richard_smith237

True Richard. But could these youngsters say they have ever heard music from the 'greats' of out time. The Partridge Family, PG Proby or more recently, the best of British; Russ Abbot. Erm... You mean the Global Mega Stars such as Russ Abbot, Partridge Family ??? Nope... its unlikely youngsters have heard of 'Dads Army' either...

Very true... Friend saw Elton John... (we were not in Thailand at the time) that was a real shame, I'd have loved to have seen him. Any chance a major star comes through..... its worth a visit - the atmosphere is always amazing. We recently saw Bruno Mars - not my favourite concert, but Wife, Son and I had a great time...

True... But many global superstars are still coming to Bangkok. Recently, Cold Play, Ed Sheeran, Tom Jones, Bruno Mars... Coming soon Dua Lipa, Imagine Dragons, ... even oldies such as Micheal Learns to Rock So Bangkok attracts a lot of 'global stars' and 'mega artists'.... BUT - some of the older forum members may not have heard of these artists or like them.... because, well, they are old and out of touch. I don't think there is economic viability in some of the other well known artists in Touring Asia, and making a 'stop off' in Bangkok as there simply isn't the fan base... Mega death, Metallica, Europe, NIN etc - there are a lot of artists who are well know, but just wouldn't fill venues over here... and a tour isn't quite worth it.

In YOUR irrelevant small part of the world you are clearly clueless... Lisa from black pink is clearly a global superstar.... She's Thai Born, and clearly a relevant subject for a Thailand based forum, especially considering she will perform on NYE. ... And.... the metric for someone being a global superstar is not whether or not a handful of absolutely clueless boomers are aware of her existence or not... all you old farts are highlighting by stating your ignorance is that you are 'old farts' who've failed to keep up to date... Lisa's song, 'Rockstar' reached Billboard No.1 (Excl. USA) and Billboard No.4 (within USA). On the day of its Debut, her songs reached 32 Million Views within 24 hours... She also recently 'Headlined' Victorias Secret Fashion show, Cher also performed (if you are not a complete hermit you may know of Cher, perhaps back when she was part of Sonny & Cher.... Their most famous song "I've got you babe"..... although you may prefer the lyric "I've got no clue babe" !!!

Sadly, I agree with you.... This will either be pinned on a scapegoat while those truly accountable (inspectors and business owners will be overlooked)... While I hate to generalise, in this situation I must - Thai Authorities are not interested in accountability, they are only interested in 'making a situation disappear as quickly as possible'

Thanks for the info.... Based on your account of events - I do hope this guy gets what he fully deserves.

I suspect expectations vary. As a parent paying a lot of money for school fee's I have certain expectations and the primary expectation I have is for the safety of my child - I don't think this expectation should be any different for 'free' (state schools)..... ... I fully expect the mini-vans and busses used by my Son's school to undergo regular inspections (along with the drivers)... I expect the school - those in positions of decision making authority to be responsible for the safety standards of any vehicle in which my son travels on school related business (i.e. school trips / sports tournaments etc). Example: a) Teacher gets in the mini-van with the kids - the seatbelts are not working, teacher ignores the issue... IMO - the teacher fully responsible and accountable, as is the school, bus company and driver. b) Mini-can home (after school) - Seatbelts not working, bus driver and bus-monitor ignore the issue... IMO - the bus company, driver and bus-monitor are filly responsible and accountable. ---------------- I once interviewed with a school in Thailand (known name)... I asked who is responsible for transport safety on school transport - The response was unprofessional, they response was a very simple... "we outsource"... Question not answered, I asked who carries out safety checks and ensures the busses are safe to use, have seatbelts etc... the answer... again... "we outsource - the bus company is responsible for all that".... I got up and left... no need for any further discussion. Some schools yes - where the bus monitor is lazy (or there isn't one and ignored). I know that when my son goes on a school trip, the busses he goes on have to use 3 point seatbelts which they have to use, and this is checked by the attending teachers - also the school does not allow transport in vehicles that have been altered to CNG / LPG etc. As far as Daily Home-School-home transport is concerned - the bus monitor is accountable, and I see kids in those vans buckled up. In short - I don't believe the school should be able to shrug off their responsibility - there are of course aspects that they can't possibly know... but for the most part the school should run a basic QCQC of the vehicle, check the tyres, seat belt function etc...

Thats kind of my thoughts... the penalties for such behavior over here are pathetic. There is usually the initial outrage, shock, threads, police taking this so seriously, mentions of the most extreme case scenario (i.e. Max fine / max jail term)... then once legal proceedings take place the police lose interest as there is nothing in it for them any longer... Judges are especially lenient if the accused shows remorse, apologises etc... The worst i can see out of this is a suspended 2 month sentence for reckless driving. Obviously, I hope for more, not just for Brit's sake, but for everyone else in the area and everyone in general - the messages needs to be very clear that such behavior is 'not tolerated'... But hard evidence is lacking... The accused just needs to say it was an accident..... That said: Brit mentioned that the accused did 'state' that the collision was intentional - though I don't know if that carried through into any legal documentation such as an actual police report.

