Alwyn

It seems the main qualifications for being a van driver in Thailand is that you must be 1. A psycho. 2. A habitual drug user. 3, A habitual drunk driver. 4. all or any combo of the first three options. If you're none of the above your over qualified, if you have all of them and can prove you're corrupt, then a great future in the police awaits.

There is more than one way to look at this. Is it good for the EU and/or is it good for the UK?

Who would benefit most by a UK exit?

Nope, if you're British there's only one way to look at it. Is it better for the UK to stay or exit. Who in the UK, cares if it's good for the EU or not.? Nobody, except of course, the euro MPs from the UK who will be out of a job.

The un-named news agency... The Guardian? http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/dec/14/shrimp-sold-by-global-supermarkets-is-peeled-by-slave-labourers-in-thailand

I've been "close" to an incident like this. It would help to know what time this happened. If it was night time, i'd put money on the Thai vessel having no navigation aids, and the captain was probably enjoying a few jars.

The super yacht would have had a manned bridge, and radar i guess. Paying for compensation would be normal practise, and a nice gesture from the captain, as this would be the Thai subsistence method.

Daytime, apparently there is no doubt the yacht was at fault.

As I understand it, small makes way for big and motor makes way for sail?

The usual fair may well be 300 but did they agree or discuss the fair?

Exactly

Dumb <deleted> tourist beered up things he is superman (proven otherwise) and knows all there is too know about the world.

well he learnt a lesson didn't he! ever do any research - this is not a place to <deleted> with the local sunshine, over 10quid. idiot.

yes this is annouying, yes the tuk tuk was taking the piss. happens all over the world and you pay the price and remember next time to agree a fee.

Yeah but he's obviously not as Wordly wise and experienced as you are... Why is he a dumb*** and a superman? He's a lad on holiday, that doesn't make him a dumb*** or a supermen, it makes him a lad on holiday. The only thing dumb*** here is your ridiculous generalizing comment. It doesn't happen all over the World, Get a cab in Spain, you pay the meter price, same in Brazil, same in Poland, same in UK, same in Germany, same in France, USA, Italy, Malta, Israel and many other countries. Your comment has to be the stupidest comment of the day

BBC report he's been found

Was he ever physically lost?

The report was shy on details, just that the police found him walking on a beach in souther Thailand

The inference was physical or mentally lost

Latest update from Jonathon Head, BBC, says he was found walking on a beach on Phi Phi totally oblivious to all the media attention. When told by police that maybe he should call his parents, his response was "why"? He reckons he wanted to stay on for a few more days... make of that what you wlll

BBC report he's been found

Was he ever physically lost?

The report was shy on details, just that the police found him walking on a beach in souther Thailand

BBC report he's been found

It's just meaningless words anyway. This Alliance is nothing but hot air. They announce they want to fight terrorism yet fail to mention how. Saudi want to fight the very terrorists it funds? Nah... Iran who have been one of the biggest funders and trainers of terror organizations calling out Turkey? why not? After all, there's some pretty damning evidence that Daesh sell their stolen oil to Turkey. It's all nonsense

Yeah great idea, start with all the Generals and police officers.. and of course the PM himself then ask how they manage to have all these houses, cars and millions in the bank on that income

<"If people do not follow the law, the law will be less sacred. Please do not break the law. How can we live in a lawless land?" he said.> Says the man who broke the law by staging an illegal coup.... and then changed all the laws so he can not be arrested, Says the man who arrests people not for breaking the law, but because he is angry at what somebody says..... wow, the irony is over-powering

Because this isn't USA or Europe. Your or mine safety culture doesn't exist here.

I don't defend this reckless culture, but I won't impose mine on them either, apart from when I'm the designated driver.

First time when me and my wife went back to her village, we drove all the way up in our car.

Naturally after a day or two after arriving, we had to drive the family around for them to meet long distant friends or go for some sightseeing.

I had one rule when driving them around and that was to use the seatbelts.

The youngest of the kids 1 1/2 years old didn't want to use her seatbelt and so she cringed out of it, noticing that, I stopped and told the others I won't drive one more meter if they didn't strap her in again. I did so with a very friendly tone of voice.

My wife's mother, her brother and his wife looked at me as I was a crazy person, but they understood my reasons although none of them have ever been in a car crash.

The brother later asked her why I was so strict with that, as he pointed out, they can use their hands to prevent their head or body being hit, if they crash, they are protected in the car, not like on a motorbike.

Too much ignorance, magic and superstition makes people believe too much, as in the chinese movies, people leap from tree to tree, floating in the air, spinning around, fighting.

