Crackdown on Bangkok traffic violators

[lostmebike]

Hero is the word that has been coming to my mind lately also. Finally a leader in Thailand who cares about this country and is making improvements. He gets my salute also

Police General yes but hero?? I don't see it like that. Is he worth a 'salute'? Probably but a policeman doing his job is hardly a hero.

Just my take on it.

[Celtica]

Unfortunately it would take decades of Western colonization to help the Thais in this regard.

They just don't consider others enough to park.

So instead they just stop driving and get out.

Western colonization , just so that the country can devolve into the aggressive, hating world that the average western country has become. Now that would be progress. And you come from a country in which people show regard for each other-pray tell which Utopian dream land this is, because where I unfortunately hail from (yes, Australia), violence, road rage etc is the norm, and this is with the most police infested, controlled driving environment conceivable. But don't worry, the Thais will not be colonized, it is the West that will change to the realities of the Asian Century, so get used to it!

[gemini81]

Another vote winner short time campaign it will all be back to the Bangkok normal mess next week park where ever you can squeeze the car in or just stop as you are driving along always plenty places to stop on the road.

Jim, put down the sauce, as its only 1pm or so.... The term Junta implies no election.

[RedQualia]

Surely a good idea. However, before they start giving people tickets for traffic violations and illegal parking, perhaps they should do something about the CAUSES of all the traffic violations and illegal parking. Roads here quite often just not built for cars at all, let alone the number of cars that exist in Bangkok (add motorbikes on top of all that). And most Thai businesses have inadequate to no parking. I can think of several areas in Chiang Mai that have large collections of roadside Thai eatery carts, and the roads around them are often double parked, triple parked. The 3-4 lane highway going north through the San Sai area is sometimes so clogged that there's barely enough room for one lane of cars to pass by all those getting food at the eateries. I'd think the solution would be to take out the roadside eateries, or move them to an area with a large area for parking. Rephrased, if there is inadequate to no parking for whatever business is in question, make the business either move, or provide adequate parking.

Similarly with roads. If a given right turn lane is proving problematic, or a given set of them, the solution is probably not to block off all the right turn lanes, forcing ever more cars to drive 1-2 KM to the next place where a right turn or U-turn is permitted. Better to widen the road and/or lengthen the right turn lane. The moat in Chiang Mai? I love it. But so many lanes come and go there, and it's particularly bad on the west side for southbound drivers. Painting a yellow line in the middle of a one lane patch of road does not make it two lanes. Should I talk about the parking around schools on little sois, when it's time to pick up the kids? Extremely bad.

So... My sympathies are with the drivers, I guess. I mean sure, I get angry at them and sometimes think the roads are filled with buffalo. But giving them all tickets isn't going to fix the real causes of the problem. More than likely, it will just make new problems elsewhere, or make other existing problems worse.

Oh well. Maybe better to just say "jai yen yen" ten times and live with it all. And same advice to the cops, at least until after the causes of the problems are fixed.

[Justanotherpassword]

BANGKOK: -- Pol Lt-Geneneral Wuthi Liptapallop said police would tow away or lock the wheels of illegally parked vehicles, arrest and jail offenders, and do this in a polite |manner.

Arrest & Jail for parking a car now ??? ... ok they have definitely lost it

You would feel differently if you were bleeding in the ambulance that could not get through traffic. You would feel differently if it was your residence on fire.

[razer]

Sooooo ... why didn't the police and Ministry of Transportation do this before?

[techboy]

They finally start doing their job and they have to make a song and dance of it, lads you were meant to be doing this stuff every day for the last 50 odd years it's called DOING YOUR JOB

Imagine this country with a competent police force?

It is merely an announcement about increased efforts to improve a situation. No need to spin it like that. For all we know your work ethics suck.

[Justanotherpassword]

Unfortunately it would take decades of Western colonization to help the Thais in this regard.

They just don't consider others enough to park.

So instead they just stop driving and get out.

Western colonization , just so that the country can devolve into the aggressive, hating world that the average western country has become. Now that would be progress. And you come from a country in which people show regard for each other-pray tell which Utopian dream land this is, because where I unfortunately hail from (yes, Australia), violence, road rage etc is the norm, and this is with the most police infested, controlled driving environment conceivable. But don't worry, the Thais will not be colonized, it is the West that will change to the realities of the Asian Century, so get used to it!

