richard_smith237

Erm..... they've arrested him... its literally the headline of this thread.

100% this... Poor parenting in any era impacted kids.

Or... maybe they (we) disagree because kids don't spend 'all their free time with their heads over a screen'... thats just the typical 'boomer complaint'... Sure.. kids spend a lot of time using a screen... Computer, iPad... there is also VR now... Amazing resources which if used well provide outstanding educational benefits with fantastic Apps.. Parent guidance can be an issue - some parents allow their kids to 'watch trash' all day long - or thats the common complaint... And you may see some kids when going into a 'mom-n-pop' shop buried in the phone, but thats not a fair example of all kids. You may even go to a restaurant and see kids on a phone - I don't think thats abnormal. We go out for dinner a lot, we eat, we talk, we have fun... But at some point, adults will want to talk with the adults and the kids will want to play - they can get together at the end of the table and play some games on the iPad - they shouldn't be forced to sit there and just talk with each other.

Indeed... Education is better, grades are better (in most cases)... Kids have more access to resources... Sure, there are a visibly minority, the outliers who are poorly behaved and more noticable, but isn't that true of any generation ? Every generation also has its 'miserable boomers' who berate later generations and claim they are devolving - if any of that were true we actually would be 'devolving' rather than developing at the astronomically fast rates we are.... There is a saying... 'just because the 100m record gets broken, 100m doesn't get any shorter"... .. and the same is said of education, because more kids do better, it doesn't mean exams are getting easier - it means teachers are getting better at teaching, kids are getting better at learning. If you want an example of that - Try the 11+ Examination... Given the evidence from this forum, its clear that many would seriously struggle... ... just take a look at the non-verbal reasoning questions - and remember, these are for a 10 year old.

In summary, I first visited Thailand in 1962, business and private visits during the 1970s, lived and worked here during the 1980s, married to Thai lady in 1990, retired to Thailand, in 1993 where I have lived with my wife ever since. Thank you so much for your informative message, and have a nice day. Great - but none of that suggests having a critical eye on some of the aspects of Thailand a bad thing. For those of us with close ties and family in Thailand we can see where there is room for improvement, we want the best. Sure, there are some outright Thai bashers, then there are the apologists who through out the accusation of being a Thai basher when an observation is made that isn't wholly complimentary - and between those extremes are the many realists who are capable of making observations and passing comment. Thailand could be a lot safer - this has never been highlighted to me so strongly as when I had a child here and every danger 'jumped out'... When walking down a pavement with my son, I'm on high alert, far more so than when in a place such as Japan or Singapore - that doesn't mean awareness ever disappears - but in Thailand it seems a catastrophic event can be 'moment of inattention' away. All of that said: I don't think 'danger' was the issue here - the 'ditch' was railed off with a barrier and extra effort had to be taken to climb the railings - this was not really a dangerous hazard, so I don't think authorities can be accused of poor safety or carelessness where this specific incident occurred.

Rumour has it that the Bar Girl population of Pattaya has doubled over the past months as soon as news of MalcolmB's presence got out... They couldn't resist - nothing to do with desperation and having zero other options... they all wanted their fair share of lecherous Malc's fumbling mitts !! Back the question: No, lopping of an arm is excessive.. but, neither do I agree with deportation, those charged with such crimes need to face a real punishment if convicted and not just sent home.

Its not... But this guy was not riding... he was a passenger. So... Will your insurance cover you as a passenger ? - are you sure ? What if they found out the moto-taxi rider had been drinking ? - would it still cover you then ?... (I think so, but are you sure). Also, the British lad who lost a leg was insured, but, the insurance is 'capped' and the costs appear to be higher than his level of cover. What is the maximum level of your cover ? - any cap ? Do you know every policy detail of your insurance ? Is riding a bicycle in Bangkok considered a 'dangersous activity' ... going pillion on a motorycle covered ? what about without a helmet ? What about going in the back of a taxi that has no seatbelts ?? - do you know the details of your policy to cover these scenarios ??? .... You don't *have* to be an idiot - you just have to be familiar with 50 pages of detailed policy. (and before LL pipes up - yes, it could be less than 50 pages).

AI

Erm... odd comment... my comments were not insensitive or judgmental, they were made in pure wonderment of how such an accident could have happend... Are you going to ask the whole forum to stop this discussion ?... There are of course 'boundaries' that should not be crossed when passing comment, questions or making discussion... and I don't think my comments crossed any line in the sand... As mentioned earlier - if you don't like discussion, don't go to a forum designed for 'discussion'... Read a news site instead.

Possibly - and this is one of the valid points. If those using these vehicles are using them and 'riding' while drunk, any incident they are in is their own fault. I dont see a solid reason why these vehicles should not be made road legal - then the riders have to follow the road laws. That said: There is a strong contingent of ayholes who have admitted to drink driving anyway, so condemning guys who ride a mobility scooter is rather hypocritical of some if they themselves drink drive.

Wrong - there is a lot of hate - read the underlying attitude of some of the comments... Mobility Scooter are permitted on the roads in the UK where there is no suitable pavement. Covered above. Walking on the road when there is no footpath is also a danger, as is cycling... Going back to the beginning - the 'hate' part comes into it when people condemning those who use these scooters to get about and hiding behind the law, when in Thailand, how seriously is the law ever taken when it comes to road use. These same folk condemning older immobile folk who use these vehicles seem to overlook all the other unlicensed vehicles on the road... why ?... I'm not sure, but they seem to carry some underlying hate, or at the very least a very strong dislike of those who chose not to let their disability or immobility get the better of them... ... Its targeting the weak and its unhinged... its nasty.

