Traffic-light madness in Thailand
One of the things that really confuses me about living in Phuket is the traffic lights. It’s bad enough when I have to drive around on my motorbike during the day. I find it difficult to figure out which lane I’m supposed to be in and which traffic light is for my road, but at night it’s an altogether different game.
For a reason that I haven’t been able to determine, all of the traffic lights in Phuket get switched off after midnight. Well, that’s not entirely true. They are still on, but they just flash aimlessly in unison. On an island where somebody dies every day in a road accident, who came up with the bright idea of turning the traffic lights off at the time when they’re probably most needed – when it’s dark.
What am I missing here? The whole thing just makes no sense. I’m terrified enough of driving at night as it is, but this lack of traffic lights puts me off even more. When I’ve been riding with friends at night, a game of cat and mouse ensues as the driver approaches a set of traffic lights and has to gauge whether or not a car or bike is going to appear from somewhere and cause a horrific collision.
I’m thinking about driving my bike all the way from Phuket Town to Patong on Sunday. It’s a long journey (for me), but it’s kind of a challenge because at the moment I’m really limited in where I can go by myself. I need a bit more on-the-road experience.
But I’ll be back by nightfall for sure.
Just be safe .better late than sorry
The rule is that you need to watch out for other drivers; not the traffic lights. They are supposed to be working at night like you said; but more often than not, the people who have responsibility to maintain them just switch them off completely. This quirky practice seems to happen in my hometown too. It is not only the traffic light that they turn off, occasionally, the street lamps, as well, are altogether off during the night, particularly on secluded roads. We asked "the authorities" about this funny action, the answer given was that it was a matter of saving electricity. That is nice, isn't it?
I can understand how you feel. I used to often ride a motorbike late at night from downtown to the countryside where I used to live. Not only you need to watch out for an accident, you also need to be vigilant about other things like mugging along the road too.
You could make a complaint to the traffic police unit; but I doubt they will be bothered to do anything about this problem.
Accidents on the road are the second cause of death in Thailand. You merely need to remember this.
great Matt,you have your own motorbike living in Phuket…
There are plenty of other idiotic decisions made by Thais, many of them are dangerous as well as stupid. But it won't change, it is a part of their charm. Don't sweat it, but do hope the only people who die are other people.
Pooh, you're spot on. I find living in Thailand is helluva lot easier if you learn to accept that things here aren't quite the way they are at home. Thailand isn't going change for us farang. Besides, some of the utterly mind-numbing dumb stuff that happens here can be quite charming once you've grown to live with it. The U.K can be downright boring in comparison…and it's a big reason why many of us choose to live in this zoo. Some things still crawl inside my skin though: like giving a policeman 400 baht(yes, a bribe) in exchange for not dragging you to a police cell for a week because your sweetwrapper fell out your pocket on to the pavement. Ah, the life!
Don't get me started on what is laughingly referred to as a police force here. A thorough purge of the nasty little bastards would clear 50% of the crime in this place and allow people to actually enforce the law. Which would make a very nice change.
I myself never drove motorbike before coming to thailand but it's much easier than you might think (I refer here to the: "It's a long journey – for me"). Just have some balls and ride! As long you do not drive like a jackass it won't be dangerous. Just ride along with the flow.
Good luck and don't be a pussy! :P
Umm, you probably didn't hear about the ambulance that was totaled at an intersection where the traffic lights were turned off then.
But how can you not drive like a jackass in Thailand? That would make you one of a kind. And very dangerous. Imagine, the only person stopping at red lights and crossings. The only person staying within the speed limit. The only person with less than 3 on a bike. The only one wearing a crash hat. Might create an interesting precedent.
Like they say, you know you've been in Thailand too long when…
1. You regard a moped as a family vehicle.
2. You regard a moped as a drag bike.
3. You can't remember what a crash helmet is for.