Bangkok Gears Up For School-Traffic Chaos

[webfact]

City gears up for school-traffic chaos next week
Patinya Iamtarn
The Nation

file photo

BANGKOK: -- The Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) is mobilising more than 70,000 traffic policemen, volunteers and city law-enforcement officials to facilitate traffic flow at the start of the new school semester.

For most schools in Bangkok, the upcoming semester will start in the coming week.

As a huge number of parents drive their children to schools, it is very likely that traffic jams will spread in the capital as soon as the school day begins.

Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Maj-General Utaiwan Kaeosa-ard, who oversees traffic affairs, said special attention would be given to main roads such as Samsen, Silom, Ploenchit, Sathorn and Charoenkrung.

"We have also focused on 26 schools that usually have traffic problems," he said.

Bangkok Christian College, for example, had daily inflow of 4,000 cars in the morning alone, Utaiwan said. Such a huge number of vehicles had affected traffic flow on Sathorn and Charoenkrung roads.

Samsemwittayalai, Suankularb Wittayalai, St Joseph Convent and Mater Dei schools are among those with large traffic volume.

"These 26 schools affect traffic flows on 34 roads and 54 intersections," Utaiwan said.

He said officials would do their best to prevent traffic congestion and road accidents.

However, he said relevant authorities would welcome comments and suggestions.

"If you have recommendations or complaints about traffic, call 1197 or contact us via www.trafficpolice.go.th," Utaiwan said.


-- The Nation 2013-05-11

[sjjmmi]

Sell more cars please

[arthurboy]

A while ago, I met two very bright Thai Phd (Imperial College, London) researchers who - for two years - had been working on a government sponsored integrated traffic flow system for Bangkok using tracking and predictive modelling and response application technology, the goal being to improve congestion in the city. Not my subject, but they were young, clearly inspired and thinking.

They then told me that they had had to go back to the drawing board because the government's car buy scheme had not been discussed with their team, nor had the relevant government departments done any impact analysis on traffic flow increases in an already congested Bangkok.

[Locationthailand]

Putting 70,000 more traffic police and volunteers to handle traffic will absolutely ensure traffic disaster.

[LuckyLew]

with school in or with school on holiays

does not make a difference

Stupid drivers ... too many cars .. mopeds going the wrong way ..

5 cars wide on a single lane turn ... people driving thru after lights

change colors and blocking drivers ...

Until people here get a clue and proper driver training .. there will

always be bad traffic in Bangkok

[thaipod]

To put an extra 7000 police, let alone volunteers is not going to make much difference to traffic in Bangkok . Police traffic control is a joke near the Bangkok Christian College at the Sathorn intersection with the lights not being changed for long periods of time and traffic banking up for miles also with the students family drivers double parking reducing lanes .

[CWMcMurray]

If you could take the salary of 70,000 people helping with traffic flow and used for a public funding if bussing system for schools wouldn't that bea better solution?

Even if each of the 70,000 is only earning 10,000 thb per month , that is 700 mil thb per month or 8.4 bil thb per year

[Payboy]

However, he said relevant authorities would welcome comments and suggestions.

Extend school holidays to 12 months a year.

[MaxLee]

First car scheme Sing it with me, first car scheme,.... people are so crazy to be seen as a high status so they buy into the first car scheeeeeemeee ....

Walking, biking or taking public transportation is sooo uncool and a loss of face, so everybody bought into the first car scheme

You must not forget that millions of High School students in Thailand are also drivers themselves, and a high percentage of them are probably without drivers' licenses, or forged drivers' licenses, or in special cases allowed by their influential rich parents to bypass the duty for drivers' license... and you also have those 14-16 years olds who want to try out, without the ploice noticing much anyway

First car scheme, the bottomline is,... many rich parents took advantage and bought and spoonfed their offsprings with their mode of transportation for a starting gift for the new semester

Ohoooooo,, first car scheme

[chris2dv8]

I'm not sure what's all the fuss about..

