SiamSully

Has anyone heard anything about Thaivivat insurance? Buy insurance for a specified time (600 hours) - turn it on with a phone app when you use the vehicle and off when you park it. 

I just bought my brother-in-law's 2015 Toyota Revo. My wife went to get insurance on it and she came home with a type of insurance I have never heard of in my home country. Thaivivat insurance. All the information is in Thai and I cannot even get from my wife what the coverage is. The strangest thing about this insurance is apparently you can shut it off with an app on your phone when you're not driving the vehicle and not pay. So how is it still insured of you've shut it off?? If I am understanding my wife correctly one buys so many hours of insurance and the app counts down how many you use. ??? Don't forget to turn it back on when you start to drive again or you'll not be insured. ??? What if .... someone bumps it in the parking lot and drives away undetected - or - vandals damage it in the night - or - or - or .... 

This sounds sketchy to me. Am I getting this all wrong?  I've searched it on the internet but all I get is in Thai language. 

Does anyone out there in Thai Visa land know about this Thivivat insurance?

I’m interested in knowing the general opinion of the Thai visa community regarding are pulsing brake lights. When I first noticed a vehicle with pulsing brake lights it sure got my attention - which is good - a wee bit annoying at first  but at least I could see that the vehicle was braking.  

Now, I just bought my brother-in-law’s 2015 Toyota Revo and he had installed pulsing brake lights. They pulse a few times and then stay on. On my first driving trip - to Mukdahan - when stopped in a police check I was fined 100 baht because of these. Touted as a saftey feature in many parts of the world - what do you think?

22 hours ago, BritTim said:

For a single entry Non O visa, go to Vientiane. It requires one night stay.

In theory, you can do a conversion from a tourist entry to a non immigrant entry at Udon Thani immigration. This is intended as a precursor to applying for a one-year extension of stay, and the process is a bit messy, among other things requiring 400,000 baht in a Thai bank account with proof it came from abroad.

If you go to Savannakhet, Laos, you can get a multiple entry Non O (like I expect you have received in earlier years) with no financial proof. You apply before 11:00 am and receive the visa around 2:00 pm the following day.

Thanks so much for this tidbit of information BritTim. Brilliant! I have several Non O visas in my passport from past years. I will make this trip next week. Big Thanks! Any idea of the cost of the visa?

17 hours ago, elviajero said:

You can easily get a Single or Multiple Entry visa from Savannahket, Or a Single (only) Entry visa from Vientiane, Loas.

 

If you explain how long you plan to stay, you can get better advice about your options.

Thanks for this, elviajero. I plan to stay in Thailand 6 months. Have done this each year since 2011. So far it looks like Savannakhet is my best option. Some say I can get a non o there without having to have my income certified by the Canadian Embassy in Bangkok.

This year I remembered too late to get my usual Non-Immigrant O visa before I left Canada in late October. So, I get a 30 day visa on arrival. I live in Udon Thani area so Vientiane is the closest Lao based Thai Embassy??? Oooorrrr.... Could I somehow do this right at Udon Thani Immigration? What's my best next step to achieve, or come close to, the Non-Immigrant O (based on marriage) that I have had each of the past three years. I have just arrived

 back from 6 months away  ... hearing so many stories (horror stories) and generally feeling  a wee lost and confused - a wee bit stymied. Could use some help please ...

Update: This matter has been settled. Initially, they signed a statement at the police station saying they were at fault and would pay all expenses related to the accident. When we presented the bill for 15,000 baht they suddenly had no money. We offered for them to pay 9,000. They countered with 2,000. Eight months later now and we accepted 5,000 baht and strongly suggested that the young Thai man take driving lessons (which we feel will never happen). We sincerely hope he learned something about driving more carefully after all this kerfuffel and not just about waiting the farang out. 

Thanks Thai Visa peeps - it’s been a pleasure sharing this experience with y’all. See ... sometimes the farang doesn’t pay for all the accident expenses - just two thirds of em. 

Love, peace and happiness.

10 hours ago, stevenl said:

It's 2 standard motorbikes/scooters, which in 99.99% means only porobor, if that.

Well, mine eyes have been opened by this accident and by this forum and the responses herein. My Thai wife and I have 2 motorbikes - a 2013 Honda PCX150 and a 2005 Honda Phantom 200. We also have a 2002 Toyota Tiger pickup. All registered in my wife’s name - all with basic compulsory insurance. This accident involved the 2013 Honda PCX150. I am now taking a more personal interest in this insurance thing as I have been awakened through this matter. As I understand Insurance in Thailand so far, we can upgrade insurance on all of our vehicles but get 1st class Insurance on only the PCX150 as the other vehicles are too old. We were lucky this time as this accident was not too serious however, I’m not willing to push my luck further. Lessons learned - points taken - advice requested - thanks given. 

