Thai Roundabout Thread

[Big Boy]

I posted the Thai Highway Code as a sticky here 5 years ago. I think the relevant section is:

roundabout.png (37.59 KiB) Viewed 479 times

It even quotes the penalty for non-compliance, which is probably why so many do their own thing.

[huahin4ever]

There are a couple of crazy ones in Lopburi too:

Lopburi1.JPG (163.97 KiB) Viewed 468 times

[Scout]

That makes sense Big Boy, when approaching / entering a roundabout anything coming from your right is already in the roundabout, I think.

[HHTel]

The posted signs at every Thai roundabout I’ve taken notice of state that traffic already in the roundabout has the right of way. Traffic approaching the roundabout is required to yield to traffic already in the roundabout. I’ll have to check if there are English language signs, but that’s what the Thai language signs say.

Spot on, Scout. Those signs are there whichever way you approach the 112 roundabout and still they get gridlocked several times a day with nobody able to move. I used to sit in the restaurant at the corner and watch the entertainment. I've said it before. Thais suffer from 'sign blindness'.

Regarding the soi 88 roundabout, I will take some pics tomorrow. I use it every day from various directions and I maintain that it's 'half a roundabout'!

[HHTel]

HHForever, that's an aerial shot of the M25 isn't it.... lol

[Big Boy]

I've never had a problem with the magic roundabout at Swindon. (See the gif at :

There's another one at Hemel. Others dotted around the country and they work very well.

Seriously guys, that is not the Swindon Magic Roundabout I'm familiar with. Are there 2? the one I used to use was in a built up area, and there were definitely no islands with trees on.

magic.jpg (48.44 KiB) Viewed 457 times

[HHTel]

As far as I know, there is just one. The picture you're querying, I believe, is a graphical representation of the real one.

[Big Boy]

The picture you're querying, I believe, is a graphical representation of the real one.

It would probably be a lot easier with the trees

[caller]

I go across the roundabout at 112 pretty much all the time. I have gone native. If you stop and wait for the traffic on the right to pass, they stop. I have seen 4 cars at each entrance basically stopped and looking at each other. They haven't a clue, so as BB say's, I approach with caution, but then act with authority.

(Post edited as I hadn't checked page 2 of this thread before replying).

[stretch]

the roundabout rules are simple in Thailand FIRST COME FIRST SERVED.

[handdrummer]

Previous to the first time I used a roundabout, in England, I'd only driven in the US and Europe. I was confused about what to do and went the wrong way about. After the 2 screaming English women in the back seat calmed down and I maneuvered through the roundabout, they told me to let them out and they'd hitchhike the rest of the way to Cornwall.

[HHTel]

Not having a go at you Handdrummer, but I do often wonder why the Americans find it so difficult to 'switch sides'. I drove most of my life in the UK and when driving in Europe, switching to the other side wasn't a problem. Driving from Thailand into Laos, where the transition is much quicker, has never been a problem.
A little like the Americans finding difficulty with any currency that's not in dollars even though pretty much all currencies are decimal!

[Big Boy]

HaHa, I was expecting the photographic evidence

Seriously, when you gather your evidence, forget you are in Thailand, and forget what the Thais and tourists are doing on that roundabout. You might see the whole picture

[hhinner]

the roundabout rules are simple in Thailand FIRST COME FIRST SERVED.

You wouldn't say that if a 10 wheeler loaded with dirt was thundering toward the roundabout at 90 kph. Seen this at Palm Hills several times.

[Big Boy]

You might see the whole picture

I've just come that way, and what some may consider as a give-way marking on the road is just badly marked lane markings that could be easily misunderstood.