I think you are picking on two words inappropriately. The British were in India for over 450 years their traffic is a mess as well. I am beginning to love military rule. At least there are some rules.

[thumper101]

Recently, saw a cop give a Tuk tuk driver a ticket in front of MBK, and the driver just shrugged and turned to smile over his shoulder at his friends as the cop walked away. All these "crackdowns" and attempted law enforcement will mean nothing to the public as long as the legitimate punishment for offences have no teeth. Otherwise, a 500 baht ticket is apparently only worth a shrug and a smile!

Nope... Tht is for the first ticket.

Wait till the guy is getting them every other day, he won't be smiling for long and will likely comply.

I suggest they generate a database of offenders and with each offense, the fine is doubled.... sure they can all laugh off the first fine, but 1000, 2000, 4000, 8000 and so on. It will soon wipe the smile off their faces and have this for EVERY driving offense in the land, including motorcycles riding the wrong way against traffic and no helmets etc.... Use all the money to pay for elevated U-turns on the inter city roads and close all those stupid u-turns.

[Suradit69]

BANGKOK: -- Pol Lt-Geneneral Wuthi Liptapallop said police would tow away or lock the wheels of illegally parked vehicles, arrest and jail offenders, and do this in a polite |manner.

Arrest & Jail for parking a car now ??? ... ok they have definitely lost it

Since the title of the piece was Traffic violators beware, although the person writing it then focused on some cases involving parking issues, there certainly are driving offences that merit arrest and jail time. Driving while intoxicated comes to mind as well as reckless driving that causes death, injury and property damage. There may also be cases where businesses or individuals repeatedly ignore the law or put people in jeopardy by blocking access for emergency vehicles etc.

It's amazing how many threads are hijacked by the puerile Farang Fantasy Factory brigade who can only focus on the less than stellar reporting style and somewhat shambolic use of English rather than the event that is being reported. The news sources quoted are often not the best and the use of English or the translation from Thai is often eccentric. Maybe you'd find it more accurate if you followed the news on Thai language broadcasts or print media ... you being resident here in Thailand and all.

Edited June 10, 2014 by Suradit69

[HerbalEd]

prison ??? since when has parking a car become a criminal offence

It's the "illegal" parking of cars that's the criminal offense. A criminal offense does not necessarily mean prison.

[techboy]

'POLICE HAVE STARTED a campaign to "return roads to the people" by cracking down on traffic violators.'

Will this crackdown continue when the cameras and news media are gone, or is this just a typical dog and pony act? We have seen crack downs on other illegal activities. Yet prostitution, gambling, public intoxication, child exploitation, domestic violence, etc. still run rampant throughout the country.

This is the most universal and inane sort of response and it inevitably arises to any police efforts announced any place in the world. There is always some sanctimonious joker that will point out that it is because it is in the media spotlight and then go on with "what about blah, blah, blah, blahh, blah, blah, blahh, blah, blah, blahh!" And of course you have zero knowledge as whether efforts are being made to amend the status quo in other illegal venues.

[oldsailor35]

'POLICE HAVE STARTED a campaign to "return roads to the people" by cracking down on traffic violators.'

Will this crackdown continue when the cameras and news media are gone, or is this just a typical dog and pony act? We have seen crack downs on other illegal activities. Yet prostitution, gambling, public intoxication, child exploitation, domestic violence, etc. still run rampant throughout the country.

Yes, but Gambling and Prostitution only effects the two individuals involved, not the whole population.

[VINCENT2012]

motor industry want to sell always more vehicle

street infrastructure are never prepare for so much traffic..... in thailand but not only, in paris or london, new york , tokyo etc etc

... everybody need a vehicle to go to wor or work...so....the police want to make order in this by putting to people more fine.....!

in my opinion it is always wrong, all government need to develop traffic alternatives for the needs of its people to carry on there profesional activity normaly or free mouvment.everyday we are more in this planet we need organisation...no more fine and this is the duty of government in place.

