Bangkok To Impose Stricter Traffic Laws

[siampreggers]

Perhaps they could set up a Western child's Road Safety App for tablet computers and facebook. Perhaps one where you have to pop balloons and there's loads of bright primary colours to hold their attention.

And instead of sending a delegation to the UK they could get some UK schools to put 'A road safety for Thais' video project together. I'm sure some 10 year old 4th graders could explain 'Driving the wrong way down a main road is dangerous and incredibly stupid'. 'Not looking before pulling out on to a road is dangerous and incredibly stupid'. etc etc.

Have them translated by a Thai in a large, cute bunny costume, use lots of flashing colours, and air them during the Lakorns.

[kimamey]

I guess one the first items on their agenda should be to either stop wasting paint on 'zebra' crossings or force motorists to give way to pedestrians.

Good idea.I seem to remember a while back there was a crackdown on pedestrians not using the crossings in Bangkok despite the fact that drivers don't stop at them anyway.

I like the crossing in Khon Kaen outside Central plaza. It crosses a road with 2 lanes each way. One end is blocked by bikes on the footpath. In the middle you have to balance on a narrow piece of wood or concrete about 4 inches / 10 cm wide and on the other it ends in some bushes. Plus the fact that no vehicles ever stop. Plus to get there you have to walk in the road as the footpath is blocked by street lamps.

Quite frankly if you need to spend all that money on a trip to London to see what to do then firstly you're too stupid to do anything anyway and secondly although I know the UK road safety record is impressive there must be places closer to visit.

If they can't work out what to do to start improving things I assume they needed to pay for carers to accompany them on their trip as they can't be all that bright.

[Tanaka]

What driving schools? And who would be teachers? Thais? Start with setting up proper tests for driver's licenses where if you fail, you won't get a license. And where you have to show that you know the traffic laws in Thailand. Yes there are such laws and it is up to the police to see that they are followed. But as thoses policemen do know the laws either, it is a predicament. And you should have to do a driving test with someone who knows the laws and who is a good driver. Where to find such an animal in Thailand? Very, very difficult.

[tommytitfull]

Maybe a I Q test if lower than 80 no licence to drive as most have not a clue how to drive.

[GeorgeO]

I guess one the first items on their agenda should be to either stop wasting paint on 'zebra' crossings or force motorists to give way to pedestrians.

I think you have hit the nail on the head; the first thing is to make drivers aware of the existence of pedestrians, and impose penalties for failure to stop at pedestrian crossings.

Step 2, for me, would be to announce on nationwide TV that with effect from, say, Monday of next week, anyone, in any type of vehicle, found driving the wrong way down any carriageway will be fined THB 1,000...!! ... and this would have to be done using a formal ticket payable at the post office. Failure to pay the fine should then lead to a second larger fine; failure to pay that fine ultimately resulting in a court appearance to be dealt with as the judge sees fit.

My point is, if they really are serious, then they have to make everyone aware of it!

[spidermike007]

Compulsory driving lessons by a qualified instructor followed by a driving test on the road, not a piece of concrete would be a good start.

The UK has the safest roads in the world because it has one of the toughest driving tests in the world.

Imposing stricter traffic law will have no effect unless the police are prepared to enforce it. Somehow that seems a little unlikely.

But, how do you impose enforcement, in a virtually lawless land. How much actual law enforcement is there, in the LOS? Very, very little. The police are undertrained, undermanned, upderpaid, and under qualified. Very little of the actual law is enforced. People know this, and they know they can get away with virtually any crime, if they have some cash. It is like the US, in the 1880's. Thailand is the laughing stock on the world, when it comes to the police. It is like comedy hour.

[Crazy chef 1]

_{My recommendation is that all the police officers must first be shown what a stop sign looks like so when all the cars go thru it they will know what to do. I doubt most of these jokers could even pass a driving test.}

_{Second thing is to give all the cops a color blind test. I assume a requirement for becoming a traffic cop is to be color blind. If you can see the color red you do not qualify. They might want to then change the color of all lights requiring the traffic to stop from red to green and leave the green one the way it is. That should get rid of a lot of congestion and the police can continue to do what they do so well-nothing.}

_{In the event the first two suggestions do not work I suggest giving all cars a turret with a 50 calibre machine gun on each hood. That should do it.} Not that old one- what about e LEO2A

_{The following question was asked on the driver's license test:}

_{Which of the following is illegal? a) Driving a tank down the highway or driving with a cracked windshield?}

_{How many of you out there got it right? Anyone out there have a used Abrams army tank in good condition? I am looking for one with air conditioning.}

[lizardtongue]

I took the Thai driving test several years ago the thing that struck me was the reaction time of Thai's when asked to 'hit the brake peddle' upon seeing a red light (it was a contraption that had 1-2 peddles rigged up to a set of traffic lights), as you can imagine there was a lot of laughter when they failed to 'stop in sufficient time' but that did not prevent them from continuing and passing the test (that's the one's who didn't pay the 500 THB for an under the counter license).

About a year later my wife took her test in Korat she showed me a video it was her in a truck doing about 5 MPH around a field I inquired if she actually drove on a road? I will leave the answer to your imagination.

On a lighter note my friend asked his wife, "How old do you have to be to drive a motor cycle?" "When your mom lets you" And that my friends just about sums it all up!!

[NoshowJones]

Bookman, be very careful about this, as I've said before, some drivers flee accidents in fear of being beaten up or killed by locals.at the scene.

[JimsKnight]

I read the headline as...... "Police to collect more bribes from motorists"

That and "Let's get Bangkok jacked-up for CCTV and big brother policing"

No thanks!

Bangkok, don't go western, you've already gone far enough with the police messing folk about with the express-way bs etc

[JimsKnight]

London also has more sensible road systems without U-turns where vision is blocked by police signs turning them into black spots, flyovers that force traffic to filter into lanes of fast moving traffic, thousands of brain dead motor cyclists and utterly corrupt police.

There is one way that London, in fact the whole of the UK would do well to copy Thailand. They should allow vehicles to do a left turn if it is safe to do so on a red light, it would help to keep the traffic moving as it does in both Thailand and America.

Not every junction allows you to turn left. I, myself and other colleagues have been stopped by the bib after turning left on a red light. The problem is that some junctions you can , and some you cannot, but of course its a secret known only to the locals which ones you can or cannot - as there are very few signs. The same applies to multi lane carriageways where the left lane (only) is allowed to go through a red light - but again not all roads and only local drivers seem to know which you can and which you can't. About 100 metres outside my house there is a police traffic box next to traffic lights. It's generally accepted that you can drive through the red light in the left hand lane - however drivers unfamiliar with this area don't know that and when they stop at the red light (in front of the police box) - there are dozens of drivers honking their horns for him to drive through the red light. What the heck is he supposed to do - if theres no sign to say he can?.

In my opinion red means stop and green means go - end of story! The bib here in Bangkok take great delight in taking fines from drivers for commiting an apparent offence when there are no roadsigns to notify the driver and it's as if the 'driver should have known - 'because all the others do (locals)'.

I've only ever seen this 'no left-turn' crap in Hua Hin, for the explicit reason of conning farang and big city bangkokian's out of their hard-earned money.

Before 2009 there was no rule against it in Hua Hin.