Trial Roundabout

[iainiain101]

There has been a trial roundabout installed on the west side of the Ping river bridge beside the Holiday Inn and Radabaj hospital.

Well worth a visit to watch how our hosts driving skills and etiquette cope with this new driving test!

Iain

Edited April 22, 2010 by iainiain101

[iainiain101]

can this be moved to the main Chiang Mai forum?

[MESmith]

There are 2 other roundabouts in the city that seem to work well.  I think they should try them at the bigger more open junctions such as on the old san kamphaeng road where it crosses the outer ring road.  Much cheaper than underpasses.

[clinique]

actually having been here 20+ years we feel the Thais handle the use of roundabouts 'better' than other types of intersections..recommend thye use them more..

[iainiain101]

Well they cant have handled this one. It was a 'mini' roundabout, and as of yesterday has been removed! The ony evidence of its existance is a white circle on the road.

Iain

[alfieconn]

Well they cant have handled this one. It was a 'mini' roundabout, and as of yesterday has been removed! The ony evidence of its existance is a white circle on the road.

Iain

Yeah great, put in a roundabout, no one knows how to use it, so take it away

[alfieconn]

mistake

Edited April 24, 2010 by alfieconn

[whiterussian]

What is the rule concerning side roads that link to a main road?

In the UK the larger road has right of way usually, and the smaller road must wait... but here, it seems like you can block the main road at will..

Im thinking of the roads that meet others on a bend usually, with no road marking to indicated which is the BIG road.

Oh well, havent crashed yet.

[jackr]

You're supposed to give way to those on the right (already on the roundabout) but the de facto way here seems to be the other way around; ie, those on the right halt while the incomers force their way through.

[Mestizo]

Well they cant have handled this one. It was a 'mini' roundabout, and as of yesterday has been removed! The ony evidence of its existance is a white circle on the road.

Iain

Yes, I myself encountered this strange "circle of confusion" the other day. Being American, I will admit that I was at a complete loss as to how to navigate around this thing! Luckily, it appeared that I was no worse off than most of the Thais attempting it as well (as witnessed by the several near accidents). Most people seemed to be treating it as an obstacle in the road and turning inside of it (meaning, when attempting a right hand turn, they would turn inside of the circle, with the middle of the circle remaining on the drivers lefthand side, rather than driving around it in a circle).

Because of the general confusion, it seemed to actually be making traffic there worse. I suspect that is why it was probably removed.

-Mestizo

Edited April 24, 2010 by Mestizo

[CMX]

Roundabouts can be wonderful, far superior to traffic lights, but they bring confusion everywhere they are introduced.

The French are aggressive drivers (it's so puzzling that the French can but call it "system 3"). They must have tens of thousands of roundabouts, most famously at the Arch of Triumph in Paris, where a dozen streets meet.

Originally, drivers ENTERING the circle had priority - so there was no getting OFF. Tourists in particular found themselves jammed for long periods into the center of the circle, almost had to take picnic lunches. (Except by forcing a merge - system 3-like.) Imagine now the French, nationwide, when they changed the priorities so that those entering had to YIELD and thus there were times of no getting IN (except by forcing a merge - system 3-like). During that stage of transition it can be said that confusion reigned.

The U.S. has introduced them too, in places, and I've seen incredible scenes. My favorite is when confronted by a "traffic circle" and a yield sign, a driver new to the experience makes a complete stop at a "yield" sign, when there is no traffic at all on the circle. Another is when they slow a lot for the same reason, rather than carrying on at the speed limit when the size of the circle allows.

Everyone's on a leaning curve, and I suppose one might debate in which nation, in this case, that one can find the most slippery slope. Where I'm having fun is considering the BIB running static posts from the center or one of the exits. "Thailand's HUGE Tea Parties," the headlines will read.

Edited April 24, 2010 by CMX

[slapout]

Probably the same dorks who reset the traffic lights at intersections, so for several days only one side has green, then one day both sides have green at the same time. It did not take long to remove the obstruction/roundabout, but that is one of those indecisive intersections, for some of us anyway. A traffic light was probably never discussed. Hope the traffic magicians never get wind of the portable traffic lights which are battery powered. Police could not have their shaded chair attached so it would not catch on.

[Throatwobbler]

I a saw this new roundabout too, It was total chaos. Everybody pushing their way on and nobody being able to get off. If they could teach the Thais how to use them they are great. However there are many other things that I think they need to teach the Thais about driving before roundabouts.

[IanForbes]

Considering that Thais drive both ways on both sides of the road and in any direction, a round-about would make for some interesting video.

They work quite well in Australia, the UK and Canada. Americans seem to prefer the more expensive system of 4 overpasses and 16 off ramps at a simple intersection..

[slapout]

The US could not work out how those extended dolly 18 wheelers could navigate a round about. Off ramps are positioned to serve restaurant, gas pump, casino, shopping mall, etc. Initially most of the off ramps were dead ended on a potential building site, not thru planning but the right of way agreement with land owners. Everyone saw a multi million dollar development on their scrub oak land, many were correct but there are still a lot of dead end off ramps.

[gotlost]

Considering that Thais drive both ways on both sides of the road and in any direction, a round-about would make for some interesting video.

They work quite well in Australia, the UK and Canada. Americans seem to prefer the more expensive system of 4 overpasses and 16 off ramps at a simple intersection..

We have enough problems but going around in circles is not one of them.

[cmsally]

You're supposed to give way to those on the right (already on the roundabout) but the de facto way here seems to be the other way around; ie, those on the right halt while the incomers force their way through.

You're absolutely right there most confusing!

Actually on the roundabout at Santitham Ha Yaek it has instructions on how to use it, but most people are so busy concentrating they can't take time to read it!

I have never been able to spare a few seconds to read it as always driving and concentrating. So if anyone reads Thai and cares to take a glance please let us know. The one in front of Sanam Kila seems to work a little better with people actually circling getting the right of way sometimes!

[LJW]

For all of the years I have lived here (25) I think Thais handle roundabouts and any intersection well. The only time it gets screwed up is when the police direct traffic

[wales01]

Went through the roundabout around 10am on Friday morning, it was hilarious. They put lane seperation which confused everyone, I saw two bikes hit the bariers in the space of 2 meters. I use this road allot and I am glad they have taken the roundabout away, I could imagine how many accidents this would cause.