Myanmar’s National Road Safety Council has announced that the right-side indicator will be the new official signal to other drivers that it is safe to overtake. The new rule will come into effect for all drivers on all roads in Myanmar on September 1, 2017.
Previously, drivers have traditionally used the left-side indicator to signal to other drivers that there is no oncoming traffic, but drivers also use the let-side signal to indicate that they are themselves changing lanes or turning. This can lead to two cars moving into oncoming traffic at the same time.
The council said the left-side indicator system is not correct and has caused many accidents. They believe using the right-side indicator will be less ambiguous.
Between now and September 1, traffic law enforcement authorities will carry out education campaigns around the country to ensure that drivers are aware of the rule before it comes into effect.
The need for drivers to signal to those behind them is uniquely high in Myanmar, where drivers sit on the right side of their cars, which drive on the right side of the road. When driving behind a larger vehicle, a driver is left blind to what is happening in the oncoming lane. Drivers hoping to pass slower vehicles are forced to inch into oncoming traffic to see whether it is safe to pass, which leads to accidents.
While the new right-side signal rule is meant to make overtaking slower vehicles safer, some on social media have pointed out that if Myanmar’s traffic regulators wanted to make driving safer, they would ban right-hand drive cars or instruct drivers to drive on the left side of the road, as they did in Myanmar before December 6, 1970.
In fact, an expert mission invited by the Myanmar government to give recommendations on how to make Myanmar’s roads safer recommended the eradication of right-hand drive vehicles.
At a coordination meeting last month held by the National Road Safety Council, members discussed strategies for implementing the findings of the expert mission.
The National Road Safety Council was established by order of President Htin Kyaw in July 2016. It is chaired by Second Vice President Henry Van Thio and is tasked with reducing environmental damage caused by vehicles; reducing traffic jams; conducting research; and proposing laws to promote road safety.
