Its Raining - Traffic Jams Up. Why ?

[richard_smith237]

When it rains it seems that the traffic is slowed down by a factor of 4…

i.e. a normal 15 min journey takes me more than an hour. Earlier today after heavy rain my normal 15 minute drive from Emporium (at 6pm) took more than an hour….

My thoughts on this are…..

There is a switch that people over here seem to turn on when they get into a car. I call it ‘F$%k You’ mode.

Not only don’t drivers give way, but I get the feeling that there is some subconscious form of competition where against all conscious logic letting people go or giving way to someone just doesn’t happen.

Driving at Rush hour this subconscious level seems to be exacerbated by further competition of more cars on the road and thus people become even less inclined to give way and more inclined to block.

As the traffic gets worse, acts of general kindness in giving way seem more rare than in times of traffic flow.

Then the rain comes and the drivers subconscious upgrades from ‘F$%k You’ mode to ‘F$%k You even more’ mode…. And the traffic pretty much comes to a total standstill.

To me it seems a case of Mob Rule… The mob’s (us drivers’) own worst enemy is the Mob (the rest of us drivers).

The individual has the intelligence, but that is overcome by the fear that they will be the only ones to let people go and hence their journey will be slower than everyone else’s.

I believe that TV adverts and some driver education could help a lot and the benefits of people spending less time on the road and more time at home or in the office are self evident.

Regardless of the above – In simple terms when it rains traffic is a Right Royal Biyatch…

Your thoughts ? What causes the terrible traffic when we get a bit of water ?

[SeanMoran]

Oil that has sunk down through the top tarmac is lighter than water, and so surfaces with the first rains to create slippery roads, and then there is the poor visibility, along with the lack of practice over recent weeks, and cars are expensive here, so knocking down a few smaller things that don't cause any serious damage in the dry and shall go unnamed in this post is one thing, but nobody wants to crash their big heavy pride and joy into someone else's big heavy pride and joy, eh?

[brahmburgers]

Traffic has been getting worse here in C.Rai, though not due to rain, we haven't had a drop in 10 weeks, (and there won't be any rain for the next 6 months).

Traffic in general, particularly on larger roads, could move a lot better if the following improvements were enacted:

A. People not running red lights. Happens often - at least 10,000 times per hour in just one small city of Chiang Rai, probably 20 times that often in Bangkok. When vehicles run red lights, it's not only dangerous (duh!) but it slows cross traffic, which has to wait to get started. Plus the last cars could be left in the intersection, further bolloxing up traffic flows.

B. On Thai roads and highways, approaching traffic at intersections doesn't move concurrently. This could change for the better, and much more traffic could move through intersections. It needs dedicated turn lanes and lights with right turn arrows (green and red). That's all, except a willingness to abide by traffic laws. Unfortunately, that third item is one of the sticklers.

Here's how it happens: approaching cars which are turning right, do so concurrently with the green arrows. When that's done, drivers going straight can go both directions concurrently - which doesn't happen within the current Thai system. That's how it's done in more civilized countries. The best system of all is large circles with no traffic lights at all (like Paris and Washington D.C.), but that entails courteous drivers, so it's a no-go in Thailand. Same reason 4-way stops aren't possible in Thailand.

[sibeymai]

Four way stops in Thailand...hahaha. There'd have to be a Benz or BMW at one of the stops so the other drivers would know who gets to go first.

My theory about the rain: it makes people's brains go soggy and they forget how to drive.

[indothai]

Because our parent's told us that when it rains... it's slippery.

[kartman]

I thought it slowed up because you have to miss the Fino's/Snoopy's that the riders throw down the tarmac by jaming on the front brake dipsticks.

[givenall]

Expecting Thai drives to follow any rules is like asking for miracle.

What I have found is that when a Thai person gets behind the wheel and since no one can see them or know who anyone is, suddenly the class between them goes away and then they want to take back what was happening because of he class relationship among them

[onnut]

Some dipstick had his rear foglights full on, and I was unlucky enough to be stuck behind him for ages. It wasn't raining, and there was certainly no fog, why do they do it?

As for slowing down when it rains, it's a smart move but traffic nearly at a standstill is very disturbing. Why do they do it? Dunno. Probably for the same reason motorcycles pull out in front of your car then stop! For no reason other than he is a brainless dipstick.

[Nignoy]

Come on all you Aussies dont the previous threads sound just abit familiar exactly the same happens here every time a drop of rain falls,the only difference is that far more 4 wheel drives and high speeds are involved ,it rained here on the weekend, a young lady gave our parked car a nudge badly damaged one of the rear wheel arches,monday it was taken into a Toowoomba body shop , we were carquote number 61 for that day, comments from the damage assessors!! rain pays our salaries,toowoomba is a small seemly quiet town famous for its beautiful gardens,but we also saw the same problems in UK when it rained,anyone who has driven on the M25 0r the A1 must agrree with me, driving in any country these days takes patience and extra care, when we lived on bribie island weekends and public holidays we kept off the roads and sea ,because of the giant ford and pajero drivers arriving from the cities,

[TheJoker12]

Sorry but this is wrong. Why would drivers not giving way cause your journey to slow down by a factor of 4?

Traffic slows because:

-Flooding causes traffic to move slower

-Drivers are driving slower

You might not notice the flooding on Sukhumwit, but in the places that it does flood, it causes the traffic to get backed up everywhere.

[Cuban]

Within 10-15 minutes after it starts raining an accident will occur somewhere, the jams are just the resultant propagation through the traffic.