One hour protest shuts down Chaofa West

[Lite Beer]

One hour protest shuts down Chaofa West

Jean-Pierre Mestanza

PHUKET: Protesters parked a bus in the middle of Chaofa West road earlier today (April 27) and demanded changes to make the sharp curve in the immediate area safer for drivers.

Shortly before 1pm, roadblocks were setup on the stretch of road between the Wang Talang jewelry store and the Rolly Tasker building. Protest signs of “dangerous curve, too many people die here” and “we need help” were posted all over a small tent teeming with locals not far from the parked bus.

One woman indicated to reporters that the protest was spurred on by a non-fatal accident last night (April 27) in which a white SUV crashed into a small building near the curve. She said the driver had lost control at the curve on Chaofa West road, though no injuries were reported.

Locals claim the small, but sharp stretch of road is the site of several accidents, many of them fatal.

Governor Maitri Inthusut arrived just before 2pm and spoke with several locals about the problems. He told protesters that plans were in place to give the local Or Bor Jor the funds to build an island in the middle of the curve.

Gov Maitri also said he will ask for an urgent budget from Bangkok to study the traffic problems and possibly add speed bumps.

This is the second protest this week in which a roadblock was used to capture the attention of government officials, the first one haven taken place on Wednesday (April 23) days after two brothers raped a pregnant woman in Thalang.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/one-hour-protest-shuts-down-chaofa-west-45936.php

-- Phuket News 2014-04-27

[KarenBravo]

There are already speed bumps there. A set of two.

They are deadly to small motorbikes as they are higher than normal and are unpainted.

[WoopyDoo]

What the hell is going on down in Phuket?

There are more protests there than there are in Bangkok...

I think the whole place has gone protest crazy.... what next.... protest over the price of lychees?

[Guest]

Phuket has had a lot of dirt roaming on it's streets for quite a long time. People are now starting to complain about the smell.

[stevenl]

There are already speed bumps there. A set of two.

They are deadly to small motorbikes as they are higher than normal and are unpainted.

Are you sure, I don't recall them there. What I do recall there are the slightly elevated lines on the road to warn for the curve, which are a pain on the bike, but no real speedbumps.

[KarenBravo]

They are the ones.

[N47HAN]

Gotta come to the defence of the locals on this one. Sure there eractic but then we all know that and its pretty close to organised chaos. Its the <deleted> tourists on their rented 125 with maps in hand , stopping to take photos , left their brains at the airport and have even less common sense than the ghecko im lookin at now

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[NomadJoe]

They are the ones.

Back home we call those rumble strips. Speed bumps are what we called the small ones usually seen in parking lots and small soi's, whereas speed humps are what the wider, higher speed speed bumps are called.

[Guest]

[Valentine]

I have seen the aftermath of a fatal accident there plus numerous other accidents & many vehicles do go too fast on that stretch. We all know driver education is a waste of time as it will never be implemented & even if it was most would ignore it. I too am with the locals on this. I hope the good guv did not deliver another empty promise.

[madmitch]

Looks like the protest had the desired effect. Speedbumps being installed now.

[stevenl]

Looks like the protest had the desired effect. Speedbumps being installed now.

Speedbumps there on that road, a major through fare, are IMO a really bad idea.

[Blindside]

I have seen the aftermath of a fatal accident there plus numerous other accidents & many vehicles do go too fast on that stretch. We all know driver education is a waste of time as it will never be implemented & even if it was most would ignore it. I too am with the locals on this. I hope the good guv did not deliver another empty promise.

+1

I used to live in Salaboa Mansions near the curve. Used to sit on the balcony in the early morning and whenever I had insomnia. I have seen some INSANE stuff on that stretch of road.

Some of the dwellings are pretty close to that road too.

[NamKangMan]

Looks like the protest had the desired effect. Speedbumps being installed now.

That's great, but there obviously is a breakdown in a political system where it takes local people to block a road and protest over a minor matter such as this.

Once again, heads of certain departments here taking their salary every month, but not doing their job.

Is this how people will get things done here in the future, road closures and protests?

Edited April 28, 2014 by NamKangMan

[KarenBravo]

Is this how people will get things done here in the future, road closures and protests?

No....it's how it's always been done.

[NamKangMan]

Is this how people will get things done here in the future, road closures and protests?

No....it's how it's always been done.

Yes, but for things so minor?

[honoluabay]

What the hell is going on down in Phuket?

There are more protests there than there are in Bangkok...

I think the whole place has gone protest crazy.... what next.... protest over the price of lychees?

Really I live in BKK and I don't see 10000 Thais camping out for several months at a time. Like what i just saw in or around bangkok this weekend. What first time in LOS? Am I wrong?

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[stevehaigh]

this pic needs a video to go with it.

i've been down that stretch of road 1000s of time and never noticed a problem with a sharp curve. there are hundreds and sharp curves on major roads on this island, why pick on jao faa west! its slow enough already.

[Valentine]

this pic needs a video to go with it.

i've been down that stretch of road 1000s of time and never noticed a problem with a sharp curve. there are hundreds and sharp curves on major roads on this island, why pick on jao faa west! its slow enough already.

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

[stevenl]

this pic needs a video to go with it.

i've been down that stretch of road 1000s of time and never noticed a problem with a sharp curve. there are hundreds and sharp curves on major roads on this island, why pick on jao faa west! its slow enough already.

