DualSportBiker

All passenger vehicles can use the highways in Singapore. I rode a 125 Vespa there for a couple of years - on the highways all the time. All vehicles in Singapore are fitted with a card holder that is scanned when passing through both highways pay tolls and downtown traffic controls. You don't have to slow down - the gantries are everywhere and not a traffic hazard like here. Prices vary by time of day to discourage non-essential driving at peak times. You can use the same card for parking in carparks and the card can be used at 7/11 or other stores.

On 8/22/2018 at 6:12 PM, possum1931 said:

I wonder what the rules are in Singapore for the motorbikes on motorways and toll roads.

1 hour ago, stanleycoin said:

Maybe you should start a pole ?

 

I do, Bike and Car,  ride every day, use car only weekends, as traffic is just crap

now days, bike much better across town.

Two licenses, one truck, one bike.

I not ridden in earnest for a while, but normally only ride up-country on longish trips. My Series IIa Land Rover is my daily ride ?

So far, the definition of big bike has ranged from 150 to only over 1,000 cc

Strangely, people seem to define big as just a few cc smaller than the bike they have. I wonder if this behaviour maps to measuring your family jewels?

With incomes rising, bike costs coming down, there are more and more young who can afford a bigger bike, perhaps before they should. Separating licenses on some size or power criteria makes good sense. Doing it early before a mountain of dead bodies on larger bikes piles up is better than waiting.

Singapore does not care about age. You get your first license, you can ride up to 200cc. After a year, you can be tested again on a 400 for a license up to 400cc. One more year, and the final exam on a 750 gets you access to any size of bike. Their model puts experience above age - insurance premiums take care of the rest.

In Singapore you can't buy a bike without a valid license and you can only buy to the licenses permitted limit. The sale is registered with the transport ministry immediately. This model also makes sense, but as all things here, implementation and policing will fail good intentions from day 1.

I'd be happy to take a test for my license. I'd be happier if the test was a test, not a formality; it is too easy. Even someone who thinks larger than 150cc is a big bike would pass...

You are only making a fool of yourself.

There is no comparison - stop making one. Crap drivers can crash in any situation. Racers crash in race situations.

If you consider, even for one moment, that a road user of any skill level should approach driving on public roads in the same way as racers of any level on closed circuits, you are deluding yourself and a danger to others.

13 hours ago, NetJunkie said:

Nope, not Thai, just making a fool of the gent who said only crap drivers crash in the rain.

 

 

I've trawled as many places as I can search through to confirm the list of supporting documents needed. I can't find a definitive list. This is as I remember it:
 

• Copy of my passport
• Original and copy of marriage certificate
• Copy of my wife's National ID card
• Covering letter from my wife
• Application form

Is that correct? Did I leave anything out?

Thank you sir.

Gentlepeople in the know,

My Cat B expired before company BOI application was approved. Now it is clear that will take time. My WP expires on 25 June. My current visa is a permission to stay obtained at Ban Phu Nam Ron, Kanchanaburi. That too expires 25 June.

Can my employer renew my WP as is? Or must I go get a Cat O/B before applying for renewal? Being married to a Thai and employed, I qualify for both, but lean to a Cat O as I would get the year without having to deal with renewal here in three months.

Follow up Q: Proof of funds for Savannakhet - do I need 400K in a Thai bank for 3 months or will funds in a foreign account be OK, or is it still like 2 years ago when nothing was needed.

2 hours ago, NetJunkie said:

 

You said it was not because of a wet road, just poor driving skills. Just showing you that actually the wet road was a major factor in the crash.

Nice one! Totally comparable situations... Dozens of cars on a dedicated track at the start of a race when they are feet from each other is the comparable to drivers on a public road. Try again.

No really, never drive here.

Outsource that to someone with lower skills, less interest, dodgier equipment, shoddier attitude, belief in reincarnation and greatly reduced sense of responsibility! That should work just great!

I surrender control of my on-road experience as little as possible, but maybe you're right... Maybe I should just roll the dice even more and let someone else whose sole interest is making money take responsibility for my wellbeing...

