Skip to main content

Thailand tells drivers to speed up - and reduce accidents

Thailand's road authorities have revealed that nearly a third of accidents are caused by motorists driving too slowly in the fast lanes.
By Ben Spencer March 5, 2020 Read time: 1 min
A third of road accidents caused by drivers travelling too slow in fast lane (© Martinslezacek | Dreamstime.com)

In a Bangkok Post report, the department's director general Sarawut Songsivilai claims slow driving is second only to the 45% of accidents caused by cars veering off roads.

"If a motorist in an outer lane is driving slowly the driver behind will try to pass on the inside lane where his view of traffic in front will be obscured, which often leads to cars colliding,” he says.

"Proposed new speed limits for outer lanes will be clearly marked and are designed to lower the chances of sideswiping or rear-ending," Songsivilai adds.

The Transport Ministry is reportedly seeking to increase the speed limit on outer lanes from 80kph to 90kph for major roads and highways which have a minimum of four lanes.

 

Related Content

  • North Florida signals coordinated approach to congestion management
    October 7, 2013
    David Crawford investigates innovative congestion management in Florida. The largest US city by area is well into the implementation of an ambitious congestion management system (CMS) on the scale of those of higher-profile centres such as Seattle and San Francisco. Regional agency the North Florida Transportation Planning Organisation (NFTPO) aims to ensure that commuters on major highways in Jacksonville can rely on a minimum 72km/h (45mph) driving speed in normal conditions.
  • Causeway One.network hits the road under new name
    May 10, 2024
    Acquisition of One.network by Causeway Technologies enhances product portfolios
  • Comment: ‘Sleepwalk into a new dawn? No thanks’
    October 19, 2021
    We need a grown-up discussion about the possible societal effects of driverless vehicles
  • US enforcement regulation to deliver clearer guidelines?
    February 2, 2012
    Jim Tuton of American Traffic Solutions looks at the evolution of automated enforcement in North America "Technological regulation will become more sophisticated at the federal level, giving states clearer guidelines" Jim Tuton In just 20 years, photo enforcement in North America has grown from a single speed camera in a small town in Arizona to thousands of photo traffic enforcement cameras which are now operating in 350 communities spread across 27 states and three Canadian provinces. Most of these p