Follow Japanese traffic laws - that will reduce accidents, Thais urged

[stanleycoin]

I don't think the message will ever,  get through to people.

 

[Henricus]

 

[irwinfc]

traffic laws are already in place. road signs, markings, etc. are standard. it's the word "follow" that breaks everything due to the lack of education, awareness, discipline, and enforcement.

[natway09]

Different "mindset altogether" than Japan.

Try policing the traffic like the Australians do

That will wake up the Thai egos

[Ramdas]

While it’s a positive thing that Thai authorities are looking elsewhere to prevent road accidents/deaths daily on the roads on the other hand they fail to realise that whether Japanese or any other civilised nation’s people are worlds apart different from Thai people.

People make the difference ! They have to be educated to respect rules and regulation from young age, this is something that I doubt it will ever happen to thai people. 

The readiness and effectiveness of  the police, CCTV, rules and regulations have been enforced on all fronts outside Thailand for as long as I can remember,  I emphasise particularly the police  who are much more active and effective in patrolling the streets  unlike the Thai police who only focus on foreigners trying to get tea money and naturally sitting down looking at their phones whilst being in the Air Conditioning Kiosk.

Nevertheless, what they call strict rules in Japan is the norm in Europe, England and any other civilised nation but even then they get abused by finding ways around ( because they’re too strict ! ) Whilst being under the scrutiny of CCTV 24/7 .

Then again, where there is the will there’s the way ????

[Reigntax]

I thought Thai drivers were all kamikaze 

[30la]

More rules and laws are certainly not helping to reduce road deaths! The police must do their duty and be more present!

[ilms]

I've been driving in Thailand for years and apart from setting up occasional checkpoints,  it doesn't seem like the traffic police here have much, if anything to do with policing the actual movement of vehicles on the roads.  

 

A couple of years back they built a new roundabout down the road from us. At first it was chaos with people jamming up inside the circle and nobody knowing when to go. There is a police substation that sits right on the roundabout. They put up large signs explaining that the vehicles entering the roundabout had to yield the right of way to those already in it. Guess how that worked out?   Eventually the signs came down and whoever is bigger/going faster seems to have the right of way.  Never seen a cop get out of his seat to do anything about it.

 

One day I came out from lunch and found my wheel clamped. Apparently part of my car was sticking into a section that was marked for motorbike parking. When I went to pay the fine at the police box, three motorbikes pulled up and no one was wearing a helmet. After they drove off, I asked what the fine for not wearing a helmet was (knowing full well that around here they charge 500B--just like the parking ticket I was paying). The cop knew what I was on about and he looked at me sheepishly and said, "but we can't really force people to wear helmets".

 

Good luck Thailand! I'm just grateful when I come home alive/uninjured each day.

 

(Thanks TV for the opportunity to rant a bit.)

 

 

 

[The Deerhunter]

Follow all and whomever you like.  The sticking points will be enforcement,  face and corruption.

[Bantex]

“Follow Japanese traffic laws - that will reduce accidents, Thais urged”

How are they going to follow Japanese traffic laws when they can’t even follow simple traffic laws from their own country which they already understand but choose to ignore and aren’t enforced anyway.

[garzhe]

6 hours ago, gmac said:

What they actually need to do is get rid of u-turns, install roundabouts in many places instead of traffic lights, stop making people drive an extra 2 kilometres and back to get to a right turn that could easily have been served by a roundabout.   My own local PTT service station is about 700 metres from my house but since they widened the road to facilitate through traffic it is now an 8 kilometre round trip involving 2 u-turns and a potential long wait at a traffic light.  No wonder locals drive the wrong way down the road to avoid this absurdity.

 

People jump red lights because of the delays caused by operating them in 4 stages rather than 2, so unnecessary on most junctions.

 

Educate drivers properly before letting them on the road, a written test and knowing how to parallel park does not a driver make.

 

Roundabouts don't work. I have one near where I live and frequently meet motorbikes going round the wrong way. Educating them to give way to the right and circumnavigate clockwise would be an impossible task.

[hobz]

6 hours ago, Youlike said:

While in Tokyo i saw the Japanese police writing tickets every day again for cars parked on the road....

 

I have never ever seen that in Thailand.

 

Without real police Thailand will always stay what it is now....a very dangerous place to be on the roads.

I have seen cops in Chiang Mai ticket illegally parked cars around the night bazaar area many times. Even putting those big locks on one wheel.

[masuk]

 

 

 

2

6 hours ago, gmac said:

What they actually need to do is get rid of u-turns, install roundabouts in many places instead of traffic lights, stop making people drive an extra 2 kilometres and back to get to a right turn that could easily have been served by a roundabout.   My own local PTT service station is about 700 metres from my house but since they widened the road to facilitate through traffic it is now an 8 kilometre round trip involving 2 u-turns and a potential long wait at a traffic light.  No wonder locals drive the wrong way down the road to avoid this absurdity.

 

People jump red lights because of the delays caused by operating them in 4 stages rather than 2, so unnecessary on most junctions.

