News Forum - SLOW DOWN! Speed limits on highways in Thailand now in effect

[Thaiger]

Thailand’s notoriously dangerous roads may be getting a little bit safer. A new regulation just reported by the Expressway Authority of Thailand is slapping speed limits on the highways and expressways throughout the country. On the ground, the maximum speed will be set at 110 kilometres per hour, while elevated roadways will be capped at 100 kilometres an hour. The new speed limit rules actually took effect last week on July 22 but is gaining attention now as the EXAT took to social media to make a public announcement of the new speed limits across all of their channels. But […]

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[Rebel]

Speed actually gone up from 90 to 110 km/h many places and not down.  But as every one living here they will probably drive 130 km/h instead. So how much safe has it become?

[Pompies]

Once again the whole issue is as clear as mud. What constitutes an elevated highway, and not a long bridge? Why are there almost zero speed signs on roads? It is just another honeypot for traffic police to extract bribes from people who they decide to shake down for imaginary infractions. This will not reduce the death toll because the causes of accidents are drunkenness amongst motosai riders, drunkenness amongst pedestrians, and rank bad attitudes driving skills amongst the broader driving population.

[ozvenision]

yep and absolute joke AGAIN!

[DoUKnowWhoIAm]

4 hours ago, Thaiger said:

speed limit

Yes, that will work for the Thai Fortune drivers

[cowslip]

the "Expressways" are run by a different authority from other highways. The speed limit on them has always been 80 kmh so this is and INCREASE in the speed limits.

[ShibaBud]

If safety is really the issue, install speed trap cameras especially on non-highway roads which are shared by tons of motorcycles & pedestrians. Snapshot speeders & internet them the ticket. Then subject their road permit renewal to payment of fines. Compound defaults with daily penalty of B200. Hell that's what they do to farangs for overstay.

But then, is safety the real objective?

[palooka]

30 minutes ago, ShibaBud said:

Then subject their road permit renewal to payment of fines.

Probably not a good thing.

Many do not have permits now and that would mean that many more would ride and drive without that permit which usually has accident injury insurance included.

Impounding the bike or vehicle may see some results.

[HiuMak]

55 minutes ago, palooka said:

Probably not a good thing.

Many do not have permits now and that would mean that many more would ride and drive without that permit which usually has accident injury insurance included.

Impounding the bike or vehicle may see some results.

+jail for repeated offenders for not paying up

[cowslip]

speed is the number one factor in road deaths.

Installing speed cameras can only be a solution on clearly marked roads with fullt=y trained operators and a legal system that is able to administer the deciding of penalties and the following up of offenders.

The authorities are making noises about doing this but it really looks like an amateur bun-fight.

Thailand needs a NEW road traffic policing system

this requires a fully trained specialist police force that not only enforce traffic law but also are trained to calibrate and analyse ant traffic incidents. Their equipment needs to be correctly installed and operated and of course with a independent calibrating system.

they are currently introducing a D/L points system, but given the level of graft nepotism and corruption, it is difficult to see how this will be equitably enforced without a major reform of the police.

[Pinetree]

2 hours ago, Khunwilko said:

speed is the number one factor in road deaths.

I doubt that;.  Its driving skill,,  or should i say a lack of it,  that is the primary factor. There are very many low speed accidents that this can be attributed to. 

[KaptainRob]

9 minutes ago, Pinetree said:

Its driving skill,,  or should i say a lack of it,  that is the primary factor. There are very many low speed accidents that this can be attributed to. 

I agree.  For a start, >80% of all accidents involve motorcycles, mainly at night, involve alcohol, no helmet.

CM had well over a dozen m/c accidents last week, 5 just in one night, involving crashes into back of stationery objects, cars running red lights etc.

The majority of 4+ wheel accidents involving death are low speed pickup or bus incidents.  Alcohol + speed + lack of skill ends in some awful crash scenes.  One today on a wide yet twisty suburban road took out 6 HT power poles.  No deaths but road closed for most of the afternoon.

[cowslip]

5 hours ago, Pinetree said:

I doubt that;.  Its driving skill,,  or should i say a lack of it,  that is the primary factor. There are very many low speed accidents that this can be attributed to. 

Well, you are wrong - it is speeding and in fact "driving skill" is subjective and typical of those with no real idea about road safety. "Low speed" is a totally subjective and non-scientific phrase too. You make an assertiion that cannot be backed up by any hard evidence. If you bother to do a little research you will quickly discover the role played by speeding inroad incidents.

[Khunmark]

It all starts with a professional police force. If there is little or no will by the police force to enforce laws, there will be a low level of compliance by those subjected to the laws. This includes drink driving, speeding, driving a motorbike/car without a license, driving underage along with every other contravention that contributes to the road toll.

[Stefan]

As so often, nothing is clear. Now I really do not know anymore what the speed limit is. Is my wife's pickup a small truck under 2.2t? There were also some reports about 7 seats playing a role. 

In practicality, this will not deter anybody from speeding. The problem is not the rules, but the enforcement. Minimum distances, use of indicators, crazy undertakings and other Evel Knievel maneuvers, road unworthy vehicles, and drunk driving likely deserve the bigger blame than speeding. Speeding just amplifies it a bit. 

[cowslip]

This is the Thai expressway system......

Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Emblem_of_the_Expressway_Authority_of_Thailand.svg/200px-Emblem_of_the_Expressway_Authority_of_Thailand.svg.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Makkasan_Interchange_at_night_by_Mark_Fischer.jpg/220px-Makkasan_Interchange_at_night_by_Mark_Fischer.jpg Expressway in Bangkok
Native name	การทางพิเศษแห่งประเทศไทย
Romanizedname	kan thang phiset haeng prathet thai
Type	State enterprise
Industry	Greater Bangkok expressways
Founded	November 27, 1972; 49 years ago in Bangkok, Thailand
Headquarters	111 Rimklong Bangkapi Rd., Bangkapi, Huai Kwang,  Bangkok ,  Thailand
Key people	Surachet Laophulsuk (Governor)
Revenue	16,060 million baht (2015)
Total assets	180,696 million baht (2015)
Number of employees	4,701 regular 625 temp  (2015)
Parent	Ministry of Transport
Website	www.exat.co.th/en/