Look after pedestrians
Not using a personal car, we often walk about town, also crossing various streets and intersections where traffic is not regulated by traffic lights, but by police in person. Almost invariably traffic police seems to neglect pedestrians waiting to cross the streets, and pay only attention to keeping the car traffic moving. Pedestrians themselves have to make a judgment as to when to cross the street, and this is usually done when there is the benefit of numbers, and one more audacious (often a girl, after all cars do stop more easily when a woman crosses the street) person takes the first step, and the whole bunch of pedestrians rushes to the other site.
First, we would clearly like the police to notice us on the sidewalk, and to stop the car traffic to let us cross the street. Second, we would very much like the concept of protecting the weak to prevail, so that car drivers themselves would start thinking to be more acceptive of 'common folks' standing on the sidewalk, waiting to cross.
About zebra crossings, as far as we know, car drivers do not recognize them as places where pedestrians walk over the street!!!
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State of the pedestrian walkway between Asoke Road and Emporium Shopping Complex (2007). For more than 1 km a blue pipe lifted the footpath. To make matters worse, you can see motorcycles use the walkways rather often.
[update : this pedestrian walk way has now been improved, July 2007]
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As for the safety of pedestrians, one other important obstacle is that most cars have tinted or 'mirror' windows. Actually, the 'tinted window industry' is quite important in Thailand, and you will often see promotional stands in shopping malls and the like. The films put on the window, provide some protection from the sun's heat, and give privacy.
However, eye contact between pedestians and car drivers becomes impossible. This is most important when pedestians cross the road using zebra crossings.
Actually we do not quite understand why heavily tinted windows are allowed. A few years back the government tried to ban certain window films, but eventually backed down.
As an example, police looking for criminals and traffic law offenders, can not freely look into cars, which makes stopping and searching them quite a hazard.
Just recently, using standard mobile phones in cars, was banned. How is it feasible to impose this, when it is not possible to look inside cars?
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A novelty on Asoke Road. There are at least 3 zebra crossings, supported by a push-button, that makes the traffic lights go to red, allowing pedestrians to cross the road. In true Thai fashion, a woman is crossing hte road here, without using it. It actually works. But there are some locations along Asoke Road, where this feature would be more useful (like at Sino-Thai Tower, where thousand of pedestrians cross the road at their own peril every day).
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More wishes for Bangkok and Thailand :
Look after pedestrians
Clean up Sukhumvit Road
Keep the elephants out of Bangkok
Control the young men
Do something about the bananas
Get some new Regulations for property developers
Advice for Mobile Phone Companies
Improve Education
Overhaul Thai Politics
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