[MaxYakov]

"POLICE HAVE STARTED a campaign to "return roads to the people" by cracking down on traffic violators." - OP

What kind of nonsense (transmogrified in translation?) statement is this?

I would be happy to have them return the sidewalks/footpaths to the people freeing them from the sidewalk-parked cars, motorbikes and occasional bus (rare, admittedly, but I've seen it).

[harleyclarkey]

prison ??? since when has parking a car become a criminal offence

When you "park" your car on top of another after speeding like a nutter and flipping off a motorway!!

Edited June 10, 2014 by harleyclarkey

[MaxYakov]

Interesting, but it will do nothing to curb the biggest problem on the roads, the poor, aggressive and dangerous driving habits of the majority of Thais on the road. It's nice that they're going after illegal parkers, but that's low-hanging fruit, just like everybody they catch at their check points.

But police here never patrol the streets looking for the real law-breakers... the once excessively speeding on the roadways, making illegal u-turns and (my favorite) driving on the shoulder to pass. They never catch these serious law-breakers because they are either too lazy to drive the streets and ticket people for these behaviors or they don't understand what they need to do catch these people.

Start cracking down in this manner, and Thailand will quickly become a safer and more pleasant place (well pleasant might be a stretch, but you get what I mean) to drive.

I've been fascinated by the illegal U-turn trap they occasionally set up at the Sukhumvit Soi 3/4 intersection with three or four motorcycle cops positioned at Soi 3/1. They would run it like a production line for a few hours and pack up and leave (diminishing returns because the motorbikers eventually got wise to it?). That type of operation was extremely obvious and tied up a lot of personnel. I see more of that type of trap operation than individual motorcycle cops ticketing independently. Is there something with the team psychology of Bangkok motorcycle cops or is it just me?

[MaxYakov]

< snip >

Oh well. Maybe better to just say "jai yen yen" ten times and live with it all. And same advice to the cops, at least until after the causes of the problems are fixed.

Hmmm ... until after the causes of the problems are fixed ...

The alternatives seem to me to be:

A: Force most everyone back to walking, bicycles and samlors (cycle rickshaws)

B: Bulldoze a large part of Bangkok and rebuild

C: Your "maybe better" (jai yen yen), but inevitable and worsening alternative

Does anyone think there is a real choice?

Edited June 10, 2014 by MaxYakov

[Jimbolai]

Please do the same in Pattaya and get the vendors of the side walks, PLEASE

[RedQualia]

< snip >

Oh well. Maybe better to just say "jai yen yen" ten times and live with it all. And same advice to the cops, at least until after the causes of the problems are fixed.

Hmmm ... until after the causes of the problems are fixed ...

The alternatives seem to me to be:

A: Force most everyone back to walking, bicycles and samlors (cycle rickshaws)

B: Bulldoze a large part of Bangkok and rebuild

C: Your "maybe better" (jai yen yen), but inevitable and worsening alternative

Does anyone think there is a real choice?

There are several things that could be done, both inside and outside Bangkok. I mentioned a few things that could be done in the part you "< snip >"-ed, Perhaps you didn't read those. Things like widening roads, making right turn lanes longer (sorry, gotta take out a bunch of the bougainvillea). Other things like either closing or moving roadside eatery areas with huge traffic jams around them, or forcing them to provide adequate parking (every town I've ever seen in Thailand has this problem). I know trees are very nice, but the road on the inside of the western moat in Chiang Mai needs some serious restructuring, and such would be possible with removal of a few trees, and/or attention to at least some of those piles of bricks that are supposed to look like ruins (the bricks aren't so old at all). The four lane highway going south from Chiang Mai is badly throttled by narrow roads in Hang Dong, San Pa Tong, and Chum Thong, and virtually no road planning has occurred in those areas. And those aren't the exception in Thailand. Rather, the rule. Either build bypasses, or apply the concept of "eminent domain" on one side of the road or the other, and tear some buildings down to make the roads wider and safer.

As for Bangkok proper -- General sorts of road improvements such as described above can be implemented in places. Too, lots of areas of the city are now 3-4 layers high/deep (the tollways, the skytrain, all that mess around MBK, etc.), but then the MRT often goes 3-4 layers down underground as well. More of that may be possible, including multilayered roads.

