Thailand to drive on right?

[PeteC]

I know...nonsense you say, but apparently not. Article today in Pattaya Today but I can't reference it as the on-line edition not issued yet. Apparently it is quite far along in planning and almost ready to be announced/implemented. It's in response to the 2015 ASEAN blending initiatives.

If true, the stories we're going to have will keep these pages full.

Please post if you find an article. Pete

EDIT: Yes, this story showed up on some web sites on April 1....apparently a joke. However, it looks like the newspaper referenced fell for it as it's in their April 16-24 print edition as a news story? I have no clue at the moment if accurate or not.

[Big Boy]

Will it make a lot of difference? Most motor-cyclists do it already, and I've seen quite a few cars getting to the bottom of Soi 94 and turning right

[dtaai-maai]

When we hear that Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia (any others in ASEAN still driving on the left?) are also making plans to switch I might begin to take it seriously. Might.

[moja]

It was an April Fool on the forum that must not be mentioned!

[Brit Jim]

It was an April Fool on the forum that must not be mentioned!

I saw this on another forum and from memory April 1st.

As BB mentions motorcyclists already ride on the Right! If they ever implemented this change it would be carnage on the roads ....continual Songrad period.

Plus all the cars are Right hand drive here. Imagine the costs and implications of this.

That said throw logic out of the window and Yes lets give it a go 555555

[johnnyk]

Pattaya-based media can always be trusted...when and if their "staff" ever get sober.

[cookie102]

I heard that this was also the case in Ireland a few years ago.
The suggestion was that for a trial period that they would try it just with
the trucks. 5555

[JW]

Was a great Aprils Fool,,,many people fell for it!.. yep i was one!

[richard]

Come on JW, you must have heard the Irish one about converting overnight?

The only country I've known that really considered it was Zimbabwe but it would have been an easy task then as most rural roads were single track and one had to drive half way off into the bush to face on coming traffic. Anyway why change? most civilised countries (Thailand excluded) that drive on the left are better drivers

[chaspul]

Seem to remember back to my youth that one of the Scandanavian countries, Sweden I think converted overnight to RH flow. Sure I will be corrected if wrong.
The problem was that it took several days after that to change the road signs, lots of confusion.

Road system of the main arterials in Riyadh were originally designed for LH flow, then the Saudis decided to drive on the right.
Consequently the off ramp was 1Km before a traffic light crossover on the service road, the on ramp 50 m before the traffic light. This meant queing at the lights before getting on the main road!

Imagine the problems in Bangkok.

Chas

Edit: Just looked it up, Sweden changed sides, 5am Sunday September 3rd 1967.

[MLS]

Overnight change took place in Sierra Leone, circa 1971 I think(?). Everyone wore garish outfits emblazoned with the date and it was party time. I was only a kid but I seem to remember seeing even more wrecks littering the roads than usual.

[Arlo]

http://www.minordiversion.com/2012/03/t ... e-driving/


The Unique World of Burmese Driving

Some of the world’s drivers are used to sitting on the left side of the car and driving on the right side of the road. The UK and most former British colonies are used to sitting on the right side and driving on the left side of the road. Switching from one to the other takes some adjustment but, as Sandeep can attest from his Indian driving experience, it’s not that hard.

But how about having right hand steering and driving on the right hand side of the road? Myanmar has the distinction of having this split personality.

Myanmar was a British colony until 1948. The cars had right hand steering and drove on the left side of the road. In 1970 all traffic was moved to the right. I asked several people for the cause of the change and there are two commonly held theories, both of which point to the eccentricities of General Ne Win. One theory is that Ne Win’s wife’s astrologer said that the country would be better off driving on the right side of the road. The second is that the General had a dream that the country should switch directions. Either way, the General called the shots and traffic was directed to move sides overnight.

Despite the lane shifts, virtually every vehicle in Myanmar has right hand steering. Many vehicles are very old, and those that are considered modern are second hand imports from Japan. It isn’t just the cars that have to catch up. One can still see old traffic signs in downtown Yangon facing the wrong direction.

I would think all of this would increase accident rates and confuse drivers. However, Myanmar drivers appear orderly, within the cities as well as the countryside. Whether they are in two, three, four or eight wheelers, drivers stick to the right side of the road and, despite logistical challenges, take-over without any negative consequences.

There is one anomaly we found to the right hand driving set up. The boats in Inle Lake still stick to the left when they pass each other. Perhaps time has indeed stood still in some parts of Burma.