Agreed... But this is also one of the reasons I won't ride at night (as much as practically possible)... because visibility is usually so poor, seeing these pot holes is extremely difficult. IMO - the authorities (whichever district this is in) are accountable for this death as they have not made attempts to fix a 'deadly pothole' in the road.... ( local roads authority or whatever that is). Exactly as Gandtee wrote below - how often was this pothole ignored by someone in position of relative authority... where they could otherwise report and arrange for a quick repair before someone gets hurt... or, as we see here, killed. Note: this is not a Thailand bash - the issue is just as bad in the UK with cars getting ruined (damaged and snapped alloys, blown out tyres etc) and the local authorities take months and months, even years to repair these potholes.

- Someone in a position of authority at the school was responsible for hiring the bus company - was any due diligence carried out checking service records etc ? or did they just go for the cheapest option, no questions asked. - Either a valid inspection was carried out (every 6 months) and the modifications were made after the latest inspection - in which case the owner is responsible. - Or, a valid inspection was carried out, but that inspection was 'faked' or 'poorly carried out' and missed the retrofitted tanks (or was paid to ignore them) - in which case, inspectors and owner is responsible.

What 'sort of jail time' would you expect ? Or, rather, what has your lawyer informed you that could be expected (min / max / likely) And what charges is the Professor facing ? ... It is reckless endangerment with a vehicle causing injury etc ? ... or is it something closer to accidental injury ?

So you are going to the gym, several times a day, assumedly sweating, then putting deodorant on over the top ???... In the UK we call that a 'French Shower'..... Or, are you showering after each gym session ? If you are using deodorant to mask the musky smell of your sweat - you may find people the same !!! If you try to start conversations with people who dont want to converse with you, you may find the same !!!... As the saying goes... "read the room".... i.e. don't be oblivious to the social temperature of your surroundings...

I think thats a valid point... [interacting with other foreigners / Westerners just because they are also foreign / Western]... ... If there is a natural conversation point, why not, of course... but otherwise... speaking with people we dont know, nope... that just odd.... but if eye contact is made there is nothing wrong with a nod, but that is for anyone regardless of nationality etc.... I often catch eye contact with other Thai guys, I give a nod and they nod back... nothing more to it. A few weeks ago I was at EmSphere looking at the cars... Another Westerner there (Eastern European I think), started talking to me, we were both interested in the car and talked for about 10mins, about the car.... pleasant enough chappy, pleasant enough converstation - just a human interaction, not forced or ignored... I never got the other fella's name - there was no need for that... nevertheless, there was no need to ignore him because I didn't know him, neither was there any need to over-indulge in the converstation... we had our little chat about the car and were both on our way....

Georgia - given your recently threads its as if you are developing (or already have) a strong anti-farang bias.... (there are a couple of others on this forum who can't help themselves denigrate other westerners at any opportunity). Thai said: on the stinky thing... Yep - 'People' can often stink... Family and I were in a lift the other day a Westerner and his Wife were in there, one of them (I assume the other foreigner) was stinking of body odour... no excuses there, he could surely afford laundered clothes and to take a shower, & use deodorant. Then just yesterday we had some work men over.... by the end of the day one of them was reeking of body odour, foul enough to smell it outside, meanwhile the other two seemed 'ok'. I think some people just stink more than others - but showering at least twice per day and always wearing freshly laundered clothes is an absolute must IMO - if I've so much as 'drawn a sweat' I always change my clothes when given a chance. ------------ On another note... a few weeks ago in hospital I was getting some 'pre-treatment checks'... (getting some blood taken)... One nurse (slightly older) says to the other (in Thai)... "he smells so nice"... ... the other nurse (younger).. comes and sits next to me... then responds... (in Thai again)... "Yes, he does smell so nice, really, really".... I smile and say thank-you in Thai... they then erupt in giggles, ask me if I can understand Thai, to which I reply in Thai, "Yes, I understand and speak a little"... we then have a conversation in Thai as they both get closer "smelling me" !!!... the older nurse then asks, "do you have a Thai Wife ?".... I answer yes... she then giggled... "don't tell her about this !!!"... A similar event happened again (after staying over night - minor surgery), I was able to shower... When a different nurse came in to see to give me my medication... (my was was present)... the nurse asked my wife... "he smells so nice, what is he wearing"... Wife and I laughing because this seemed to be an on going thing over a few days.... ...Meanwhile... I remember threads on here with Westerners stating how they get offended by women's strong perfume burning the nostrils, how Thai's hate strong smells of perfume and aftershave etc... ... ... Clearly Thai's like a 'pleasantly smelling' (not overpowering) odour of another person.. ... Clearly some 'miserly stinkers' are offending people with their 'I just use a bit of aluminium stick'.... they probably don't know they still have 'body odour'... ... Then there are the blatant stinkers !!!.... Personally, I think the biggest cause of stinkers is poorly laundered clothes... where antibacterial washing powder is not used and the 'stinky bacteria' are never quite fully washed away. I've had this in other countries... whereby I get my clothes laundered, then come back dry and smelling ok, but as soon as I start to sweat or 'get moist' the smell from the clothes is not pleasant and I'm forced to change.... (some hotels / laundries - use detergent that just does not do the job of ensuring bacteria is removed from clothes)...