Driving a car in Bangkok is already a fairly unpleasant experience, but things could be done to make it even more unpleasant there. Like tripling the cost of fuel for private vehicles. Or raising the taxes on private vehicle ownership an order of magnitude or more. Such increases in cost would certainly decrease the number of vehicles on the roads, and the revenue could then be used to improve roads and provide more public transit. More free buses, and perhaps even free air conditioned buses.

I absolutely hate driving in Bangkok. There's something bad wrong when a cop tells a farang to drive the wrong way on the edge of a ten lane city street when there's no parking on that edge, but hey, I was so instructed. And did it. Any time I go there for an extended period of time, I either leave the vehicle at home, or stay in a place where I can just park the vehicle and use skytrain/MRT/taxis/buses instead. Vehicle ownership just isn't necessary in Bangkok. Or if it is necessary so that one can travel outside the city from time to time, then again, the vehicle can just be parked when it's in the city.

So yes, there are options for improving traffic and roads not only in Bangkok, but nationwide. As a rule, it appears that less attention is being given to such than should be.

Edited June 10, 2014 by RedQualia

[bkkjames]

< snip >

Oh well. Maybe better to just say "jai yen yen" ten times and live with it all. And same advice to the cops, at least until after the causes of the problems are fixed.

Hmmm ... until after the causes of the problems are fixed ...

The alternatives seem to me to be:

A: Force most everyone back to walking, bicycles and samlors (cycle rickshaws)

B: Bulldoze a large part of Bangkok and rebuild

C: Your "maybe better" (jai yen yen), but inevitable and worsening alternative

Does anyone think there is a real choice?

There are several things that could be done, both inside and outside Bangkok. I mentioned a few things that could be done in the part you "< snip >"-ed, Perhaps you didn't read those. Things like widening roads, making right turn lanes longer (sorry, gotta take out a bunch of the bougainvillea). Other things like either closing or moving roadside eatery areas with huge traffic jams around them, or forcing them to provide adequate parking (every town I've ever seen in Thailand has this problem). I know trees are very nice, but the road on the inside of the western moat in Chiang Mai needs some serious restructuring, and such would be possible with removal of a few trees, and/or attention to at least some of those piles of bricks that are supposed to look like ruins (the bricks aren't so old at all). The four lane highway going south from Chiang Mai is badly throttled by narrow roads in Hang Dong, San Pa Tong, and Chum Thong, and virtually no road planning has occurred in those areas. And those aren't the exception in Thailand. Rather, the rule. Either build bypasses, or apply the concept of "eminent domain" on one side of the road or the other, and tear some buildings down to make the roads wider and safer.

As for Bangkok proper -- General sorts of road improvements such as described above can be implemented in places. Too, lots of areas of the city are now 3-4 layers high/deep (the tollways, the skytrain, all that mess around MBK, etc.), but then the MRT often goes 3-4 layers down underground as well. More of that may be possible, including multilayered roads.

Driving a car in Bangkok is already a fairly unpleasant experience, but things could be done to make it even more unpleasant there. Like tripling the cost of fuel for private vehicles. Or raising the taxes on private vehicle ownership an order of magnitude or more. Such increases in cost would certainly decrease the number of vehicles on the roads, and the revenue could then be used to improve roads and provide more public transit. More free buses, and perhaps even free air conditioned buses.

I absolutely hate driving in Bangkok. There's something bad wrong when a cop tells a farang to drive the wrong way on the edge of a ten lane city street when there's no parking on that edge, but hey, I was so instructed. And did it. Any time I go there for an extended period of time, I either leave the vehicle at home, or stay in a place where I can just park the vehicle and use skytrain/MRT/taxis/buses instead. Vehicle ownership just isn't necessary in Bangkok. Or if it is necessary so that one can travel outside the city from time to time, then again, the vehicle can just be parked when it's in the city.

So yes, there are options for improving traffic and roads not only in Bangkok, but nationwide. As a rule, it appears that less attention is being given to such than should be.

Yes raise the taxes and fuel to sky high levels, then use the money to fix the roads so only the wealthy can enjoy their shopping in comfort lol

Sent from my LG-P970 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[RedQualia]

< snip >

Oh well. Maybe better to just say "jai yen yen" ten times and live with it all. And same advice to the cops, at least until after the causes of the problems are fixed.

