Smart Traffic Signs In Bangkok

[Felix Lynn]

The following news story is from the Bangkok Post about smart traffic signs being installed Bangkok. Will they help traffic in Bangkok? What is the real reason traffic is so bad in the city? What could be done to improve traffic in the city? What are officials doing to make it worse? Call in your comments to radio bangkok's listener comment line: 02-207-2677. Thanks! Felix Lynn

First smart traffic sign in place

The first smart traffic sign, the brainchild of Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin, was installed on Silom road yesterday.

Mr Apirak was there in person to see it installed in front of the Bangkok Bank headquarters. The smart traffic sign, which will begin monitoring the traffic flow this month, will inform motorists about traffic conditions in Silom and its nearby areas.

It will show in red, yellow and green lines the traffic situation at 10 intersections around the Silom area. The red line stands for heavily congested, yellow _ not too bad, and green _ good flow. Motorists will also be informed of road accidents. Traffic information will be updated every 30 seconds, said Mr Apirak. The city administration will install the smart traffic signs at four more locations this month.

The four locations are Prompong intersection on Sukhumvit road, Phayathai intersection on Phayathai road, Tuek Thai intersection on Rama VI road, and at the Sathorn intersection on Narathiwat Ratchanakharint road.

Deputy city governor Samart Ratchapolsitte, in charge of the project, said altogether the smart traffic signs would be installed at 40 locations throughout the city, with 26 of them on main roads and the rest on expressway exits. All of them would be installed within November.

Edited August 17, 2005 by Felix Lynn

[taxexile]

the most frustrating thing about waiting in traffic queues is not knowing what lies ahead and not knowing for how long you are going to be held up for.

the radio station jor sor 100 , or is it sor jor 100 , does a pretty good job of informing drivers about accidents and traffic conditions around bangkok , especially for those planning a journey.

smart signs should do a good job of informing fuming motorists of local conditions.

and as for improving traffic flow........ cut down on those lengthy red light times.

they just seem to cause traffic to back up and block junctions seeing as no one gives a damm about the yellow boxes designed to keep junctions clear.

[OldAsiaHand]

Smart people in government would do more good, but we all know what the chances of that are.

[andyfletch]

Taxexile you are absolutely right.............traffic light sequencing is one of the biggest factors in getting the correct traffic flow.

A few years ago (maybe 10 or so.............where does the time go?) a traffic management specialist was brought in to study the Hanger Lane Gyratory system in London. After a couple of weeks of sitting on a cold, damp roundabout in West London this guy changed the sequence on the lights by a couple of seconds ( and only a couple of seconds) and lo and behold the thing worked.............for a while anyway............until the traffic volume just outgrew the roads.

And of course that is one of the biggets problems here in Bangkok..............sheer traffic volume. Public transport can assist in reducing the private traffic, but only when buses, trains, subway and skytrain have an integrated fare structure and ticket media. Once it is made easy for somebody to go from one form of transport to another with a single ticket! only then will the ridership on the system really increase.

Have a look at hong kong - population 6 million, daily ridership on MTRC over 2.5 million........and those passengers can go from MTR to KCR to buses all on the Octopus card.

So here............? That would equate to approximately 3.5 -4 million passenger journeys per day on the subway/skytrain!!!!!!.........

[Crossy]

Interesting comparison with HongKong.

One thing to consider is that HK has a 'public transport' culture, many people cannot drive and use the bus/subway for all travel. Bangkok has a more Western 'car culture' everyone wants to drive everywhere, not helped by a relatively poor and badly undersized public transport system.

As to the 'smart signs', TOTALLY INEFFECTIVE!!!!! Thais (and other Asians) just ignore traffic information signs and merrily continue on their programmed route. You have to force them to act.

You need an integrated system to CONTROL the traffic and you need to let it do its job. Get the lights linked to a central control system, USE the tidal flow system that is installed on SUK and PHET (the tidal flow on Asoke actually works qute well although it needs the police to keep the traffic moving).

Remove the manual control of lights at junctions, try as hard as they might the police controlling the lights just do not have a sufficiently broad view of the traffic conditions outside their immediate area.

More overpasses may help, not flashy, slow to build concrete ones (like Lat Phrao)but cheap pre-fabricated steel structures that go up in a couple of months and provide immediate relief.

Of course, for any of this to work, drivers must be educated in the correct use of the road signs and markings.... not going to happen in our lifetimes.

Just my opinons of course.

[Crossy]

mods. time for a thread merge here with the one in the news forum.

[leisurely]

Might help those who can read thai. I would love to be able to see where and for how long I was going to be held up, just won't happen until I learn to read Thai script and that won't happen for about 45 years. Just about doing OK with english.

[mijan246]

Smart Traffic Signs In Bangkok Will They Help????

Try the flashing "80" sign on the Ban Pa-in Toll way - it may as well be advertising of high winds, high temperature, or maybe it means how many centimetres the sign is from the ground - because nary a soul assimilates to be in connection to Max Speed 80kms.

On second thoughts maybe I am reading it wrong maybe the 80 stands for 80 seconds to get to your next destination.

SMART International signs are also "shape specific" so that when a person looks at the back he/she knows what it is about (no need to read the language). eg Inverted Triangle "Give Way" first came across these in Vietnam 1968 good to see the ??HUB (?? whats the flavour this month) coming on line, it will fit in snugly with the PM's longer time allowance for main carriageways because no doubt they have discussed how the two will work together . Or is it possible they the PM & the Gov are not working in unison on this particular issue -dread the thought!!

Edited September 9, 2005 by mijan246

[chownah]

Bangkok traffic problems might improve if the price of fuel doubled again and an efficient public transportation system was developed(hahahahhahahha) OR they increase the number of roads by approximately 25% since it is Bangkok's low percent of road area that is one of the main causes of its traffic problems....if you don't have enough roads then its hopeless.

[Buff-horns]

have you seen those smart signs that warn about katoeys ?

it depicts a ladyboy grabbing a passers bys nuts !

[Buff-horns]

Bangkok traffic problems might improve if the price of fuel doubled again and an efficient public transportation system was developed(hahahahhahahha)  OR they increase the number of roads by approximately 25% since it is Bangkok's low percent of road area that is one of the main causes of its traffic problems....if you don't have enough roads then its hopeless.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

the only answer is to build upwards, double and tripple decker buses with low headroom.

[kalaminsa]

It will show in red, yellow and green lines the traffic situation at 10 intersections around the Silom area. The red line stands for heavily congested, yellow _ not too bad, and green _ good flow. Motorists will also be informed of road accidents.

Doubt if the signs will be any colour but red !