Traffic Accidents With Pedestrians In Pattaya

[midas]

I am amazed that doesn't seem to be more traffic accidents with pedestrians in Pattaya

or do they happen but we don't hear about them?

When I was trying to cross second road last night the volume of traffic was unbelievable

and it would have to be just as busy if not more than some roads in Bangkok.

But the difference in Bangkok is that you know at periodic intervals the traffic will stop

and they have many pedestrian bridges and safe places to cross the road. Here in Pattaya the traffic

never seems to stop and drivers in Pattaya including farang drivers seem to

drive with much less care for pedestrians than in Bangkok

This is in a tourist based city.................. Something needs to be done

[lemel]

I am amazed that doesn't seem to be more traffic accidents with pedestrians in Pattaya

or do they happen but we don't hear about them?

When I was trying to cross second road last night the volume of traffic was unbelievable

and it would have to be just as busy if not more than some roads in Bangkok.

But the difference in Bangkok is that you know at periodic intervals the traffic will stop

and they have many pedestrian bridges and safe places to cross the road. Here in Pattaya the traffic

never seems to stop and drivers in Pattaya including farang drivers seem to

drive with much less care for pedestrians than in Bangkok

This is in a tourist based city.................. Something needs to be done

I agree but there are a lot of idiots who walk in/into/on the road and do not care that traffic is coming down a small soi/main road they think that the car should move out of their way, which is a bit difficult if you are doing 15-20km and there is nowhere for the car to move to because there is a motorbike on the outside of the car or a another car coming head on. There are many people who think that as they are on holiday they can forget common sense and do whatever they please. Some of it is city halls fault for not leaving the pavements free and not haveing bridges but a lot is the F*#@%* idiots walking around drunk or with their head in the sky/a*se

[midas]

I agree but there are a lot of idiots who walk in/into/on the road and do not care that traffic is coming down a small soi/main road they think that the car should move out of their way, which is a bit difficult if you are doing 15-20km and there is nowhere for the car to move to because there is a motorbike on the outside of the car or a another car coming head on. There are many people who think that as they are on holiday they can forget common sense and do whatever they please. Some of it is city halls fault for not leaving the pavements free and not haveing bridges but a lot is the F*#@%* idiots walking around drunk or with their head in the sky/a*se

2 good points you made :-

1. yes stop the business of motor bikes using pavements and clear the bloody way

so people can actually use them to WALK on

and

2. " lot is the F*#@%* idiots walking around drunk or with their head in the sky/a*se " yes - these are excluded from this discussion

[LennyW]

I agree but there are a lot of idiots who walk in/into/on the road and do not care that traffic is coming down a small soi/main road they think that the car should move out of their way, which is a bit difficult if you are doing 15-20km and there is nowhere for the car to move to because there is a motorbike on the outside of the car or a another car coming head on. There are many people who think that as they are on holiday they can forget common sense and do whatever they please. Some of it is city halls fault for not leaving the pavements free and not haveing bridges but a lot is the F*#@%* idiots walking around drunk or with their head in the sky/a*se

2 good points you made :-

1. yes stop the business of motor bikes using pavements and clear the bloody way

so people can actually use them to WALK on

and

2. " lot is the F*#@%* idiots walking around drunk or with their head in the sky/a*se " yes - these are excluded from this discussion

You would hardly believe it, but it is not against the law in Thailand for motorcycles to use the pavement????

There are many many accidents not reported in the media, just look at the white spray paint markings on the roads each morning!!

[midas]

You would hardly believe it, but it is not against the law in Thailand for motorcycles to use the pavement????

It doesnt surprise me because it seems they think they go anywhere just like it is perfectly acceptable

to ride on the wrong side of the road against the oncoming traffic. Only in Thailand

There are many many accidents not reported in the media, just look at the white spray paint markings on the roads each morning!!

i was expecting someone to say this......

[easyride]

Unless you try and cross within minutes (eg 10) of traffic lights changing I've always found traffic quite good to pedestrians. Even Pattaya Klang and 3rd Road which is taking your life in your hands at the best of times.

[thaibeachlovers]

I am amazed that doesn't seem to be more traffic accidents with pedestrians in Pattaya

or do they happen but we don't hear about them?

When I was trying to cross second road last night the volume of traffic was unbelievable

and it would have to be just as busy if not more than some roads in Bangkok.

But the difference in Bangkok is that you know at periodic intervals the traffic will stop

and they have many pedestrian bridges and safe places to cross the road. Here in Pattaya the traffic

never seems to stop and drivers in Pattaya including farang drivers seem to

drive with much less care for pedestrians than in Bangkok

This is in a tourist based city.................. Something needs to be done

In a perfect world.......

Pattaya is a pretty good place to learn patience, as it's the only way to get across. Personally, I think that Chiang Mai, around the old wall was worse ( haven't been back for many years though, so it could have changed ).

As for a "tourist" city. I doubt that has any bearing on the minds of those at City Hall. Nothing they do seems to be for the benefit of tourists, eg. the beach walkway, which is a disgrace!

For myself, I hope the traffic and other problems get worse, as it's the only thing stopping Pattaya becoming a "family" destination, with extortionist prices. Just look at cr** ho** Hua Hin if you want to know what it could become.

[syd barrett]

I think that the biggest hazards in Pattaya are the so called 'Zebra-Crossing'. They lull people into a false sense of security and the accidents are horrific. Tourists actually feel 'safe' and then they are hit by baht buses or private cars. (Motorcycles usually avoid a collision).

