Elephant roundabout

[urleft]

Believe we are down to two roundabouts in Buriram, the Elephant Circle and the Train Station.  Last time I was by they had dug up the one coming out of the GVT hospital road. 

However, Thailand added a big roundabout about 30 KM east of Korat on 226, and that one seems to work well. 

[Starman]

Wait, are you saying that the big roundabout with the elephant statue has traffic lights now? Where's the sense in installing lights at a roundabout?

Best possible decision in the circumstances.

Whether it was built with lower volumes or traffic in mind or not, the fact remains that the Thais are not ready for roundabouts - they don't understand them or the driving rules relating to the them. A classic was the roundabout on the Jira Road - everyone just drove in a straight line along the road as if it didn't exist.

Whilst the lights may have been installed for the wrong reasons (driving incompetence) I applaud the authorities for making the change as it was the best option for Buriram.

Good points made.

Thai people most certainly cannot negotiate roundabouts. Probably not their fault as there is nothing in the driving tests about such things.

The traffic problem is often due to the standard of driving but also increased by the fact that most Thai towns were not designed for the amount of cars now on the roads.

I can remember sitting in a cafe in the middle of town about 18 years ago. You could count the amount of cars that you saw on one hand. 2 stroke motorbikes, on the other hand, were in abundance.

It was even impossible to actually buy a new car in Buriram. The number plates on the cars were Nakorn Ratchasima, Krungthepmahanakorn and Khon Kaen.

With most roads in around Buriram now having cars parked up at both sides there is very little room for drivers. The elephant roundabout suffered in the same way as there were usually 2 or 3 lanes of traffic entering at the same time.

[CO-CO]

IMO the elephant roundabout was excellent. Sadly, for all the reasons mentioned above it became unworkable.

[Dylan.t]

What are the rules governing priority on Thai roundabouts? Does the driver entering the roundabout give way to the cars already on the roundabout as in the UK? Or does the driver already on the roundabout give way and let cars on?
I’ve no idea. I once asked a taxi driver as we went round the Dolphin roundabout in Pattaya, he had no idea either.

[Starman]

Same as UK.

[davureborn]

What are the rules governing priority on Thai roundabouts? Does the driver entering the roundabout give way to the cars already on the roundabout as in the UK? Or does the driver already on the roundabout give way and let cars on?
I’ve no idea. I once asked a taxi driver as we went round the Dolphin roundabout in Pattaya, he had no idea either.

Even the most superficial observer must notice the dashed lines and continuous lines to be found at the entrance to roundabouts. I seem to remember that these are just there for decoration..

[CO-CO]

What are the rules governing priority on Thai roundabouts? Does the driver entering the roundabout give way to the cars already on the roundabout as in the UK? Or does the driver already on the roundabout give way and let cars on?
I’ve no idea. I once asked a taxi driver as we went round the Dolphin roundabout in Pattaya, he had no idea either.

Dolphin roundabout - another failed Thai traffic system where traffic from Naklua is not allowed to do round the roundabout. Probably best to put lights there as well.

This is probably a good moment to applaud the Thais for the brilliant 'left turn (if clear) at junctions' driving rule.

For those that remain unaware of traffic regulations in Thailand:-

[urleft]

Same as UK.

this one must have a rule book all to itself:

[Sofa_King]

Same as UK.

this one must have a rule book all to itself:

That one is called The Magic Roundabout and it's in Swindon 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OGvj7GZSIo

[smoooth2]

Holy crap    Are you kidding. The aerial photo on Reply #22 looks totally bewildering.

Imagine approaching this roundabout for the first time in a car. Traffic going in both clockwise and anticlockwise direction within the roundabout.   

Apparently it's the 4th worst intersection in UK. Phwrrrr ... the first 3 must be doozies.

On a lighter note .... there apparently is a Roundabout Appreciation Society in the UK. Can't really think of anything witty to say about that .... except that it gave me a really good laugh.

[Geordie Boy]

Sounds a little like this topic.

The Roundabout Appreciation Society (UKRAS) is a group of people in the United Kingdom that discuss traffic roundabouts. The main topic of discussion is the architecture of the roundabouts, including their design and safety features. Other topics have included the approaches people take when driving towards and around a roundabout, and the wildlife present on some of the larger junctions. Their aim is to promote safe driving and consideration towards other road users.

[Sofa_King]

 

http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2014/02/why-americans-dont-understand-the-roundabout

Here are some fun roundabout facts:
• According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, there is on average a 40% decrease in all accidents and a 90% drop in fatal ones when a traffic intersection is replaced by a roundabout.
• Washington leads the states in roundabouts, followed by Colorado, California, Florida and Kansas
• France has over 30,000 British-style roundabouts; the most in the world.

[Prakhonchai Nick]

I noticed a couple of days ago that the traffic lights no longer control the Elephant roundabout.

Whilst slowing everyone up, the lights worked well, and there was good lane discipline within the roundabout.

Now its back to normal.  Hell for leather into the roundabout, no lane discipline, everyone cuts to the centre and then pulls out again when they turn off.  Talk about farangs leaving their brains at the airport upon arrival in Thailand...seems the Thais were born without them all together!

[Sofa_King]

seems the Thais were born without them all together!

After reading some of the things you write on forums about Thai people I'm surprised you have stayed here as long as your have . 
Why do do you feel a need to constantly post derogatory things about Thai people. 
Not all Thai people are bad drivers,gamblers,drunkards,lazy ,adulterers or brainless idiots  as you want us to believe , though like many people worldwide.... some are.
When I was a Bar owner one of the jobs I hated most was having to listen to whinging Expats or long term stayers and their constant needed to put-down Thais at every occasion they could ....one of the reason I wont use forums like Thai Vis'a  that seems to have a vast number of bigots 
Over the many years I have lived here in Thailand I have had to changed my driving driving style because it it different for the UK , I not that righteous that I think it should be the other way round !!
If the local want to drive around with no crash helmets or aren't bothered if their kids do the same then so be it. But hopefully with education and Darwin's Theory of Evolution things will get better 

[davureborn]

  It should be obvious that people that receive very little education in driving correctly will drive badly. Most of us grew up sitting in a car with their dad or even granddad, learning interesting new words describing other drivers. In the UK at least we got 'don't be an amber gambler', 'look left, look right, look right again' and all the rest of it along with our evening beans on toast.  These guys' fathers and grandfathers were on motorbikes or buffalo carts until not too long ago,  south of Ayutthaya transport was mainly boat traffic. 
  We have something that describes itself as a road safety council that seems to limit its activities to telling cops that they won't get any time off during the holidays as they will be punishing motorists (that don't know any better). No prevention, no education, not even much repression as a ‎฿300.- bribe for forgetting your driving license won't deter anyone (the penalty of ‎฿20 000.- seems to have been forgotten about). I was recently allowed to contribute ‎฿200 coffee money for something I absolutely hadn't done, who's going to argue, but respect for the law is non existent, which brings me to one of the things I admire about Thailand, the way it still works as a society despite that.
  Why did they install expensive traffic lights on the roundabout (which were interfered with for no apparent reasons by bored policemen) and then turn them off? Dunno, even in intense traffic they don't get turned on, maybe nobody knows how to turn them on again.