HEADLINES [click on headline to view story]:

Confusion about traffic laws

Baht buses keeping tourists away

Too many underage kids drive motorcycles

Another victim

There are honest people in Pattaya

Questions

Beach Road going mad

Looking for pro football in Thailand

Confusion about traffic laws

Dear Editor,
There seems to be a lot of confusion amongst tourists as to traffic laws relating to pedestrians, particularly pedestrians using Second Road. The following information and tips may clarify the situation.

Thai motorists regard pedestrians as a hindrance to the free flow of traffic and should any tourist have the audacity to step onto the road for any purpose, they will be regarded as legitimate moving targets. Motorists will accelerate rapidly and steer their vehicles directly at these targets. When the target is hit, it will be most unlikely if the motorist will stop. Should damage be occasioned to the vehicle as a result of the collision, the motorist will always stop and demand compensation payment from the pedestrian. Pedestrians are therefore advised to carry sufficient cash to pay for all damages.

Night time pedestrians are expected to have 20/20 vision and be able to see motorcycles with no headlights speeding towards them. Pedestrians should be aware that “One Way” street signs have been painted and erected so as to keep a few road maintenance workers gainfully employed. The signs are not there as a means of controlling traffic direction.

Footpaths are rare in Pattaya City. Where footpaths do exist, the authorities have intentionally kept the paths narrow so as not to encroach upon the racetrack, otherwise known as Second Road. Pedestrians are required to be agile and be able to sidestep all obstacles that they will encounter whilst walking. To test your agility, the authorities have placed such things as telephone boxes, telegraph poles, trees and rubbish bins, slap bang in the middle of the sidewalk. Other objects that you will need to manoeuvre around include vendors’ tables and chairs, food carts, sleeping dogs, slow shuffling Chinese tour groups, beggars, parked motor vehicles, construction debris, etc.

On the numerous occasions when the footpaths are being dug up, pedestrians should not expect the city administrators to provide safe walking passage around the diggings. When these diggings are outside popular tourist areas, such as the recent footpath work done at the rear of the Royal Garden Arcade and Mike’s Department Store, double lines of baht busses will be permitted to park adjacent to these works. Walking between the trenches and the long line of baht busses is impossible so pedestrians are expected to take their chances by either crossing the road to the opposite footpath or walking on the outside of the lines of parked busses. If you choose the latter, keep your elbows close to your body whilst walking so as not to cause damage to passing motor vehicles.

The white painted lines that extend across Second Road in certain locations may look like pedestrian crossings but they have been placed there to fool the Chinese tour groups. If you pull up a chair and wait a few minutes, you will be amazed at how brave some Chinese tour leaders are. The leader will stride confidently to the centre of such crossing, hold up one hand towards the oncoming traffic and with the other hand, beckon a tightly packed group of Chinese over the crossing. Speeding motorists are then forced to make a split second decision as whether to swerve around the front of the group or to the rear. Reducing speed or stopping is never considered. European pedestrians should realise that there is safety in numbers and might consider worming themselves into the middle of such a group and crossing the road en masse. Should you happen to get stranded in the middle of a crossing, pedestrian etiquette is expected of you. As the cars and motorcycles zoom around you, you are required to give a wave and a friendly smile to each motorist. When police vehicles fail to stop for you, you are required to stand at attention and salute the officers as they speed past.

In the event of you being involved in a serious accident, you can rest assured that you will be transported, free of charge, to the nearest medical facility. As a precaution, you are advised to learn the Thai words for, “Please don’t move me, I may have spinal damage.” These words will come in handy as you lay prone in the middle of the road with medically untrained police preparing to fling you into the back of a baht bus.

Administrators conduct regular meetings to discuss how they can increase the numbers of tourists into Pattaya. After all, it is big spending tourists who keep the city viable. Tourist safety is of vital importance. As a traffic safety measure, administrators have directed traffic police to vigorously enforce motorbike helmet and vehicle registration offences. If this enforcement doesn’t improve road safety conditions, authorities may then consider an enforcement program that targets drink driving, speeding, driving on footpaths, driving against one way traffic and traffic light offences.

Finally and above all remember, walking is good for your health.
Mick from Down Under

Baht buses keeping tourists away

Hello,
I am a frequent reader and visitor to Pattaya. Unfortunately I have decided to not return to Pattaya until the city council can manage the baht bus insanity.

The word insanity is not used lightly; between Beach Road and Second Road it is a like a railroad - a continuing line of empty baht buses running tourists over, honking horns and spewing tons and tons of pollution into the air.

My suggestion: Each bus has a very large number painted on it. Even number buses work on even calendar days, odd number buses work odd calendar days. Results would be half the amount of pollution, half the amount of traffic, and the drivers would make more money for half the work, because the buses would have a few customers and not be driving around honking horns and empty.