There have been many such deaths in Pattaya during my time here, but they go unreported because they are not suspicious deaths, just accidents.

In my eyes, they are more than accidents, but TIT.

My only advice is, beware of traffic, look both ways always, and never be impatient crossing the road here.

[innovator]

Also, watch out for condo sharing touts on motorbikes trying to run you down as you cross the roads or walk along with sidewalks.

I never learned this sales technique before, but it seems to work in Pattaya. Run over your prospects and then they will be more likely to buy your products and services. Smart group of folks.

[LennyW]

A lot of people say using a baht bus is the best way to get from one side of second road to the other!!

[eyebee]

How to get to the other side of 2nd Road? Be born there!

[fishhooks]

Thai, Farang and everyone else with two legs are the losers here.

Call it a pavement, call it a sidewalk, or call it a footpath. It is very much second place to anything which happens to have wheels.

This of course follows on to the roads and the decision as to whether you are game enough to cross. Agree with an earlier poster re Chiangmai, now almost impossible to get to the other side of the road in some places.

Then Pattaya, yes the Beach and Second roads, an absolute joke most of the time. Korat, the main road running past The Mall, I'll bet there are no records kept but must have been and will be many fatalities.

I guess the authorities have considered genuine "Pedestrian Crossings" but then again, would the Thai drivers obey them; No problem to answer that one!

[picman]

We complain ad nauseum but think about a vendor carrying a plank of wood and 2 baskets on their shoulders as they must tippy toe across 2nd road or push their carts down narrow roads shared with oversized pickup trucks. Sit on soi Honey Inn (aka Soi 11, aka Soi Happy Ending) to watch all the mayhem.

[moo9]

I rarely cross a road, because I use to take a motorcyc taxi to go from A to B.

However due to the lack of proper pavements some Soi's are quite dangerous for both drivers and pedestrians (Soi Diana Inn and the whole Bukhao area).

And yes the zebra crossings often lead to misunderstandings as Europeans and also Chinese / Taiwanese think they can cross there and fore vehicles to stop. Som na na.....

As one mate wrote, patience is the key to survive.

[IanForbes]

My only advice is, beware of traffic, look both ways always, and never be impatient crossing the road here.

Bingo, Syd nailed it. I have never had a problem crossing streets in Thailand... even busy ones. But, I don't wander around drunk either. I just wait for a lull in the traffic and make eye contact with the drivers going slow. I can usually run between gaps in the traffic if I know the drivers have seen me and are slowing. Of course NOTHING is certain in Thai traffic, and the motorcycles are the worst. They go both ways on one way roads. They go around blind corners far too quickly. You really DO need eyes in the back of your head sometimes. I DID get hit by a motorbike zipping around a corner a month ago in Pattaya, but just chalk it up to every day life here.

I kind of enjoy the freedom here where everyone has to beware of everything at all times. It's like a real live video game... only for keeps. We are far too coddled back home in North America.

[midas]

I DID get hit by a motorbike zipping around a corner a month ago in Pattaya, but just chalk it up to every day life here.

I kind of enjoy the freedom here where everyone has to beware of everything at all times. It's like a real live video game... only for keeps. We are far too coddled back home in North America.

I am fascinated by your remark Ian because I'm not American but I did spend a year working in Los Angeles.

During that time I felt traffic laws attached more importance to the pedestrian than to the driver which I liked and always respected myself

when I was driving my car. In Thailand it seems directly opposite. Why have they developed this strange value system here that everything and everyone

must come to an abrupt halt whenever the security guard blows his whistle?. Its the poor attitude of the driver's and motorcyclists here

which warrant more measures for pedestrian safety bearing in mind as someone said earlier , overseas visitors can innocently think a

pedestrian crossing here in Pattaya works in the same way as back home-a very dangerous assumption

[IanForbes]

Its the poor attitude of the driver's and motorcyclists here

which warrant more measures for pedestrian safety bearing in mind as someone said earlier , overseas visitors can innocently think a pedestrian crossing here in Pattaya works in the same way as back home-a very dangerous assumption

You said a mouthful there. It CAN be a dangerous assumption to take for granted that Thai drivers will stop because you are in a cross-walk, or going through on a green light. But, to balance that, the pedestrians back home seem to think they have the right to impede traffic and wander slowly across a road while making hords of traffic wait.

I guess I'm like the old wild west explorer who enjoys being in control of his own life and doesn't want to be protected by mommy (government) all the time. I like the freedom to kill or injure myself if I do something stupid. Canadians and Americans seem to want "mommy" to look after them all the time, and they want to lay blame somewhere else when they do something stupid, instead of being responsible for their own actions.

I know it drives me a little nuts some times when Thai drivers park their personal vehicles anywhere at any time and block narrow sois needlessly. I also wonder why so many people have to even DRIVE personal vehicles down narrow sois when they could walk much easier. I think its a mentality of "me first" and to hel_l with everyone else. For Thais I think it's a case where they have ALWAYS parked their personal vehicle in front of their home... but in the previous years it was a motorcycle and not a much larger car or truck like it is today.

The other thing that amazes me here is how EVERYONE drives down the white line dividing lanes of traffic. NOBODY stays in their own lane and there is a constant merge and squeeze in traffic. At home in Canada the drivers straddling two lanes would get a ticket. There are few if any traffic police here in Thailand, and they only come out on certain days to set up road blocks. Even the police don't follow their own motorcycle helmet laws.