Not being able to use my horn to rate other drivers technic... 

Motorway maintenance & lane closures with minimal, or no, notice.

In general Thailand has a good road system.

My pet peeve is on a national highway such as No 1 far too many traffic lights & unsafe U turns.

Understand on the lesser roads not possible but on their No 1 highway ??

On 9/20/2025 at 3:57 PM, 2long said:

Ok, ok we could write forever about Thai drivers, but what things annoy you most about the ROADS?

For example..

- dangerous u-turns

- speed humps with no warning at all

- lack of lighting

- too much warning for a corner that isn't dangerous, compared to no warning for a corner that is

- the rumble strips of paingt that rattle your car to pieces but have no purpose (my pet peeve)

- stupidly-designed roads that make traffic worse, not better

 

Take it away, guys.....

Having about two Ks of dreadful roads getting repaired. Very dangerous for motorbikes, especially when it is raining, left like that for days on end instead of doing a bit less at a time.

Other than the larger highways, the roads are way too narrow - especially in rural areas.  

Poorly installed Speed bumps, warning or no warning.  (I'd rather there were a couple of policemen with a radar guns and them writing tickets than have speed bump).  The soi to my village have 12 speed bumps between the highway and my house. Five of them are in front of an office and manufacturing business (no doubt in my mind that someone got a big kickback to install them). There's not a lot of traffic on those sois either.

On 9/20/2025 at 9:44 PM, Kinnock said:

Roundabouts.  They only work if UK-style rules apply, but using French rules plus Thai style results in total chaos.

They are supposed to be as in UK. Give way when entering a roundabout. 
But even when signs in English and Thai stipulate this, then Thais go to French rules because they want to be in front regardless of the law.

2 new roundabouts in Hua Hin are absolutely crazy when nobody understands or bothers to read the signs!
 

11 minutes ago, worrab said:

They are supposed to be as in UK. Give way when entering a roundabout. 
But even when signs in English and Thai stipulate this, then Thais go to French rules because they want to be in front regardless of the law.

2 new roundabouts in Hua Hin are absolutely crazy when nobody understands or bothers to read the signs!
 

 

 

In Buriram a roundabout was a complete clusterfk - so they took the roundabout out and replaced it with traffic lights.

No issues specific to Thailand, keep  you eyes open , expect the unexpected, assume others are idiots, and remain calm.   same as everywhere else really..

Forget how things are done "back home" it's irrelevant 

On 9/20/2025 at 5:24 PM, motdaeng said:

 

-  too many traffic lights instead having roundabouts  like in other countries ... 

  (roundabouts are maybe to difficlult to understand for some ...)

Be careful what you wish for.

There is a roundabout in Roi Et.  It has signs on it saying 'Let the cars in the roundabout go first', which is the style we British use.  Do the locals obey the sign...?  I would urge you to approach and enter it with extreme caution (the motorcyclist in the photo is stationary on the roundabout, waiting for approaching traffic to pass through).
 

Just now, IsaanT said:

Be careful what you wish for.

There is a roundabout in Roi Et.  It has signs on it saying 'Let the cars in the roundabout go first', which is the style we British use.  Do the locals obey the sign...?  I would urge you to approach and enter it with extreme caution.
 

 

 

 

Sound advice..................but not just limited to roundabouts - everywhere!

Out here in rural Thailand, there are plenty of small villages that have a crossroads in the middle.  Some of these crossroads have a line of short bollards (maybe 60cm) in the middle of the main road either side of the junction.  It can be a surprise at night, especially as any reflective material appears to have decayed long ago and there are no warning signs.

I frequently notice that these bollards are broken off...

The absence of warning signs for roadworks, lane closures, etc.

Proper warnings for closures and diversions. They throw out three cones and park a truck in the road.

 

A few weeks ago I came face to face with an excavator going the wrong way down a 90kmh highway.

On 9/20/2025 at 3:57 PM, 2long said:

Ok, ok we could write forever about Thai drivers, but what things annoy you most about the ROADS?

For example..

- dangerous u-turns

- speed humps with no warning at all

- lack of lighting

- too much warning for a corner that isn't dangerous, compared to no warning for a corner that is

- the rumble strips of paingt that rattle your car to pieces but have no purpose (my pet peeve)

- stupidly-designed roads that make traffic worse, not better

 

Take it away, guys.....

 When I lived in Thailand out in the sticks - cracked and broken road surfaces, potholes and dirt roads!