The tyre blew out and the van spun off the road.... ... Why did the van spin off the road ??... could it be the drivers reaction that caused the spin ? - I had a blow out... no one else to blame but myself (pressures must have had a slow puncture I didn't notice - should have checked tyre pressures when I filled up for fuel in the middle of a long drive). - My Wife had a blow out, we did not notice that the inside of the tyre was so poorly worn (tracking was off, car was 3 months out of a service)... My fault for not inspecting the tyres as regularly as I should. In both situations, we didn't crash, because we didn't slam on the brakes - braking hard after the tyre blows out is an almost certain way to cause your car to lose control.

You are correct of course - to proportion driver fault in this individual incident we need to ignore all the other observations we see on a daily basis... such as... ... Speeding Mini-Van ... Mini-Van being driven erratically ... Many vehicles with poor tyres (low / missing tread) As you point out, its easy to jump the obvious conclusions that this van was being driven very poorly by a lunatic driver but there is no proof of that. ... Thus - we can only make assumptions and discuss.... we could be wrong in assuming this van was being driven very poorly - my guess is the driver was driving like a complete ayhole and the reason I guess that is that this accident fits the pattern of so many others... Just yesterday I saw a number of dangerous things on the roads. - Pickup cars - speeding swerving - Vans being driven erratically and tailgating - Big Trucks with no tread on the tires (observed on slow moving traffic) So... why we can be certain - we can throw out a good guess and those who are suggesting driver fault are more likely to be correct than not, IMO.

No... The golden rule if you have a blow out is not to hit the brakes... Additionally - IF the road is 'that busy' the speed should not be so significant that it spins the van off the road. ... Thus: whichever pedantic approach you need to take to find an argument, its flawed.

Best of luck with a fair & just conclusion next month. While you & I don’t commonly see eye to eye on a number of subjects, no one should be using their car as weapon in a violent reaction to anything. This guy deserves jail IMO - as you already pointed out before, the professors (driver of the other car) admitted he hit you deliberately. INO that’s assault with a deadly weapon… & Props to you for following up so the rest of us can see how these issues are dealt with (especially when a westerner is involved / the victim)

Good… But, the leading cause of death in u see 15 years olds in Thailand is drowning… Teach water safety too !!! & electrical safety while they are at it.

Agreed - but that doesn’t mean the Frenchman’s reckless riding should be ignored…. I see people riding / driving with reckless abandonment of common sense & basic safety all the time…. The Police if course and ignore so much. If we see this reckless driving behaviour on a daily basis, so do the police…

No, it’s not the bikes faults. Car driver has to check his blind spot - he didn’t…. It’s the drivers fault. The motorcyclist could have / should have been riding more defensively & that makes him complicit in the incident “, but fault lies with the car driver for changing lanes suddenly without checking the blind spot = careless / reckless driving.

Exactly…. Teachers & adults are not even permitted to use the same toilets as the school children…. So what is this article ??? - attention seeking to create a woke-drama out of nothing.

Exactly this... One such area is travelling east from Chitlom area, near Sukhumvit Soi 1... There is a 20meter interval of road over which cars cannot travel (only busses can)... But, once you are on that road, its impossible to avoid the '20m interval of road' unless you want to turn left onto the expressway heading north. ... Its one of those 'you have to know' areas... And the police know very well, that not everyone knows... they make a killing in tea money at that junction !!!

1) Speeding tourist van spins off the road 2) Tour bus rolls down a ravine 3) Truck with brake failure takes out a motorcycle 4) Sports car takes out a motorcyclist 5) Tour Boat / speed boat over turns in rough weather 6) Boat loses engine and capsizes in river 7) Heavy truck (cement truck / container truck) tips over squashing car & occupants 8) Crane collapses 9) Something heavy (concrete) falls from a construction site (i.e. overpass on Rama II road) 10) Wealthy Person in expensive car, drunk and kills someone 11) Car falls out of multi-story car park 12) Pit-bull attacks (mauls / kills) child / owner / delivery guy 13) One neighbour shoots another over childish dispute. These are all situations that occur in Thailand with a degree of repeatability they almost become predictable.

Agreed... I had a rear left blowout at about 100kmh.... no issues, just brought the car to a gentle stop, then changed the wheel. I suspect I'd caught a slow puncture and didn't notice, 3+ hours into a long journey when the blowout happened, sidewall gave out and the tyre was hot - which led me to suspect that I'd been driving an under-inflated tyre for some time and didn't notice. The worst part was having to change the tyre on the side of the road in the middle of the Thai heat... exhausting...