Year end traffic into Isaan; when to start?

[TSF]

I drove Pattaya to Pak Thong Chai yesterday. Departed Pattaya at 9am and arrived PTC at 3.30pm, so 6.5 hours, with only 2 short stops for 5 minutes each on the way. Traffic was very heavy for most of the way and utterly diabolical going over the Korat mountains where all the highway construction is going on. However, we only saw 1 overturned truck and 1 minor accident the whole way.

[puchooay]

4 hours ago, khwaibah said:

 

 

Major improvements on the 24. It is now 4 laines from the highway 2 to just past the 24 & 214 junction at Prasat. Thats 200 km of 4 lane and some divided highway. Hopefully this does make a difference on the carnage that this highway is famous for.

Problems will occur as you head in towards the towns on the 24. Buriram for example, Nang Rong has 3 sets of traffic lights and Prakhonchai has  2 sets. I was in Prakhonchai today. The first set of traffic lights had a queue of over 400 metres by 9am.

[todlad]

On 12/28/2016 at 10:01 AM, Wake Up said:

I have been driving Thailand north and south for only 6 months. I am currently driving now from BKK to Khon Kaen. No traffic issues no problems. Roads good to great. If an issue arises I will let you know. 

 

Drove to Pattaya over Christmas and drove back to BKK on past Monday. Roads good and Monday no traffic. Sunday probably had a lot of traffic. 

 

Drove Krabi two weeks roads great and traffic easy. 

 

Drove Phuket two weeks -- only issues tourist buses and expats on motorcycles and drinking all day not just at night. Not bad but unpleasant.  

 

Been to Khon Kaen several times and roads good and drivers good and no issues. 

 

Only issue I have had in Thailand are motorcycles at night with no lights driving the village roads, tourists renting motorbikes they have trouble driving, and drunk drivers out at 2 am like a lot of places I the world. I am not out at 2 am much but I look for drunk drivers  at 2 am in every place I live or visit. 

 

The truly horror stories of driving in Thailand IMOP are simply people that don't want to drive so they read one Thailand death statistic and extrapolate untrue opinion as fact.  I agree that if you have an accident in Thailand it may be your fault as it is in many countries that favor their own citizens. Saw the same thing in America.  If you have first class insurance no problem. 

 

I have driven in many cities in America and China where driving is much more dangerous. But people get killed every hour on the roads all over the world as driving is more dangerous than other activities --- but not more dangerous in Thailand than most other places.  Try Beijing if you want danger or Chicago. Try small town Texas in trucks not motorcycles if you want drunk drivers at 2 am. 

 

Take care and don't let the fear and anxiety of others and their interpretation of one published overbroad traffic statistic keep you from the roads. Thailand roads are in remarkable great shape and better than average compared to other countries. Whoever is in charge of Thailand roads actually does a very good job with Krabi getting the best marks from me so far. 

 

Of course,  we weren't with you during your driving here but did you notice the overtaking and the undertaking and the weavertaking?  Did you see the driver you just overtook desperately trying to get back in front of you because he feels angry that you did that to him?

 

How about the dangerously driven buses, lorries and vans? Did you not face oncoming flashing headlights in your lane? What, none?

 

You have described deadly motorbikes at night. Did you see deadly motorbikes during the day? They are there at every red light as they often position themselves for a quick get away just as the lights are changing. 

 

How about the utter lunatic in the left hand lane of three at the lights who proceeds to turn right by racing in front of the other two lanes just as the lights change ... happened here again just yesterday: big van, small brain, could be deadly.

 

And so on.

 

In general I am a lot softer on Thailand and Thais than many people here but when it comes to the roads, they are almost world beaters.

[rickudon]

The high death rates are due to 2 things - the poor driving and the sheer number of vehicles. So there may be a higher percentage of kamikaze drivers in other parts of the world, but here you will be overrun by numbers. Only country i have driven in where vehicles routinely drive in the wrong direction on dual carriageways - when pulling out onto one you still need to look both left and right first. And red light runners - particularly ones turning right across the traffic flow!

 

I drive my daughter to school in the morning and usually have to take avoiding action EVERY day, usually by second guessing what motorbikes will do and planning for it. Drive defensively, drive slower (my rule of thumb is xx KmPH. not xx MPH compared to back home) and never trust a turn signal on a bike. Don't see many accidents, but near misses all the time. I have driven in Africa - Libya was more lethal but only in the towns.

 

Friday the traffic on the ringroad was bad by the afternoon, but cleared up a bit in the evening. Over the weekend, driving after lunchtime was not attempted, I like my life. Udon number one this year for deaths i hear. I have seen more dead bodies on the road, and heard of more deaths of locals, in 6 years than i did in 50 plus years in the UK. The OP is utterly naive.