2 hours ago, Bday Prang said:

No issues specific to Thailand, keep  you eyes open , expect the unexpected, assume others are idiots, and remain calm.   same as everywhere else really..

Forget how things are done "back home" it's irrelevant 

Couldn't put it better myself.

However, this is about the actual roads, not the Muppets we share them with

 

1.  Very little notice of lane closures for road work--especially dangerous on motorways.

2.  Traffic lights with cycles that last way too long.

3.  Too many congested roads that still have parking lanes when they should be turned into traffic lanes.

4.  Poorly designed new construction on roads--prime example Thepprasit Road.

5.  Way too many speed bumps--seems like anyone can put one in if they feel likel it on some roads and most not painted.

6.  Many roads need to have double or even triple turning lanes to handle long traffic backups to turn.  In some cases, such as North Pattaya Road, motorists are taking things on themselves and you will soetimes see 3 lanes of cars turning right onto Sukhumvit.  

Traffic light without the time countdown.

Every year the driving here gets better, and every year the driving in California gets worse. 

15 hours ago, ujayujay said:

Disastrous side roads... I'm talking about Hua Hin, a relatively wealthy town in Thailand!

Don't forget the community minded  "smart" people that place signs and taxi/food stalls on the corners that totally obscure you're vision from oncoming traffic while attempting to turn.  eg. corner of Soi 100 at Petkasem leaving Bluport

On 9/20/2025 at 4:21 PM, scubascuba3 said:

Heavy reliance on U turns, the most dangerous maneuver 

 

Quite.

On the road from Chonburi to Bang Saen they have been testing various configurations of a U turn arrangement for at least 10 years. Been a slow and tedious process as the Thai drivers fail to understand what is required.

The fact that it has to be big enough for a lorry to turn allows normal vehicles to go in 2/3 abreast, this blocks the intended exit route, making it no different to the way it was.

13 hours ago, FlorC said:

Traffic light without the time countdown.

Have you considered using a stopwatch to see how long it takes for the light to turn green?

13 hours ago, FlorC said:

Traffic light without the time countdown.

You know the most-retarded thing...

#1 when they first had digital timers on traffic lights, they counted UP!

#2 some around my way only start the countdown when there are 3 seconds left. This is the opposite of their intended purpose, which is to reduce stress and impatiance. How they should count is down, but stop displaying when they get to 10 seconds left. Because when theny count to zero, there are always a couple of Somchais who go on 3 or who race through a red.

11 hours ago, Yellowtail said:

Every year the driving here gets better, and every year the driving in California gets worse. 

But the thread is about the roads, not the drivers.

The Thai way of laying Cement without compacting it down leads to very uneven surfaces, ,like in the road where I live, driving your car over this surface is like  walking over a Bouncy Castle, the Footpaths beside these  Roads with grass and  weeds growing thru the cement  is another example...A recent trip to Bangkok  trying to follow  signs that are supposed to direct you ...  the signs are  far too high up... with small writing ..

It would be highly advisable for those having a rough time of it on the road conditions here is to be aware of the haphazardness and engineering flaws, and learn to adapt oppose to complaining and fighting it, because it will only get worse if you don’t remain calm and adapt.

17 minutes ago, 2long said:

You know the most-retarded thing...

#1 when they first had digital timers on traffic lights, they counted UP!

#2 some around my way only start the countdown when there are 3 seconds left. This is the opposite of their intended purpose, which is to reduce stress and impatiance. How they should count is down, but stop displaying when they get to 10 seconds left. Because when theny count to zero, there are always a couple of Somchais who go on 3 or who race through a red.

Never ever seen an up counter.

Just now, FlorC said:

Never ever seen an up counter.

It was when they first had them in Thailand, at least 15 years ago.

 

And when they first introduced the parking ticket machines at Phuket airport, they had them on the passenger side!

You couldn't make this stupidity up!

1 minute ago, 2long said:

It was when they first had them in Thailand, at least 15 years ago.

 

And when they first introduced the parking ticket machines at Phuket airport, they had them on the passenger side!

You couldn't make this stupidity up!

I've been here 18 years , first 3 years touring around in all provinces. Never seen it though.

6 hours ago, 2long said:

But the thread is about the roads, not the drivers.

I said driving not drivers, but I'll rephase. 

 

Every year the driving on the roads here gets better, and every year the driving on the roads in California gets worse.