 

Educate drivers properly before letting them on the road, a written test and knowing how to parallel park does not a driver make.

 

Insist that line markings are there for safety and not 'suggestions only'.  ESPECIALLY double white lines on a winding road.

[Chongalulu]

"......government officials think."

It's at that point when reading further is a complete waste of your time.

[hobz]

I got two tickets in the mail last month. Both from the same intersection for running a red light.

The first ticket I actually ran the red light. My bad. Lesson learned.

The second ticket shows me driving against yellow. Turns out according to Thai law it's illegal to drive against yellow.

This means that it's ofcourse near impossible to not get a ticket there occasionally. 

What can you do if it switches to yellow just when you enter the intersection and you don't have enough time to stop?

Oh and the yellow light is like 1 second Long.

With the point system and the automatic idiotic camera system like this I will (and so will many others) lose my license sooner or later.

After getting tickets I've been slowing down when entering intersections even when it's green. Just so that I have a bigger chance of stopping if it switches to yellow just before I enter.

Despite this I have not been able to stop for yellow 2 times already in 6 weeks. I haven't received tickets for this yet. So maybe the camera system is smart enough to know when it's impossible to stop. If not it's just a matter of time before all my points are consumed by this if they make a point system.

It's just impossible to stop when the timing is bad. If it switches to yellow like 1 meter before you enter the intersection.

 

And I have Also been forced to brake pretty hard some times and I'm waiting to get rear ended and showing the ticket to insurance/police to explain why I stopped so suddenly.

[Date Masamune]

While in Japan I almost got taken out entering a zebra crossing with a green light by a female Thai tourist in a rental car!

[jgarbo]

6 hours ago, Youlike said:

While in Tokyo i saw the Japanese police writing tickets every day again for cars parked on the road....

 

I have never ever seen that in Thailand.

 

Without real police Thailand will always stay what it is now....a very dangerous place to be on the roads.

Lived & worked in Japan, very law abiding country and people. Won't even cross against a pedestrian light. Transplanting an excellent (Japanese) system to anarchic Thailand will prove amusing or as they say, "courageous" ( a really bad idea).   

[soistalker]

"I am thai. The laws and rules dont apply to me."

Said by every thai who ever lived. 

[krobert6]

I think they did that during ww2

 

[johnny49r]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

Follow Japanese traffic laws

Thais care nothing for Thai laws so why would they care about Japanese laws?

And why does the government always 'urge' the public to obey? How about some good old fashion law enforcement?

[geoffbezoz]

1 minute ago, johnny49r said:

Thais care nothing for Thai laws so why would they care about Japanese laws?

And why does the government always 'urge' the public to obey? How about some good old fashion law enforcement?

How about some good old fashioned "Government" first.

[Mainhattencitizen]

7 hours ago, Youlike said:

While in Tokyo i saw the Japanese police writing tickets every day again for cars parked on the road....

 

I have never ever seen that in Thailand.

 

Without real police Thailand will always stay what it is now....a very dangerous place to be on the roads.

Revoking the license will not help at all considering that most of the Thais do not even have one. Those that do will just continue to drive without one and the biggest problem will be the police and the tea money.

[Jimbo1964]

OMG I nearly choked on my coffee laughing !!!  I guess that's why they call it Amazing Thailand.

[Snig27]

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Youlike said:

Without real police 

which is the problem. Thailand doesn't have an equivalent to what is deemed a "police force" in most of the world. It's currently illegal not to stop on a pedestrian crossing but ...

[Jane Dough]

7 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

Law? Law means nothing to thais. If it did this article would never have been written.

On the contrary it is very important.

 

I am often referred to as "law" sometimes even "law maak maak."

 

Rooster

[Traubert]

4 hours ago, mok199 said:

And thai culture is what has destroyed this once prestine country...

That's the most bizarre thing I've ever read on here and believe me there's been a few.

 

So what's your suggestion? Throw all the Thais out of Thailand?

[geoff65]

If they think they can change road rules and educate more then 37 million drivers to follow them, well good luck with that.

[soalbundy]

7 hours ago, BobbyL said:

Argh, another great idea that won't be enforced. 

 

 

taking away a driving license, that will work ???? most people in my village don't have one neither for a motor bike nor a car, they have their own age limit to drive a motorbike, must be 9 years old or over. 

[Traubert]

6 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

 In the US there is a heavy price to be paid for this behavior. Why not here?

Because this isn't the US?

 

In the US people shoot up schools/churches/garden parties/music concerts. Why not here?

 

Because everywhere has it's own characteristics, good and bad.

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Harsher punishments, a strict points system for driving offences and serious licence removal for offenders is at the heart of the plans proposed by the Communications Ministry.

How about trying the driving tuition, tests & exams they take before being allowed on the road, and not just one test for a licence... there's one test for every type of vehicle or driven machine, including auto's and manuals?

I can hear the screams of protest from Thais already... the cost would be unbearable

and un-implementable!!!

Just fine them more when they break the law will never work, they don't pay fines now, many don't have a licence or insurance!