When Pattaya gets rid of the plague of baht buses and gets under control, then and only then will I or my group of golfing friends return.

James Hurford

Too many underage kids drive motorcycles

Sir,
Sad as it was to read the report of a 14 year old boy shot dead in the early morning on his way to a school sporting event, one cannot help but wonder whether his own law breaking activities contributed to his death.

The report mentioned that his motorcycle was missing. He was 14 years old! Well below the legal age to drive a motorcycle. Hundreds of thousands of underage children countrywide drive parents’ or their own motorcycles, to school or just for their own social activities. The police show not the slightest interest or concern.

One provincial police officer told me his superiors had told him to “leave the kids alone”. The schools allow them to park on school property, teachers frequently supervising their arrival with 2 or even 3 passengers, with nary a helmet between them. And in the provinces, new motorcycles are rarely taxed or insured after the first year.

If the police, schools and parents acted responsibly, and obeyed/enforced the law, many thousands of accidents would not occur, and hundreds of children, including the14 year old Pattaya boy, might still be alive today.
Isaan Nick
Buriram

Another victim

Editor;
I read the letter from “Retiree” in Mailbag of 27 Aug and I can confirm that even I have had and still have “problems” with the Pattaya Immigration Office in these matters. I feel really frustrated because I don’t know or understand if they in my case, are doing something illegal and corrupt to me or it is a legal but unethical behaviour or maybe just a “pragmatic human manoeuvre”?

The background to my problems with the immigration is that I have existed here for many years with a family and so far fulfilled all the requirements to get renewed 1-year-visa. However, the laws, rules and regulations seem to change every other year or so. Suddenly I must, as a foreigner, have that sum in a bank account another year and when I simply don’t have the sum there appears a “nice” immigration officer who arranges to lend me the money against a shamefully high black fee, but it doesn’t matter during these emergency circumstances.

How did this game appear? Shall I feel insulted or thankful or something in between? Is this sophisticated corruption? Are there any readers who can give me serious advice? It looks like foreigners have a lot of problems like this. Maybe Pattaya Mail can invite a lawyer to answer the multitude of questions that we confront all the time.

Lastly, I ask why don’t expat organisations or human rights organisations attend themselves to authorities and other corrupt people?

“A victim?”

There are honest people in Pattaya

Gentlemen,
I want to write this to you in hopes that you will publish it in one of your upcoming editions of the paper:

This morning I had my daily cup of coffee at Tip’s Restaurant. When I returned home I noticed that my billfold containing a considerable amount of cash, ATM and two credit cards, drivers license and other important documents were missing. After searching desperately and beginning the awesome process of canceling what needed to be cancelled, I received a telephone call from Tip’s notifying me at home that one of their employees found my billfold in the restroom and that they would hold it for me to pick up. You can well imagine that I was overwhelmed with happiness.

I fail to find the proper words to express my gratitude for these people’s honesty. It would have been easy to remove part of the cash or not report the findings. All of the cash and accessories were in my billfold, I was overwhelmed with joy and with all of the adverse publicity Pattaya gets I “tip my hat” to the people and specifically the person who found my billfold for their honesty. Trust me, I will spread the word which is a credit to Tip’s employees and the people of Thailand.
Nick

Questions

Editor;
Whatever happened to your outstanding columnist, Khai Khem? She/he was one of your best at looking at Pattaya and pointing out the obvious but badly needed improvements.

And what about that columnist at The Nation who seems to crib your newspaper on a weekly basis? Doesn’t anything raunchy happen in Bangkok? Why his obsession with Pattaya? And then he has the nerve in this week’s Expat News to denigrate the Pattaya Mail. Talk about biting the hand that feeds him.

And please contact Trink and pay him to publish his weekly web report in your newspaper.
Farang Reporter

Beach Road going mad

Mailbag;
Memo to Yonyuth Parnsri, Pattaya Building Control Supervisor. Subject - Beach Road underground works. We note the report in Aug 27 Pattaya Mail saying work will be finished in Feb 2005, glad you have started it at last. Would it not be a good idea with high season coming to start on the Walking Street end and work backwards away from congestion that will be for sure at its almost unbearable limit in the Nov-Feb period? If the chaos already on Beach Road at north end is to go on you might as well close Beach Road for the high season. Simple logic to ease a growing problem.
BBW resident

Looking for pro football in Thailand

Mailbag;
Hi there, I wonder if any of your readers can help. On our next trip to Pattaya from December 12 to Jan 7, we would like to see some professional football. We have emailed the Thai football authority on numerous occasions, but we never get a response. We do not mind travelling to Bangkok, or wherever within reason. Watching the Thai National Team would be brilliant, but any professional team would be good. Could someone please explain how we go about it?

Thank you,
Melvyn Smith

Letters published in the Mailbag of Pattaya Mail
are also on our website.