6 hours ago, lanista said:

I saw it on TV this morning.  No one cut off that idiot. He was trying to turn left on a very small intersection not suitable for  any  heavy commercial vehicles expecially trailers.   The shipping container simply rolled off to the right and pancaked the poor guy in the Toyota stationary in the left lane.

Absolute madness.

Never drive in Thailand.

We can't tell if there is a "no right turn" sign outside of frame. It is also plausible that the solid line is not parallel, but a badly painted replacement as someone else suggested.

Fixing Thailand's road safety problems will not be done overnight or with an all-encompassing campaign. It needs to be done incrementally. A reasonable place to start is where enforcement can be done by a system with a high degree of accuracy. Add high-volume and visibility and there might be a recognition that discipline is a requirement, not an option. Lane changes and traffic lights are two areas with massive volume of infractions, high impact on traffic flow, significant numbers of accidents. Both can be automated easily and accurately.

gr8fldanielle asked what the problem with merging over a solid line is - does it kill anyone? One key purpose for road markings is to define standard and therefore predictable behaviours. If drivers can ignore one rule, why not all? Every time you enter an area with specific markings, you should expect most if not all road users to act in a predictable way. That makes spotting the exceptions easier. When the majority of drivers do precisely what they want and precisely what is prohibited, we have to pay attention to every car in more detail and that makes spotting exceptions harder. So to repeat, they need to start somewhere and this automated system should reduce the problem of commissions and corruption.

12 minutes ago, Kurtf said:

That's the way I was taught to interpret two lines side by side like that.

I've been in Phuket once a month for 6 months for work - you are right. I see groups of young tourists chasing and racing each other along the coast road. They have no discipline, no helmets, flip-flops and t-shirts on. It is no wonder so many are injured or worse. I've only spotted a couple of tourist riders who could obviously ride - and guess what - they were riding sensibly... Phuket is the only place where I am happy to see the BiB out in force stopping rented cars and bikes and looking for proper licenses. 

I read that renters of bikes need to validate a proper bike license before renting now - highly appropriate. It was a massive scam before. Hopefully there will be fewer rented bikes on the roads when I go back in April.

10 minutes ago, GarryP said:

I was in Phuket a couple of weeks ago and rented a motorcycle. I was very shocked by the idiocy displayed by bike/scooter riders.  But what was even more surprising/shocking to me was that 9 out of 10 of the idiots who were riding in a crazy fashion as if they were taking part in the Manx TT and coming out of junctions without looking, were the foreigners not the locals. I assume that most were tourists. I also saw quite a few in bandages and casts from what I assume were motorcycle accidents. Unbloodybelievable.  

I second that. It looks to me as if the bike should have had a full view of the white car by the 7 second mark on the clip, perhaps slightly before. He is clearly paying no attention to oncoming traffic, saunters out slowly and at an 45º angle rather than straight across with purpose. He does not alter direction; the car being overtaken was moving at a snail's pace and was not a threat for several seconds to come. 

His first mistake was pulling out without proper observation, his second was not monitoring the changing situation and third was not reacting, either early pulling right, or late by accelerating left away from the car. After a long night shift he could easily be overly tired. Whilst he made a series of errors, it is a sad waste of life. And yes the car was driving rather fast, but the vast majority of the blame lies with the rider.

6 hours ago, Dexlowe said:

The truck wasn't obscuring very much, and it seems to me that the rider had very good line of sight (I base this on 50 years of motorcycle riding under my belt, including 30 years in Thailand). The only two mitigating factors for the rider are the speed of the white car and that it was overtaking. Even then, the rider should have waited a bit longer for the cam car to get clear. Sorry, but I have to say that the rider is completely at fault for not having exercised appropriate caution before pulling out into traffic.

 

It is a peculiarity of riders here (as witnessed in hundreds of videos) to simply and blindly pull into traffic and rely on the blessings of Buddha to protect them.

I can't walk my dogs as there are three packs on my soi alone. A neighbour walks his siberian and is hounded the entire way. I read of a project to neuter stray dogs - that is a practical way forward and our Thai hosts will not euthanise even a terminally ill animal. Don't hold your breath though...

