PATTAYA, Thailand – Pattaya City’s renewed campaign urging drivers to respect pedestrian crossings may sound reassuring on paper, but for many residents and long-term visitors, it feels more like wishful thinking than real road safety.
Painted zebra crossings, flashing warning lights, and polite reminders have been tried before — and repeatedly ignored. On Pattaya’s roads, scooters and motorbikes often tear through crossings at speed, cars rarely yield, and even red lights fail to guarantee safety. For pedestrians, stepping onto a crossing can feel less like a protected right of way and more like a gamble.
Many residents point out that Thai drivers do not stop for painted lines or flashing signals. They stop — sometimes — for solid red lights. Even then, compliance is far from guaranteed. Crossings near busy areas such as Second Road are frequently cited as dangerous hotspots, with near-misses reported almost daily.
A common and frightening pattern emerges: cars slow or stop, pedestrians begin crossing, and then motorbikes surge through gaps at full speed, cutting directly across the crossing. The result is confusion, unpredictability, and constant risk. Some locals bluntly describe pedestrian crossings in Pattaya as “death traps” and advise visitors to avoid them entirely if they value their safety.
There are also practical design flaws. When wet, painted road markings become slippery, posing an additional hazard not just to pedestrians but to two-wheeled vehicles as well. Instead of slowing traffic, crossings can actually increase the risk of skidding and loss of control.
Critics argue that if Pattaya is serious about pedestrian safety, infrastructure and enforcement must change, not just messaging. Suggestions from the public include press-button crossings that trigger full red lights, physical barrier systems similar to railway crossings, and automated cameras that record license plates of vehicles that ignore red signals — with fines issued consistently and without exception.
Without enforcement, awareness campaigns mean little. Without consequences, behavior does not change.
As Pattaya continues to promote itself as a walkable, tourist-friendly city, the gap between image and reality grows harder to ignore. Until drivers are forced to stop — not asked nicely — painted crossings and flashing lights will remain symbols of good intentions, not genuine protection.
