most vehicles well insulated and air-conditioned. Windows up and music playing can make it very hard to hear a siren.

Agree with above posters about emergency vehicles slowing/ stopping before crossing a red light, seems to be the norm on Oz these days.

I did read about a system that allowed emergency vehicles to take local control of traffic lights to turn them green as they approached them but I don't know how that developed further.

Where I live in Pennsylvania, U.S. of A., they have that system.   When operational the light turns green for emergency vehicles, which includes, ambulances, police, and fire department. 

 

The drivers also know when the lights have changed as a result of their remote control request, indicated by a flashing white light mounted on the pole arm supporting the traffic light.   

 

I have seen that system does not operate every time an ambulance is en-route to a hospital (or where ever it is going) as even when their emergency lights are activated, the ambulance stops for red lights like vehicle drivers are required to do. 

I have been in a serious and extremely painful accident (USA) and let me tell you, every second in the ambulance is an eternity ... and the idea of waiting at a red light would be a "Ring of Hell"  Honestly, what they are saying is, given a choice of going in a private car (that can and WILL get through lights) or sitting stuck in traffic for traffic lights that are often 3+ minutes ... thanks for the heads up ... will take a private car or taxi.

3 hours ago, smedly said:

they need training

 

you cannot just breeze through a red light assuming every vehicle is going to stop and let you through

 

 

if you have flashing lights it still means you need to stop..............at a red light

 

most people will let you continue  when it is safe to do so

 

I have noticed a trend - "oh my flashing are on"I can go through a red......no you cannot, you can only go through red or a juction when .....................IT IS SAFE TO DO SO

It's exactly the same as the turn left against the lights IF SAFE AND CLEAR TO DO SO. Most drivers here just go and be damned, as if they have full right of way.

I suspect this has to do with the  insurance company threatening to raise the premium for emergency ambulances. 
 

Some defensive driving training should  also be provided, perhaps with instructors from another country if the skills are lacking here. Red lights should never be passed at speed unless there is excellent visibility of traffic all around the junction. The public here are just not educated/aware enough to look out for and give way to emergency vehicles 

Sure. Stop at those 5 minute lights while someone dies. Time for serious punishment for people who don’t pull over for ambulances.

4 hours ago, smedly said:

if you have flashing lights it still means you need to stop..............at a red light

 

Around here it means some yokel thinks its really cool to mount flashing lights on his low-rider Ford Ranger with extended tires.  Makes it possible (when foreigners are on the road) to get other traffic to move out of his way.

 

Or it just means some other yokel has set up a roadside stand with flashing blue and yellow lights near an intersection selling wiper blades or floor mats.

4 hours ago, Mason45 said:

One could only imagine what Thai roads would like if drivers showed due care.

I agree with this rule because my dad always told me to always slow down and  follow the rules and it's better for the Ambos with patients on board to do the same because they are  better off  to get there 15 minutes late than dead on time.

Some medical emergencies are time sensitive.  You will have much better result depending how quickly you get to the hospital and receive the proper care.  A heart attack or aneurysm is one that comes to mind.

 

Sounds like the Zero Tolerance non-sense they have in some western schools.  Like many have mentioned additional training should be given and evaluated.

 

Zero Tolerance is teaching people to give up on others.  Addressing the problem and giving someone a chance to correct them gives them a little hope and security that if they make a mistake there is still hope and opportunity to prove you can succeed.

6 hours ago, still kicking said:

You are correct, I am in the West now, and all ambulances or police cars go through the red light but slowly.

When I lived in the UK I often saw police cars go through red lights even without their flashing blue lights. especially in the early hours of the morning, as a musician and private investigator I was often driving on the road at that time, and I freely admit at that time in the outskirts of a town or city, I would go through red lights, but always stopped dead first to make sure the roads were clear.