Hmmm ... until after the causes of the problems are fixed ...

The alternatives seem to me to be:

A: Force most everyone back to walking, bicycles and samlors (cycle rickshaws)

B: Bulldoze a large part of Bangkok and rebuild

C: Your "maybe better" (jai yen yen), but inevitable and worsening alternative

Does anyone think there is a real choice?

There are several things that could be done, both inside and outside Bangkok. I mentioned a few things that could be done in the part you "< snip >"-ed, Perhaps you didn't read those. Things like widening roads, making right turn lanes longer (sorry, gotta take out a bunch of the bougainvillea). Other things like either closing or moving roadside eatery areas with huge traffic jams around them, or forcing them to provide adequate parking (every town I've ever seen in Thailand has this problem). I know trees are very nice, but the road on the inside of the western moat in Chiang Mai needs some serious restructuring, and such would be possible with removal of a few trees, and/or attention to at least some of those piles of bricks that are supposed to look like ruins (the bricks aren't so old at all). The four lane highway going south from Chiang Mai is badly throttled by narrow roads in Hang Dong, San Pa Tong, and Chum Thong, and virtually no road planning has occurred in those areas. And those aren't the exception in Thailand. Rather, the rule. Either build bypasses, or apply the concept of "eminent domain" on one side of the road or the other, and tear some buildings down to make the roads wider and safer.

As for Bangkok proper -- General sorts of road improvements such as described above can be implemented in places. Too, lots of areas of the city are now 3-4 layers high/deep (the tollways, the skytrain, all that mess around MBK, etc.), but then the MRT often goes 3-4 layers down underground as well. More of that may be possible, including multilayered roads.

Driving a car in Bangkok is already a fairly unpleasant experience, but things could be done to make it even more unpleasant there. Like tripling the cost of fuel for private vehicles. Or raising the taxes on private vehicle ownership an order of magnitude or more. Such increases in cost would certainly decrease the number of vehicles on the roads, and the revenue could then be used to improve roads and provide more public transit. More free buses, and perhaps even free air conditioned buses.

I absolutely hate driving in Bangkok. There's something bad wrong when a cop tells a farang to drive the wrong way on the edge of a ten lane city street when there's no parking on that edge, but hey, I was so instructed. And did it. Any time I go there for an extended period of time, I either leave the vehicle at home, or stay in a place where I can just park the vehicle and use skytrain/MRT/taxis/buses instead. Vehicle ownership just isn't necessary in Bangkok. Or if it is necessary so that one can travel outside the city from time to time, then again, the vehicle can just be parked when it's in the city.

So yes, there are options for improving traffic and roads not only in Bangkok, but nationwide. As a rule, it appears that less attention is being given to such than should be.

Yes raise the taxes and fuel to sky high levels, then use the money to fix the roads so only the wealthy can enjoy their shopping in comfort lol

No, no... You're right. Leaving it in its current virtually unusable state would be Oh So Much Better. And hey... Let's have a government program to subsidize first time car buyers. Because there aren't enough cars in Thailand. Oh... Been there. Done that. Well, let's do it again.

[khrab]

.

Bangkok and I that was hate at first sight. For reasons please see previous posts.

Lived in CM for 4 years and loved it. BUT due to circumstances beyond my control I ended up in a house 60km South of CM in the middle of nowhere.

And what? I can not imagine to live in a city anymore.

So my question: How many, or percentage, of the posters here really MUST live in Bangkok? Work? The horizontal entertainment industry maybe? If there is no MUST, just find something the the provinces.....

[hhgz]

"To highlight its stricter policy on traffic offenders, police demonstrate to the media yesterday how a taxi that parked illegally on Rama IV Road in Bangkok is towed away."

Until I saw that photo, I had never seen a tow truck in Bangkok.

Edited June 10, 2014 by hhgz

[MaxYakov]

< snip >

Oh well. Maybe better to just say "jai yen yen" ten times and live with it all. And same advice to the cops, at least until after the causes of the problems are fixed.

Hmmm ... until after the causes of the problems are fixed ...