Firstly, the makeshift barricade had only been removed that night - nobody knows who or why. Secondly, it's a small dark and unlit soi and the gaping wound was on the exit of a fairly tight bend so there was no warning time. Thirdly, there is no law in Thailand that says rear passengers have to wear seat-belts so I have no idea what you mean by 'safe seating' because as you can see, it's a four door truck with rear seats. Fourthly, Molly was 7 years old, not a baby or a tot needing a baby/child seat.

FYI, the wearing of seat belts for under 14 year olds only became compulsory in the UK in 1989. The driver was strapped in as per the law. The child was sitting on a back seat (safe back seat). She could not have been driving fast as the road doesn't permit that. A road that had been blocked off due the hole had the safety barricade removed opening the road for usual use, which it clearly was not ready for any use. There was an accidents shortly before with the ambulance leaving only 5 minutes or so before this accident (she landed ON the motorbike) yet nobody (including emergency services, police nor locals) bothered to re-erect any barriers. The council say they knew about the hole but did not rep because of financial restraints.

So here we have a legal car with people sat legally inside and a hazard without proper warning etc etc. Tell me again who is negligent?

I do agree with both of you !

The authorities have been negligent, yes, but that doesn't make them fully responsible.

I'm not blaming the driver either - every driver takes (un)calculated risks when driving - risks with speed, risks with unrestrained passengers or cargo, etc.

I too have been transporting passengers, not just in the back of the cabin, but also in the cargo area of a pickup under exceptional circumstances.

Did the driver commit faults - yes, have the authorities been negligent - yes.

I don't think the driver is to squarely blame, because driving too fast in relation to road visibility happens unconsciously and not restraining children is commonplace here YET I also don't think whoever was responsible for the barriers deserves full responsibility for the accident.

There's one thing I require when driving anywhere in the world and that is a road. They build a road and I drive on it, if there's no road or warning of any sort, I would pursue the f***er who didn't warn me about missing part of the road or who failed to fix it before I came. I can promise one thing, if it happened to me and I survived I would nail that sob to a wall and use him for target practice when playing dart.

I'd like to do it to whoever took the barriers away, as a start.... Gordy is a good friend and every time I see people making derogatory comments about this tragedy, I get a bit more wound up..

People here blaming the parents make me want to puke. Just 20 minutes before this crash a motorbike went down the same hole and the ambulance had only been gone from the scene five minutes earlier. The reason the bike went down is because the green plastic fencing/barrier type stuff had been removed so he thought the road was now open (as did Molly's mother) The police or locals didn't even bother to put a warning up! She hadn't been drinking but the kid was not strapped in as she was in the back of the truck Just please stop with the finger pointing and respect Gordon's grief.

While the accident is very tragic, RIP little girl, you had no choice in what happened - but on the other hand I am honestly put off by the headline "seeking justice".

Negligence on the authorities's side doesn't automatically mean the drivers (of both the car and motorcycle) were not responsible. Pointing out responsibilities is not finger pointing people for faults.

Accidents can happen without someone being clearly negligent or clearly at fault, but there always is someone responsible for his actions.

And regarding responsibility, the commonly accepted rules of the road are very clear:

1- the driver of a vehicle is always responsible for driving at a speed allowing for spotting obstructions on the road and for stopping the vehicle in time

2- it is not allowed to transport passengers in the back of a truck without safe seating. IMO exposing a passenger to such danger voids any possible damage claims to third parties

3- children's legal guardians or people in charge of temporary custody (such as vehicle drivers in absence of guardians) have to make sure children are properly protected in their child seat. Other grown up passengers have the responsibility of wearing a seat belt

As I see it, yes, there has been negligence, the people responsible for removing the barriers as well as the officials responsible for securing the first accident's site should be sanctioned for failing to properly do their duty.

A public apology would be in order.

Beyond that, I don't really see how "justice" would look like.

Who can seriously transport a small child in the back of the truck without any protection and then sue for damages?

Firstly, the makeshift barricade had only been removed that night - nobody knows who or why. Secondly, it's a small dark and unlit soi and the gaping wound was on the exit of a fairly tight bend so there was no warning time. Thirdly, there is no law in Thailand that says rear passengers have to wear seat-belts so I have no idea what you mean by 'safe seating' because as you can see, it's a four door truck with rear seats. Fourthly, Molly was 7 years old, not a baby or a tot needing a baby/child seat.

FYI, the wearing of seat belts for under 14 year olds only became compulsory in the UK in 1989. The driver was strapped in as per the law. The child was sitting on a back seat (safe back seat). She could not have been driving fast as the road doesn't permit that. A road that had been blocked off due the hole had the safety barricade removed opening the road for usual use, which it clearly was not ready for any use. There was an accidents shortly before with the ambulance leaving only 5 minutes or so before this accident (she landed ON the motorbike) yet nobody (including emergency services, police nor locals) bothered to re-erect any barriers. The council say they knew about the hole but did not rep because of financial restraints.