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

Just like many curves though that curve is also not fluent. So if entering the curve (too) fast that can cause problems when one has to apply the brakes in order to negotiate it. Same applies e.g. to the curve from Karon to Kata, just before the hill before Kata traffic lights, 2 of the cirves on the hill from Kata to Chalong, etc.

[N47HAN]

Just at wang talang now and jees quite a nasty smash just happened , guess the locals were right

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[Valentine]

Just at wang talang now and jees quite a nasty smash just happened , guess the locals were right

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I went past there shortly after. There was at least one fatality as I saw some poor soul wrapped in a white sheet, blood soaked around the head area, being put in the back of one of the rescue vehicles. Looked like at least 3 vehicles involved, a pickup, blue Jazz, & a truck which had run off the road.

[stevenl]

Apparently 2 dead.

[JetsetBkk]

this pic needs a video to go with it.

i've been down that stretch of road 1000s of time and never noticed a problem with a sharp curve. there are hundreds and sharp curves on major roads on this island, why pick on jao faa west! its slow enough already.

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

[Guest]

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

Maybe so, but the real problem, often, is the speed which is not in sync with the roads, driving skill, weather, add more if you wish.. as well moronic drivers who don't seem to understand that their speed should be slow enough to prevent the accident in case other car or motorbike makes an mistake.

So very often I see cars, trucks and scooters to switch lanes at the corners as they are not able to keep their vehicles on their own lanes due the speed and lack of driving skills.

I'm not very keen of supporting the law enforcement as long as things go smoothly. But in Phuket the traffic is very rough and should be put under control one way or another.

[Valentine]

this pic needs a video to go with it.

i've been down that stretch of road 1000s of time and never noticed a problem with a sharp curve. there are hundreds and sharp curves on major roads on this island, why pick on jao faa west! its slow enough already.

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

It was not raining & the speed humps do not have paint & they are barely humps at all. One of those humps could not throw a heavy truck from one side of the road to the other. The truck was off the road on the left side but facing in the opposite direction. The pickup & the jazz were both on the left side facing the correct way.

[JetsetBkk]

this pic needs a video to go with it.

i've been down that stretch of road 1000s of time and never noticed a problem with a sharp curve. there are hundreds and sharp curves on major roads on this island, why pick on jao faa west! its slow enough already.

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

It was not raining & the speed humps do not have paint & they are barely humps at all. One of those humps could not throw a heavy truck from one side of the road to the other. The truck was off the road on the left side but facing in the opposite direction. The pickup & the jazz were both on the left side facing the correct way.

The report on the blog which shall not be quoted on Thaivisa said it had been raining. Maybe you arrived later?

The speed bumps were initially strips of black tarmac. Unless they were replaced yesterday by strips of alternating white and yellow tarmac, I would say that they had been painted - with nice, shiny, slippery when wet, paint.

[stevenl]

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

It was not raining & the speed humps do not have paint & they are barely humps at all. One of those humps could not throw a heavy truck from one side of the road to the other. The truck was off the road on the left side but facing in the opposite direction. The pickup & the jazz were both on the left side facing the correct way.

The report on the blog which shall not be quoted on Thaivisa said it had been raining. Maybe you arrived later?

The speed bumps were initially strips of black tarmac. Unless they were replaced yesterday by strips of alternating white and yellow tarmac, I would say that they had been painted - with nice, shiny, slippery when wet, paint.

Those are the warning stripes that have been there for a long time already. The speedbumps were new and yet unpainted. Paint alone would not make them slippery BTW.

Edited May 2, 2014 by stevenl

[Valentine]

The curve is not sharp & because of that drivers often travel at great speed through the curve.

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

It was not raining & the speed humps do not have paint & they are barely humps at all. One of those humps could not throw a heavy truck from one side of the road to the other. The truck was off the road on the left side but facing in the opposite direction. The pickup & the jazz were both on the left side facing the correct way.

The report on the blog which shall not be quoted on Thaivisa said it had been raining. Maybe you arrived later?

The speed bumps were initially strips of black tarmac. Unless they were replaced yesterday by strips of alternating white and yellow tarmac, I would say that they had been painted - with nice, shiny, slippery when wet, paint.

Can't have been much rain or it dried really quickly. Whatever way you look at, wetness & speed humps should not have thrown the truck off course but I have seen some dirt trucks flat out on that stretch of road & elsewhere. Seems to me 2 lives snuffed out because of speed & leaving devastated families.

[JetsetBkk]

It was much more fun when it was a single lane track - then you really had to concentrate.

But the speed bumps they've put in now probably caused the accident today instead of preventing it.

Reports say it was raining - rain on strips of painted road = trouble.

It was not raining & the speed humps do not have paint & they are barely humps at all. One of those humps could not throw a heavy truck from one side of the road to the other. The truck was off the road on the left side but facing in the opposite direction. The pickup & the jazz were both on the left side facing the correct way.

The report on the blog which shall not be quoted on Thaivisa said it had been raining. Maybe you arrived later?

The speed bumps were initially strips of black tarmac. Unless they were replaced yesterday by strips of alternating white and yellow tarmac, I would say that they had been painted - with nice, shiny, slippery when wet, paint.

Those are the warning stripes that have been there for a long time already. The speedbumps were new and yet unpainted. Paint alone would not make them slippery BTW.

You need to take a closer look at the new, painted speedbumps - not the rumble strips, the speed bumps - which were initially black and now (yesterday?) painted white and yellow. At one time they were white, yellow and black. I guess they had to go back and get some more paint.

"Paint alone would not make them slippery BTW."

I said "when wet". And it never rains here, does it.