The alternatives seem to me to be:

A: Force most everyone back to walking, bicycles and samlors (cycle rickshaws)

B: Bulldoze a large part of Bangkok and rebuild

C: Your "maybe better" (jai yen yen), but inevitable and worsening alternative

Does anyone think there is a real choice?

There are several things that could be done, both inside and outside Bangkok. I mentioned a few things that could be done in the part you "< snip >"-ed, Perhaps you didn't read those.¹ Things like widening roads², making right turn lanes longer (sorry, gotta take out a bunch of the bougainvillea)³. Other things like either closing or moving roadside eatery areas with huge traffic jams around them⁴, or forcing them to provide adequate parking (every town I've ever seen in Thailand has this problem)⁵. I know trees are very nice, but the road on the inside of the western moat in Chiang Mai needs some serious restructuring, and such would be possible with removal of a few trees, and/or attention to at least some of those piles of bricks that are supposed to look like ruins (the bricks aren't so old at all). The four lane highway going south from Chiang Mai is badly throttled by narrow roads in Hang Dong, San Pa Tong, and Chum Thong, and virtually no road planning has occurred in those areas. And those aren't the exception in Thailand. Rather, the rule. Either build bypasses, or apply the concept of "eminent domain" on one side of the road or the other, and tear some buildings down to make the roads wider and safer. ⁶

As for Bangkok proper -- General sorts of road improvements such as described above can be implemented in places. Too, lots of areas of the city are now 3-4 layers high/deep (the tollways, the skytrain, all that mess around MBK, etc.), but then the MRT often goes 3-4 layers down underground as well. More of that may be possible, including multilayered roads.⁷

Driving a car in Bangkok is already a fairly unpleasant experience, but things could be done to make it even more unpleasant there.⁸ Like tripling the cost of fuel for private vehicles. Or raising the taxes on private vehicle ownership an order of magnitude or more. Such increases in cost would certainly decrease the number of vehicles on the roads, and the revenue could then be used to improve roads and provide more public transit. More free buses, and perhaps even free air conditioned buses.⁹

I absolutely hate driving in Bangkok. There's something bad wrong when a cop tells a farang to drive the wrong way on the edge of a ten lane city street when there's no parking on that edge, but hey, I was so instructed. And did it. Any time I go there for an extended period of time, I either leave the vehicle at home, or stay in a place where I can just park the vehicle and use skytrain/MRT/taxis/buses instead. Vehicle ownership just isn't necessary in Bangkok. Or if it is necessary so that one can travel outside the city from time to time, then again, the vehicle can just be parked when it's in the city. ¹⁰

So yes, there are options for improving traffic and roads not only in Bangkok, but nationwide. As a rule, it appears that less attention is being given to such than should be. ¹¹

Please Note: For reference, I've marked your original post with corresponding superscripts.

¹: I read them, but they didn't apply to problems I see in Bangkok so I focused on your tentative conclusion.

²: Widening roads in Bangkok would be very expensive and, in many places impractical if not impossible. There are many narrow, residential/business sois in Bangkok that can support only a single car and even backup motorbike traffic when present. Ironically, people often park large SUVs on sois that can barely pass two standard vehicles side by side. There are thousands of these sois that were never designed for modern cars and trucks in Bangkok. Then, there is the problem of an obvious lack of pre-mediated zoning in many areas.

³: Longer right turn lanes might solve problems for right-turners but isn't it simply rearranging the congestion where it is impossible to construct additional roadway? Large spans of Sukhumvit suffer from this because the BTS pylons would prevent this.

⁴: I don't see a lot of this problem in Bangkok, even on the endemic narrow sois. What I do see on the narrow sois are motorbikes traveling dangerously fast in close proximity to pedestrians and other motorbikes. Cars that might attempt to park on these sois know better, usually they are savvy enough to avoid these sois altogether.

⁵: Perhaps local, multi-story parking garages would be a solution, but these won't solve the road congestion problem. Might it even exacerbate it by encouraging car ownership where a lack of parking was previously an inhibitor?

^6: Cannot comment on Chiang Mai, never been there, but will certainly be touring it by bicycle when/if I do.