UPDATE: My wife and I had a meeting with the police on Friday where the officer called the young man’s mother who seems to be doing all the talking for their side. He tried to explain to her how she must pay, as she agreed to in the first place, this modest bill for the accident. They agreed to meet with us at the police station on Monday. They did not show - nor did they answer their phone when the police called them. So, we accompanied the police to the scene of the accident where he took photos. I never though I would be the one to be pointing a finger at the place where the motorbike lay on the street but there I was. So hilarious! The beat goes on. Thank you all for your time, interest and comments so far.

2 hours ago, jimn said:

You did ask for considered comment so here goes. OP 2 things come to mind straight away. Firstly, it looks as if you were not paying attention. His lights were clearly visable on the main road as you approached. You should have anticipated that he may turn out into your path. Secondly I have to ask you how long have you been living here? Although they admitted that the Thai was in the wrong, did you really believe that a poor Thai family would pay you 15,000 baht. Your living in cloud cukoo land. Normal rules of life do not exist over here I would have thought you would have known that. Put it down to experience and move on. Next time be a bit more observant when you are driving.

I appreciate your candid comment, jimn, however you weren’t there I was and although I feel no need to defend my driving record, awareness and skills I can tell you that I am cautious to the extreme driving here in Thailand. I have been here 8 years. My intention here is not to punish anyone but to afford this young man, who was clearly in the wrong, the opportunity to do the right thing. 

6 hours ago, robblok said:

You can go to courts.. will take you a long time and cost a lot of time and money upfront.. to see if you can get all of that money back is important. Because it might well be that even after a court judgement they won't pay up. I seen this happen Thai on Thai. So even a court judgement won't do much if they plead poverty.

Ya, I concur. 

Ya Jack45k, it does look like that coming into frame but we were traveling only at about 40km through the village. The Thai kid didn’t have a drivers license. His motorbike had an insurance sticker though.
Granted it’s a different perception of reality here in Thailand but to think that poorer people can run roughshod and not be held responsible is clearly just not right. We’ll just let this thing run its course and see if the police will do their job. #Longshot
I’m thinking you may have more money than me - your buying the beer.


Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect

Ya, for sure, Tifino. My wife spotted the security camera and we went back a few days later and retrieved the footage. Apparently the guilty party knows about it and I heard they have even seen it. But still, we get the defiant stonewall from them. 

I am a Farang who, along with my Thai wife, was involved in a motorbike accident caused by a Thai. The young man and his family immediately admitted his guilt and agreed to pay all related expenses and they quickly removed the wrecked motorbikes from the scene. Now, we’ve all heard the farang always pays rhetoric but I’ll ask you all to simply listen (read) this story and comment objectively. It was around 9:30pm whilst traveling through a small Isaan village on our motorbike heading home a young Thai man came out of a side street on the wrong side of the road and turned straight into the path of my motorbike causing a head on collision. He received a broken leg while I, acting as an “airbag” for my wife, got a bruised rib/liver and a broken tooth. Could have been so much worse. The entire incident was captured on the CCTV at a nearby shop. My wife and I were doing things right. We were both wearing helmets, driving at a responsible speed, had our lights on, were driving on the correct side of the road, had drivers license and insurance. Like all that makes any difference here in Thailand. It all happened so fast as the CCTV footage shows, there was simply no time to avoid this crash. So, as I said, they admitted guilt and quickly removed both motorbikes from the accident scene. The young Thai guy and myself went to the local hospital and got patched up. The next morning we all met at the police station. We made our statements and they signed a paper accepting liability. We then proceeded to get additional medical attention - X-rays and repair the broken tooth and we took our motorbike to get repaired. The bills came to 15,000 baht. I was laid up in pain for 2 weeks. When we presented the bill to these people we got the down trodden look of despair and the “I have no money”. So, back to the police station where we eventually offered them to pay today and pay only 9,000 baht. They declined and told us to take them to court. I feel empathy for these people but I also feel that this young man must accept responsibility as he was clearly in the wrong. If it was me that was wrong how much do you think they would want from me? I assume it all comes down to the fact that the poor Thai family may not have any money but does that mean they just walk away and are immune to any responsibility? Maybe trade for work???
Have a look at the CCTV footage and see for yourself.  

Crash.mp4

AbraCaDabra the cops are going to nab ya. Nice disappearing act - off the streets. MoooHaHa ........

Ya, sometimes. Thai people in the village will sometimes refer to me saying things like "Where farang?" "What farang do?" "Oh, Nit have farang." When they refer to me as "farang" I say, "My name is Kit. If you keep calling me "farang" I will start calling you "Asian". Where "Asian?" - What "Asian" do?"