Except that isn't "losing control" That is "being a blind old coot who wasn't looking where he was going". Its loosing control - unless he remained fully in control after impacting the crate and deliberately jumping off. Poorer eyesight may have also been a factor... Poor lighting seems to be a contributing factor. A 'crate abandoned in the rate' was a factor !!!

Indeed... OK.. so they are both guilty of fighting. But only one of the took out and used a deadly weapon - that the Moto-Taxi rider faced the same charge as the Burmese man is an atrocious example of Thailands justice system. It's high time Moto-Taxi riders, Taxi drives, TukTuk drivers are regularly stopped as a matter of routine and checked for weapons, licences, insurance, existing arrest warrants etc..

It seems one way is to ride into a crate carelessly abandoned in a poorly lit road....

True - we only read one side of the story... but this 'seems' to be backed up by the photo... But, its interesting how both you and I see this so differently from the same photo. I doubt anything like this will go to court of course. The Police may get involved if they feel like helping, or smell a little money.

OK.. I get your point.. but don't see it that way at all.. There is a dent in the front right of the car... (highlighted by the yellow star in the photo I posted). Additionally, the bike could not have ended up 'this side of the car' it would most likely have been shunted to the other side of the road if the incident occured as you described (thats my take away from the photo anyway). I think this is a case of Occam's Razor - the simplest explanation is most likely the right explanation - the car just pulled out in front of a motorcyclist.

Yup - the behavior itself is so inexplicable... To know these are the last minutes of someones life is quite chilling - but equally so, at least it answers any questions the family may have regarding foul play etc.

Wrong side ??? how ?... the motorscooter (motorcycle) is on the left hand side of the road, it hit impacted front drivers side (right side) of the car which had pulled out. Unless we are each looking at a different photo and one of them is reversed (which is why I posted the pic above). Can you explain how the 'motorscooter appears to have been illegally salmon riding on the wrong side'... pls... I'm more intrigued at this interpretation than anything else (and am now wondering if I have missed something glaringly obvious). Edit: Do you mean the motorcyclist was passing slower cars which had stopped to allow the black car (with Russian Driving) to turn right onto the main road, and the scooter flew down the outside of the cars not predicting that something might be pulling out ??? - Not unheard of, of course... and if so the Motorcyclist is complicity - but there is no mention that the motorcyclist was riding recklessly (though quite possible).

Very sensible on the part of the Russian driver. Don't submit to extortion. Let the insurance companies/courts deal with it. Especially when, as I presume from the positions of the vehicles in the photo, the Thai motorcycle was cruising up the wrong side of the road. Which side of the road do you drive on in Thailand ???

Wow - So much predictable hate against someone with mobility issues... (and from the obvious posters). Such vehicles are a life saver for those who can't otherwise get about... they're safer for these guys who can't ride a bike and perhaps can't drive a car - they're an idea solution. But these pages are so full of hate amongst older folk who still want independence. The real issues - the road should not have a crate in the middle of it. On Thailands roads there are so many adapted contraptions that are not registered or licensed - so many un-insured untaxed motorcycles driven by unlicensed riders... the guys riding mobility scooters are a drop in the ocean - but for some reason they still attract of hate from grade A1 halfwits who breath hate. It would be easy for the authorities to allow these vehicles as 'disability vehicles' - I think they are already legal to use the roads where a pavement is non-existent or unenviable - but they have to be below a certain power (Wattage), I think some of these vehicles are over that threshold.

Yeah, just sleep in the airport. Save all kinds of time and money. You'll sleep much better on the next leg. I didn't spell it out clearly enough... Layover at a convenient hotel near the Airport. Most airports also have an air-side hotel, but they can be expensive. In Dubai (for example) We stay at the Crown Plaza which is next to Festival City Mall.. - Morning flight from BKK - Plane lands just after midday in Dubai - No need to collect baggage - straight through immigration and out of the airport in 15mins. - Arrive at hotel 10mins later - Chill / Pool / Evening meal in the Mall / Sleep - Wakeup - shower etc - Uber to Airport - Already have boarding pass so go straight through security to gate (grab a coffee and a bite on the way) - Take the flight fully refreshed. (no need to sleep in the Airport - the Crown Plaza has cost anywhere from 3000 to 4500 baht for the night) It doesn't time out so well on the way back - so we usually stop over for 2 nights after landing at about midnight.

After all those flights, you still haven't learned to wear a sleeping mask. Hopeless. I hate these things, wife wears them, I can't stand them and find them more of an irritant. I also agree.. on my last flight (flying east - so night time departure, but flew into daylight) some fool had their window shade open lighting up the whole cabin... the irritating part of that is that the flight attendants seemed oblivious, meanwhile on some flights the FA's are very vigilant to such ignorant behavior.

Set your new phone from your old phone using 'Smart Switch'... (app must be installed on both phones)

I looked at that Richard, it is no problem getting songs, it is transferring them from one smartphone to another. If referring to Spotify - there is nothing to transfer. Your playlists are linked to your log-in, not the device.

No... there are two options: 1) Standard Spotify (free) you need to be connected to the internet (and I think there are some adds every 30mins - not quite sure about that one). 2) Premium Spotify (monthly fee - 139 baht) and you can download all your songs (particularly useful when travelling)