Pattaya police ticketed 19 motorcyclists for illegally using the Central Road bypass tunnel.
Use of the 1.9-kilometer-long tunnel on Sukhumvit Road is not allowed for trucks transporting hazardous materials, motorcycles, bicycles and tricycles. But motorcycles continue to use the tunnel, creating traffic hazards and causing accidents
Police were out Feb. 19 to catch such riders. Police explained that motorbikes are banned from the tunnel because they may not be seen well in the tunnel by car and truck drivers and that the change from light to dark to light will temporarily blind motorcyclists more than car drivers.
The confined spaces of the tunnel also increase odds that bikes will crash or hit walls and bikers have far less protection than those inside vehicles.