This happens twice a year and has done

for donkeys years

[MaxLee]

I'm not sure what's all the fuss about..

This happens twice a year and has done

for donkeys years

With the only difference that THIS TIME,.... we will have 1 trillion-kachillian more cars on the road than ever because of the first car scheme

[prakhonchai nick]

Glad I live in the sticks. Peaceful - no traffic jams -no pollution - no stress!

[MaxYakov]

I have a suggestion for the 'authorities'. How about a 'first bicycle' program? They would, ideally, be distributed at 'no cost' to the participants, with the contract that they would not be resold and they would be used regularly for commuting. This program (if they were actually used in large numbers) could have the additional effect of irritating, primarily, the motorbike riders and some motorists. Not that I would ever desire to irritate a motorbike rider (not while as a passenger on a motorbike, anyway). The auto drivers are probably irritated enough as it is.

Edited May 11, 2013 by MaxYakov

[RayHaas]

Move all the schools out of town with no access by Road. Only access is a Train.

[winstonc]

mmmmmmmmmmmm,i was thinking ubon or bkk, still cant make me mind up ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[technologybytes]

It's not just Bangkok, school runs cause traffic chaos in other cities too.

However, we will still take our boy to school by car, the school minibus is far too dangerous.

[MaxYakov]

If you could take the salary of 70,000 people helping with traffic flow and used for a public funding if bussing system for schools wouldn't that bea better solution?

Even if each of the 70,000 is only earning 10,000 thb per month , that is 700 mil thb per month or 8.4 bil thb per year

The article indicated there would volunteers and what would the already-employed traffic-police be doing otherwise, one could only guess. In any event, regardless of cost, addressing the symptom is probably far cheaper and less effective than addressing the root causes. Poor people have poor ways.

Sent via a decrepit MacBook Pro via a low-performance wifi/internet connection

Edited May 11, 2013 by MaxYakov

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

the school minibus is far too dangerous.

Dämn, I was going to suggest more of them.

Maybe change the type of mini-bus to:

[MaxYakov]

Are rare sight in Bangkok:

[davidmann]

easy do the same as london make people pay to drive in Bangkok ,

[jimbeam1]

I have a suggestion for the 'authorities'. How about a 'first bicycle' program? They would, ideally, be distributed at 'no cost' to the participants, with the contract that they would not be resold and they would be used regularly for commuting. This program (if they were actually used in large numbers) could have the additional effect of irritating, primarily, the motorbike riders and some motorists. Not that I would ever desire to irritate a motorbike rider (not while as a passenger on a motorbike, anyway). The auto drivers are probably irritated enough as it is.

Just Imagine, a million? slow moving bicycles criss crossing all over the roads. Surely a good way to cull a nation.

jb1

[MaxYakov]

I have a suggestion for the 'authorities'. How about a 'first bicycle' program? They would, ideally, be distributed at 'no cost' to the participants, with the contract that they would not be resold and they would be used regularly for commuting. This program (if they were actually used in large numbers) could have the additional effect of irritating, primarily, the motorbike riders and some motorists. Not that I would ever desire to irritate a motorbike rider (not while as a passenger on a motorbike, anyway). The auto drivers are probably irritated enough as it is.

Just Imagine, a million? slow moving bicycles criss crossing all over the roads. Surely a good way to cull a nation.

jb1

I could imagine multi-millions in my nightmares. BTW, bicycles can be very speedy, depending.

You have a point, though - continue with the motorbikes and other unsafe motor vehicles, where the higher potential velocities ensure a kill or incapacitating injury (ignoring the air pollution and other hazardous materials risks), for effective nation-culling.

Edited May 11, 2013 by MaxYakov

[tezzainoz]

First car scheme Sing it with me, first car scheme,.... people are so crazy to be seen as a high status so they buy into the first car scheeeeeemeee ....

