Traffic Light Mayhem

[PattayaOneTeam]

Traffic Bind

Sir,

I live on the Dark Side and have watched with amusement and not some annoyance at the antics of the local authorities when it comes to the traffic lights and crossings at the railway road.

When they first opened the two roads you might recall they were both two-way, but this wasn't going to work and they changed them to one-way. Good move. Then the geniuses in charge turned on the traffic lights and what ensued was instant gridlock. Traffic was banked back in every direction along roads like Ngern Plub Wan, Kow Noi and Khao Talo.

Finally, I guess a lot of people complained and they turned the lights off and traffic seemed to move OK, apart from the real morning and night peak hours. A couple of weeks ago I read or heard a news report saying the traffic lights would be turned on again because the clowns in charge of traffic had worked out a way that these lights would be able to turn green when enough cars had collected behind them. Smart lights, but not so smart local authorities. Most people, Thai and foreign, that I speak to who live on the Dark Side reckon these smart lights will not solve a thing and traffic will only be worse.

I noticed they turned the lights on at Khao Talo, but turned them off again after the usual bank-ups and hold-ups occurred. You'd think they'd have learnt the first time. They didn't and now the lights seem to be turned on at a whim.

Is there any way of letting the local government know the whole idea of turning these lights on will just be a disaster?

Bill Reynolds,

by email

Dear Bill,

You don't say where on the Dark Side (East Pattaya) you live, but we will presume it's one of the three sois you mention in your letter. We are aware the new traffic light system has been activated at the intersections south of Soi Khao Talo. These roads tend to be less busy in terms of traffic coming from east to west and west to east, so tailbacks shouldn't be a problem.

You are certainly right about the main sois such as Khao Talo, Kow Noi, Ngern Plub Wan and Siam Country Club where traffic heading east to west and west to east is as heavy, if not heavier than the numbers going south or north.

Accidents certainly occur at these intersections, although given the volume of traffic going through them it's not excessive. Most people, both foreigners and Thais, who use these roads regularly appear to drive through the intersections fairly sensibly. Unfortunately, there are always morons who can't seem to think beyond their own desires to get wherever they want to go as fast as possible and with as little inconvenience. Then again, you see them driving or riding like idiots whether it's on a small side soi, the railway roads or Sukhumvit Road.

Pattaya One agrees with you that turning the traffic lights on at the intersections you mention will probably only make things worse. What's really required, and does happen on occasions, is that Highway Patrol police are stationed at these roads to control traffic flow for a couple of hours in the morning and again for a couple of hours in the evening. We will pass on your thoughts to the relevant authorities, but don't hold your breath.

What's the number?

Sir,

Is it only me or have others noticed the amazing number of cars and motorbikes driving around Pattaya without a number plate? This is not a few isolated instances. I have seen far more than should ever be allowed and I always think to myself 'what are these people up to?' The police seem concerned with nabbing people without helmets, but only at certain times of the month or certain times of the day and cars can just breeze by with no rear or even front number plate and nothing happens. According to my insurance company they said if I was involved in an accident and the driver of the other vehicle didn't stop and I could not identify the vehicle then all costs are down to me. So maybe these people without number plates know this and figure they can get away with it and if they do have an accident they'll just drive off.

I have been driving in Thailand for over eight years and lived in Pattaya now for the last five and I never noticed much of this until the last year or so. There was even one I saw the other day without plates on the front or back.

George Jones,

by email

Dear George,

Pattaya One thinks you are quite right as we have certainly noticed a lot of cars and motorbikes on the roads not sporting number plates. It is completely illegal but no real action appears to be taking place to rectify or stop the practice.

Lights of a Different Shade

Sir,

I want to complain about the new traffic lights in Pattaya, and to tell you about my using four sets of them today.

The first ones I tried to cross near South Pattaya market, were broken, and changed automatically, giving cars only 10 seconds to pass, before changing to 20 seconds for pedestrians, even when there weren't any pedestrians crossing.

No wonder nobody stops for them.

The lights outside Central, on Second Road, in spite of having a huge picture of a grinning city official on them were broken when I tried to use them, so I had to take my life in my hands and cross Second Road as usual.

The ones I used on Pattaya Beach Road, OK, they worked, but nobody stops at them, so what's the point of having them?

In Jomtien I was amused to see two City flunkies waving oversize hankies at cars to make them stop at the red lights at the bottom of Soi 5. I suppose it's better than having people being killed by drivers who don't stop, but is it efficient use of manpower, to have 2 people for one crossing?

Surely the idea is to have NO people and all the cars stop.

How much was spent on these lights? And how many work?

Also, shouldn't the police be staking out these lights and fining drivers who don't stop. Or is there no money in it as the wealthy drivers (foreigners) mostly do stop but I notice it is mostly Thais who drive right through them even when people are crossing.

It seems a nice little earner for the police, and here they would be performing an important public service in making sure drivers stop at red lights, and tourists and residents can cross the city's roads safely, if they hand out massive fines to light-jumping drivers and motorbike riders.

Maybe they will eventually catch on to this new income stream - only after somebody is killed.

Yours sincerely

Andy from Birmingham.

Dear Andy,

It seems anything to do with regulating roads and traffic is a major concern with people, given the content of some of the other letters we have received in recent times.

The idea of the pedestrian lights was a good one, in principle. The main Beach and Second Roads do not have any pedestrian overpasses and there is simply no way any driver will ever stop at a pedestrian crossing, so a light system was introduced. Interestingly, you are right about foreign drivers stopping and many Thais simply ignoring the things and many people are saying as you have, it will only be a matter of time before someone is either killed or injured while legally crossing at the lights.

Sad to say, it's yet another good idea poorly implemented.

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-- Pattaya One 2011-12-08

[TCW]

I was in Pattaya last weekend and I'm sure they turn off all the lights on Beach Road when it's their busiest time.

I was nearly squashed by a speeding car as I tried to cross the road at some dead lights outside the police station.