What can be done to get motorists to use traffic lights properly?

Many motorists don’t bother to stop at traffic lights, which is dangerous and greatly increases the risk of accidents. Amid growing public concern about such irresponsible behaviour, Vientiane Times asked for people’s opinions on what should be done to force drivers to comply with the traffic rules. 

Traffic lights on a Vientiane street.

Ms Vilay Phommasone, a resident of Xaythany district, Vientiane: It’s bad that so many people fail to stop at traffic lights. It’s become normal for drivers to break the rules, which is very dangerous. When the lights turn yellow to warn people to slow down, most drivers do the opposite and speed up. This means they can’t stop in a hurry when the lights turn red. Meanwhile, people driving on the cross street drive off at speed when the lights turn green. There have been numerous accidents because of people breaking the rules. A lot of this is due to poor law enforcement, because traffic police often don’t bother to stop people driving through red lights. But in general people are undisciplined and if they think they can get away with breaking the rules, they will. Many motorists are selfish and don’t see importance of following the rules. It’s time the authorities got tough about this and penalised errant drivers on a regular basis.
 
Mr Nam, a resident of Xaysettha district, Vientiane: This is a chronic problem, which could be solved if officials in charge more actively enforced the regulations. I think there should be a publicity campaign about this, because driving through red traffic lights is very common, particularly among motorbike riders. It would appear that many of them have a blatant disregard for the rules, which is amazing considering that they aren’t allowed to be on the road without a driving licence and so can be assumed to have passed a driving test. More publicity about the traffic regulations through all forms of media, especially social media, would help to educate motorists. The traffic police should really clamp down on this and stop everyone they see going through a red light, which is not the case at present. Another problem is that the police usually go off duty at 4pm, and when there are no police around people ignore the rules completely. If the police stopped and fined people every time they drove through a red light, we would see a lot more drivers complying with the rules.
 
Mr Som Bounleua, a resident of Chanthabouly district, Vientiane: I think something needs to be done about this urgently because it’s such a common problem. It’s worse in the evening and at night when the police go off duty, because then drivers throw caution to the wind. I often see drivers breaking the rules, especially when there are no police in view. They don’t care about the rules or show any regard for motorists approaching from other sides of crossroads. This has become common practice and it won’t be easy to get people to change their ways. Motorbike riders in particular are guilty of this, which sets a bad example to others. If most people followed the rules, others would also comply. But if nobody does, then there will be no compliance at all. I’m sure most drivers aren’t bothered about this, but their disregard for the rules is very dangerous. The authorities should do more to enforce compliance with the traffic regulations. People should be better educated, starting with driver education in schools.

Mr Noy, a resident of Oudomxay province: This is also a problem in my province, but it’s not as bad as in Vientiane because we don’t have so much traffic. But all road users should follow the rules at all times, as this would make roads safer for both motorists and pedestrians. All kinds of road safety rules are broken every day because of poor awareness and lax law enforcement. Motorists need to be a lot more aware and understand that an accident could happen at any time if they drive carelessly. If an accident happens, we might suffer both physically and financially. Traffic lights are an important part of road safety and the police should make sure that everyone takes notice of them and that people are penalised if they don’t.

By Visith Teppalath
   (Latest Update March 7, 2022)