Is It Really A Bike Lane Or A Hard Shoulder (Usa Shoulder)

[thequietman]

Hi guys,

I have often wondered if the small area lined off on most main roads is infact a 'hard shoulder.'

Pickup and car drivers in Thailand say it is for the motorbikes but if you ask them, ' if you break down, where will you park'? and the answer will be on the hard shoulder. the car and pickup will surely be blocking the motorbike lane and this would be illegal as well as dangerous.

I really believe that it isn't a bike lane as it is too close to large teak trees, metal road signs and sheer drops in some cases. I think motorbikes drive in this lane because they have been forced over to it by the many inconsiderate drivers on thailands roads.

when i try to hold my line on the main road, a car will overtake from the opposite direction and keep coming at me until i swerve back in to the ' bike lane.'

I have never seen a sign denoting that it is a bike lane, have you ?

so, what do the tv members think ? is it a hard shoulder or simply the only place left on the road where the bigger vehicles dont go that often. bear in mind please that a bike rider pays road tax and has insurance the same as cars and pickups. (most of the time)

thanks for your inputs.

[travelmann]

Of course its not a bike lane even more so when the twa*s are coming towards you. I often see pick ups coming the wrong way too and no doubt if you hit one of these coming the wrong way you would be to blame.

How about they are for pedestrians????? nah too far fetched eh!!

[thequietman]

Of course its not a bike lane even more so when the twa*s are coming towards you. I often see pick ups coming the wrong way too and no doubt if you hit one of these coming the wrong way you would be to blame.

How about they are for pedestrians????? nah too far fetched eh!!

[whybother]

Hard shoulder, which the bikes use so they don't get trashed by pick ups.

[arthurwait]

I'm not sure if we're talking about the same thing, but in Chonburi city there is plenty of bikes pictured in the lane to the left of the road and plenty of signs. Picture signs and written in Thai.

Over night a few years back in CC bike lanes appeared with bikes painted in them. The ones on the inner city by-pass/ bridge road thing it's just a parking lane with pissed up morons swerving out of without looking.