So here we have a legal car with people sat legally inside and a hazard without proper warning etc etc. Tell me again who is negligent?

People here blaming the parents make me want to puke. Just 20 minutes before this crash a motorbike went down the same hole and the ambulance had only been gone from the scene five minutes earlier. The reason the bike went down is because the green plastic fencing/barrier type stuff had been removed so he thought the road was now open (as did Molly's mother) The police or locals didn't even bother to put a warning up! She hadn't been drinking but the kid was not strapped in as she was in the back of the truck Just please stop with the finger pointing and respect Gordon's grief.

"Prayut said he had ordered the arrest of the man, as he was angry over the post." And there you have it. You don't need to break a law to get arrested, just do something oh-fearless-one doesn't like. Now, what's the name of that type of leader again?

I haven't been here for a couple of weeks. Good to see the sanctimonious dimwits are still out in force. Accusations of not wearing a helmet, drinking etc with no evidence either way. A bloke is dead and all these numpties can do is make dirt on it? Get a life. RIP.

Awesomely quick work!

Question. Since his boss only knew about the leaked secret document sent by Russia maybe 2 days ago, how could you clear a country of all possible IS operators in a day?

Laughing this off may not go well for the government.

Question. Does anyone believe any government spokesman anymore (if one ever did)?

They're famous for being so quick! Look how quickly they caught brought to trial the 2 Burmese lads and with no ecidence!!! They gave themselves rewards even more quickly too....

two weeks ago it was International Boycott Nestle week.... http://www.babymilkaction.org/nestlefree

"Sharm will always be safe"? My daughter was on holiday a few years back and bombs were going off in the town of Sharm itself, how has that always been safe? Seriously though, people might think it's a great place (although not nearly as nice when the Sinai was part of Israel before camp David) but anybody who knowingly takes their family into a dangerous area for the sake of a sun tan has got something wrong with them. Why would you do it? To make a point? So the terrorists dont' "win"? Give me a break...

"Members of the Constitution Drafting Commission are convinced that their proposed new electoral system would help strengthen the political parties" ?? The only parties that need strengthening are the ones that lose, right? The ones that win will be perfectly happy with the way it is (right or wrong). Just another load of smoke and mirrors that will cause disagreement and hence give the junta the excuse it needs to keep their illegal grip on the country

Illegal grip on the country ??? HM the King legally appointed Prayut as the PM....where are your facts to illustrate Illegality ??

Fantastic comeback! Bringing his majesty into your purile argument as you know fine well nobody will make a comment (unlike you) about the King. So in your little World, coups are legal then?

the World's most nasal voices going "oyyyy-ee" "oyyyy" " khaaaaaaa" "oyyyyyyyy-ee"... I'd rather stick needles in me eyes than listen to their inane &lt;deleted&gt;!

"Members of the Constitution Drafting Commission are convinced that their proposed new electoral system would help strengthen the political parties" ?? The only parties that need strengthening are the ones that lose, right? The ones that win will be perfectly happy with the way it is (right or wrong). Just another load of smoke and mirrors that will cause disagreement and hence give the junta the excuse it needs to keep their illegal grip on the country

I don't get why people are concerned about this? Why people are comparing to previous governments? This order is for armour plated cars, not luxury cars. To plate up a car will more than double it's weight so the idea of plating up a Honda Jazz or Civic is ridiculous. I read comments such as "these are clearly not needed" by people who seem to think sitting in their village shop getting pissed on rank beer makes them a security expert! What a load of b*ll*x. Any country has a duty of care to visiting dignitaries, could you imagine the TV outcry if an visiting president got shot whilst travelling around in Bangkok in a Toyota or something? These are not just toys, they are part of a security package.

And they have already got a couple of dozen of the bloody things, bought some 5 years ago, why do they need more?

You answered your own question Jag. Bought 5 years ago. You can't be trolleying Presidents around in 5 year old cars!

Peacefull redshirts, hmm, Jatu, Natta, Weng, Tida &Co., UDD was not involved in violence, never... Oh well, the denialists will spin out of this one too I guess.

You shouldn't judge others by your own standards. Nobody in the right mind would try and put a spin on this, they held their hands up and pleaded. They should be shot.

A-rai na kap? Could you please re-phrase: '...they held their hands up and pleaded. They should be shot.', I don't understand what you mean? Thank you

They pleaded guilty. They should be shot for this heinous crime that could have prematurely ended a lot of lives. Better?

Peacefull redshirts, hmm, Jatu, Natta, Weng, Tida &Co., UDD was not involved in violence, never... Oh well, the denialists will spin out of this one too I guess.

You shouldn't judge others by your own standards. Nobody in the right mind would try and put a spin on this, they held their hands up and pleaded. They should be shot.