Pattaya authorities say traffic lights on Beach Road are fully functional but being ignored 40 percent of the time.
Traffic and transport officials said March 28 that the much-maligned pedestrian-crossing lights do, in fact, all work, but a lack of enforcement has allowed drivers to simply ignore them.
Seventeen of the 42 signals installed eight years ago are located on Beach Road as part of a 29-million-baht project. Last year, before the International Fleet Show, the city fixed the Beach and Second roads lights to give the many foreign visitors a good image of the city, but many of those away from spotlight were ignored and remain broken.
Traffic Department Director Anuwat Thongkham said 60-70 percent of the time cars will stop for lights, but those moving at higher speeds blow right on through.
Even Pattaya police have been guilty of ignoring red lights, as videos have shown over the years. The police force’s lack of enforcement has made drivers feel comfortable in doing the same.
Lights are green for pedestrians for about 20 seconds.