^7: During certain hours,allow only buses and self-powered vehicles and, perhaps, motorbikes. in major sections of Sukhumvit and other roads that are subject to congestion in peak hours. Replace and enhance the current buses with modern, clean, comfortable and safe models that can easily accept bicycles. It will make better use of existing roads. Taxis can be allowed outside of central Bangkok, but not to interfere with bus traffic in any way. The luxury of having individually-driven vehicles on certain roads during certain hours has become a luxury that cannot be afforded.

⁸: For various reasons I have never operated a motor vehicle while in Thailand (5+ years) and probably never will, for obvious reasons. My primary mode of transport is bicycle with a heavy reliance on bus/MRT/BTS. I've seen cycling use increase over those years. However, by cycling I have seen large tracts of Bangkok at a fairly good clip and remember what I see. Where I live there is a severe and widespread not-designed-for-modern-vehicles soi problem. This is widespread in Bangkok and very hazardous to both pedestrians and motorbike operators.

⁹: I'm not so sure this would be advisable and would require some research. Wouldn't it be more acceptable to simply eliminate motor vehicles, except buses and, possibly, motorbikes, entirely in certain areas during peak hours? Of course, this would require some form of enforcement ...

¹⁰: Bingo! You've individually arrived at one of the short-term solutions I've been describing - park the car and take public transport. Can I interest you in a bicycle? For the long term, maybe it would be best to establish a new Bangkok somewhere else or start bulldozing.

¹¹: Agree in general, but we might have to agree to disagree on certain points about what these options may be and their practicality and cost.

Edited June 11, 2014 by MaxYakov

[RedQualia]

< snip >

¹¹: Agree in general, but we might have to agree to disagree on certain points about what these options may be and their practicality and cost.

Alas, our agreement or disagreement is not required. And I somehow doubt anyone who could really do anything at all will look at this thread.

Bangkok is an interesting and problematic city from a traffic point of view. I used to hate driving around San Francisco, considering it the most extreme "white knuckles on the steering wheel" territory I'd ever seen. But traffic there flows significantly better than in Bangkok. One thing they did in SF that helped a lot was to eliminate left turns across traffic in many areas (remember -- they drive on the right side there). If one wants to go left, then one turns right three times (goes around the block) to cross the street they were on to the other side. But that's only possible in a city that has lots of rectangular blocks. Bangkok has relatively few. All of those little sois just sort of happened, it seems, with no forethought.

We've digressed. I may live up north, but I've driven around Bangkok many times, both on motorcycles and in a pickup truck. My sympathies, again, are with the drivers. The lack of road design and city planning in Thailand is a nationwide problem. And part of its charm in a way, I suppose (Chiang Mai has many streets that appear to have been intended for water buffalo and carts, not cars). Part of its charm, at least, until the police start trying to be hardheaded about things. Do what can be done, whatever that may be, to eliminate the CAUSES of the problems first (get rid of the roadside eateries, etc.). Then worry about writing tickets and towing vehicles.

Nice chatting with you, but no... I don't think we will be fixing too many traffic problems here.

Edited June 11, 2014 by RedQualia

[CharlesHH]

Police........... Just pick up the offending motorbike and take it off for govt sale. No need to explain. Just do it.

In two weeks of this, it will be Amazing Thailand how many will finally obey the law.

Go Army !

[BigSkip]

great to know they are starting this, but stop pety fines, if your vehicle is towed for illegal parking it will be crushed. Simple. The roads would be alot better and far more safer for everyone else who has to use them..

What a stupid response......must not own a vehicle......

[MarkCyr]

Yes, Pattaya said they were going to do this some years ago, too. So they created clearly marked parking spaces along beach road...which are all now occupied by snoozing motorcycle taxi drivers or street stalls, or used by motorcycle rental groups. So now we just have to park illegally some other place, which is what will happen this time as well.

[ableguy]

I still don't think the fines are high enough,if one thing

that will learn Thais to respect the law is hit them in the pocket,

Its going to cost a lot more than a 1000 bht to tow a 10 wheel truck

away thats for sure,but at least its a start,as long as it taken seriously

and and will be in force day in day out for the future,and not just a

monthly photo opportunity.

regards Worgeordie

If you can afford to own a ten wheel truck 1000 baht is nothing , a joke.