As always Sir, you are most expedient and complete in your response! Thank you.

1 minute ago, ubonjoe said:

The form you posted is for Vientiane and it is not the correct one for there now.

This form is the same one shown on the conulates website. Savannakhet 2501-01-31.PDF

For Vientiane this is the current form (print in color). Vientiane visa form.pdf 

On 21/02/2018 at 10:34 AM, recom273 said:

Just to add, I was at Savannakhet last Wednesday, I rocked up at 9.30 and there was one guy at the window. After a friendly chat I was given no.11 ticket to use the next day.

 

When I returned at 2.00 the next day, there were a handful of people, I waited for all to rush and collect their passports, which was a as usual a quick and efficient, all out within a few minutes. 

 

Someone asked about Vientienne, hell, I remember rushing to the embassy, wasting the morning queuing, staying in an overpriced guest house and then returning the next day, standing in the mid-day sun, to pickup. 

 

No comparison, never again. 

 

I was surprised by the lack of activity, Monday mornings are traditionally  the busiest, i also noted some requirements for tourist visas posted, such as financial proof, rental agreements, etc. maybe there are less tourists using the consulate. 

 

The town seemed busy with westerners, clean guest houses, good restaurants, helpful locals. 

Hi, did you get the application form on-line? I am struggling to find one that seems up to date! The one I downloaded last year has its bottom cut off, the one I found this morning has no date and is different from the one last year... Does this one look right to you?

Thai Visa Application Form Savannakhet.pdf

5 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

should have done the country a favor and put it down!

killing someone's dog isn't doing anyone a favour. increase your dose...

1 minute ago, DefaultName said:

But it's being used on the outside to keep it pretty, not on the bit you eat (or drink), so that doesn't really apply here.

Really? I thought the sodium meta bisulfite solution is a 'bath' that the prepared coconuts are soaked in to maintain a white external appearance... So that would be the same as soaking in salt water. The nut is waterproof and so either solution will not get to the meat or coconut water...

Just now, Dante99 said:

The FDA for what country?

Sorry - US of A.

Doesn't salt water have the same effect? My mate brings me coconuts every so often and those go brown pretty quick after I prepare them. The ones I buy locally remain white for days... My Thai mate suggested salt water...

I found this on a health site " the FDA prohibits the use of sodium bisulfite in meats, vitamin B-1 food sources, and raw fruits and vegetables..." and "The Food and Drug Administration regulates sulfite-based compounds and requires companies to list on their products sulfites with a concentration of at least 10 parts per million"

So you think lane splitting should be at the same speed as the traffic? What is the point of legal lane splitting if not to overtake? Watch the vdo again with the sound off. The sound of that engine is misleading. He was only traveling 10-15 km/h faster than the majority of the cars, accelerated and slowed every encounter to pass at a more appropriate speed. 

And again, the prize of 'driving selfishly' in your opinion is what? Being knocked off? Being chased by a coward in a car who can kill you yet only suffer a scratch on their car? Can you justify that thought? Don't you think it just slightly disproportional? Do you think you and your cage should be squashed by an articulated truck if you pass them on the inside without a signal? Let me know, I'll drive the truck...

21 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

Clearly he was driving selfishly and not trying to indicate or match speed of the traffic zigging in and out. Lane splitting isn't a problem, but you don't drive like the other cars are slalom poles for your entertainment.

That being said, the old guy did deserve the punch in the face for the attempted bump. And the bike driver also accepted the risk of being killed when he confronted the driver. He's lucky it wasn't a gun or a baseball bat.

 

So what do you suggest as a penalty for not signalling? Being run off the road? Bumped from behind in heavy traffic? Keep trying until you make contact? What about extra points if you knock them under a truck?

You can't see the turn signals on that dash, nor his hands. But regardless, let's say you are right and he did not signal. Do you think it acceptable that those committing minor traffic offenses should be put at physical risk in retaliation? Your response to "he used his car as a weapon" is "the rider did not use his signals" What do you suggest if his headlight is out?