Walking, biking or taking public transportation is sooo uncool and a loss of face, so everybody bought into the first car scheme

You must not forget that millions of High School students in Thailand are also drivers themselves, and a high percentage of them are probably without drivers' licenses, or forged drivers' licenses, or in special cases allowed by their influential rich parents to bypass the duty for drivers' license... and you also have those 14-16 years olds who want to try out, without the ploice noticing much anyway

First car scheme, the bottomline is,... many rich parents took advantage and bought and spoonfed their offsprings with their mode of transportation for a starting gift for the new semester

Ohoooooo,, first car scheme

Sorry to correct you, but you need to come out of the past

My Thai wife best friend comes fro a very well to do HiSo Family

She tried to get a driver licence with out doing the test

At first she was told 15,000 baht would do it

after 6 days the process came to a halt

It seems under the new didital phot process it just can not be done

the scrutiny of the new drivers licence makes it impossible to by pass the system

I work in the Film industry and we normally can get away wil almost any thing as we bring so much money into Thailand

But I also had to go through the proper process.

you can no longer get fake licences

or bribe outside the system

But Thailand being Thailand can bribe your way inside the system for a quicker conclusion only

[axact]

This happens all around the world. Don't know about here but in UK most parents could walk their children to school quicker than negotiating the traffic but they still drive !

Perhaps they should offer incentives for children to join a school organized 'snake / chain walk' where adult collect children and they all link hands safely getting to school and having exercise at the same time. (can't recall the proper name)

There are lots of measures that could be taken to alleviate the problem but this is the same for every city in the world and they have done very little about it so expecting anything to happen here is a pipe dream.

Changing school hours would be the easiest imo.

[kennalder]

Putting 70,000 more traffic police and volunteers to handle traffic will absolutely ensure traffic disaster.

I can hear the whistles blowing from Chiang Mai

[BillBangkok]

This only Happens in Thailand........

when the world is working towards reducing

Global warming, Traffic pollution, Congestions,

carbon footprint, levying higher taxes for cars to reduce usage

etc etc......

Daang !!!....Thailand makes CARS TAXFREE,

We're Different !

Dont care what the world thinks, says & does

what was the Government thinking when making them cars taxfree ????!!!!

even if this policy was made for a vote bank,

all that the party can get is 100,000 votes (folks who bought the taxfree car)

and get cursed by the 1 million who will be stuck in traffic...

guess the car-makers gave the policy makers an under-cut

so their sales will double/triple/quadruple....

hmmmm......

Welcome to Thailand

Land of Smiles

[bkkgriz]

<snip>

the school minibus is far too dangerous.

Dämn, I was going to suggest more of them.

Maybe change the type of mini-bus to:

apc.jpg

I'm thinking about buying an APC for my daily driver. I would never have troube with another Fortuner again.

Edited May 11, 2013 by bkkgriz

[jaapfries]

The solution is as simple as it is brilliant; the proven way in which to cut traffic in half, is the "Odd-Day /\ Even-Day" system: on Odd days, only cars with an odd last digit are permitted on the road and on Even days, only cars with an even last digit . . . . . . .

Violators to be fined an even Tbt. 5,000.- per violation !

Voila; problem solved !

[MaxYakov]

This happens all around the world. Don't know about here but in UK most parents could walk their children to school quicker than negotiating the traffic but they still drive !

Perhaps they should offer incentives for children to join a school organized 'snake / chain walk' where adult collect children and they all link hands safely getting to school and having exercise at the same time. (can't recall the proper name)

There are lots of measures that could be taken to alleviate the problem but this is the same for every city in the world and they have done very little about it so expecting anything to happen here is a pipe dream.

Changing school hours would be the easiest imo.

I imagine this:

or this:

are out of the question.

[JetsetBkk]

I imagine this:

Thai_school_bus.jpg

or this:

Thai_school_bus2.jpeg

are out of the question.

Normal situation in Phuket:

.