As for 'no excuse to ride like that' I beg to differ. If you are going to pass a car in traffic on a bike, get it over and done with and get into a space where you are more visible. Lane splitting is legal, but that does not mean it is as safe as other positions on the road. Pass, be visible, pass again. If the cars are nose to tail, just keep passing, but try and make yourself visible or audible at all times.

32 minutes ago, seajae said:

you ignore the fact the rider was not indicating what he was going to do and not doing it when safe to do so, ,I ride and drive so I see both sides,  the rider was not riding safely or indicating his moves as well as going way to close to the cars, all illegal here, he was also outside the left lane, also against thai laws. The old fart was also in the wrong but so was the biker, both should be charged, as for the biker, there is no excuse to ride like that, he was lucky he wasnt  cleaned up by a car changing lanes or moving over slightly in the lane they were in, the only ones that cant see that the rider was also at fault or riding badly  are those that ride the same way, some of these idiots have death wishes the way they ride, the laws are there to be followed, neither was doing that

You seem to avoid mentioning the car driver trying to hit the bike two times. Is that an act of bravery? or how do you factor that? How about the coma from the stab wound?

Oh BTW, lane splitting is legal here.  Overseas is irrelevant. 

5 minutes ago, seajae said:

both in the wrong, biker was taking quite a few risks lane splitting, it is ok as long as it is safe to do so, at the corner he undercut the car as well, was he visible to the driver, that is one major question. Another thai law states bikes are supposed to stay in the left hand lane, in this case he only did that just before the fight, problems in Thailand are that many of these idiots that try to do all these moves at speed without knowing what the car is going to do, while legal here it is not overseas as it is considered too dangerous, was the bike indicating all his moves, I doubt it very much. Cars and bikes have a very bad habit of not letting other road users know what they are going to do(can be seen everyday when a bike passes you on the lefft then tries to turn in front of you when you are going straight ahead), this doesnt help at all. both are in the wrong but the fight was the bikers fault, he bashed up a smaller old guy with glasses, that in itself is a cowardly act, no wonder he grabbed the knife to defend himself but that too was not the smartest thing to do, once again we see face and and making oneself out to be a "big" man  showing how pathetic some thai males really are. No excuses for the way either behaved

But that is the point right, it is up to the police to deal with any infractions of the driving code. The only role a citizen should have is the reporting of an incident. Judgement and sentence is the role of authorities...

As for the law, it contains so many contradictions it is clearly designed for wiggle room for the authorities to decide as they see fit for each case - that should be a surprise to nobody. For example, how do you lane split without tailgating first?

You'd see me if I was on your left - 3,900 lumens at mirror height. But I'd be smiling under my helmet... and only passing on the left if you were hogging the right lane :)

22 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Understood.  But I'm not so sure if a cop here reviewed the bikers moves he would call them all legal.  There are laws here about tailgating, quick lane changes, slow traffic, etc.

 

Too many times I've signaled to move left, only to see a bike undercutting me.  No signal, no quarter, etc.  It's very hard to see scooters undercutting you.  Or, splitting lanes at high speeds.

I think a car driver's perception is likely affected by the noise of the bike. That particular bike is a high-revving powerful bike and the mic is on the engine... 

As a longtime rider in Bangkok's traffic I can assure you that riding slightly aggressively is the only way to survive. Car drivers will cut up a bike without a second thought unless the bike is moving confidently and/or is bright and/or is loud. Any mistake made by either is paid for by the rider (not financially, but physically.) 

I don't condone the riders response, but he was wearing a t-shirt... but that is besides the point. The prof used a car as a weapon and a weapon. Both are inexcusable.

20 minutes ago, PaDavid said:

  I guess your perception of who was driving/riding badly will depend on which form of conveyance you prefer. As a car driver, I perceive the bikey to be riding aggressively. 

 

As to what happened after the motoring incident, all I can say is a younger man protected by leathers and a crash helmet should not go around throwing punches and kicks at a much older and smaller guy wearing glasses, regardless of what went on before. I think if the bikey approached my car in such an aggressive fashion, I too would have grabbed the nearest thing I could to protect myself.