richard_smith237

I didn’t say that Correct - you didn't say (write) that 'exact statement' if you wish to get technical. You wrote.. [The climate deniers love pointing out that electric cars depreciate. While ignoring that all cars depreciate. They are not very bright generally. ] - Which implies, a link between climate deniers and those who'd argue against EV's... Perhaps your writing is so poor you were unable to disassociate the two separate points in your comments, or the association was as deliberate as your accusation... ergo implying those who don't support EV's are not very bright, generally'..... Nevertheless, it was another one of your 'generally' not very bright' generalisations... I read the comment and the 'top line and author was scrolled off the page'... I thought, what fool wrote this'... there was no surprise when I scrolled up the page !!!

I would hesitate to label those opposed to electric vehicles (EVs) as climate deniers, as such a generalization reflects poorly on the one making it as do sweeping generalizations of any such manner. That said, my primary concern about EVs relates to their retained value once the battery warranty expires. I am open to hearing factual insights regarding any depreciation or stability in value at that point. While I have encountered articles suggesting that EVs do not experience a significant drop in value after the warranty ends, I would appreciate more substantial evidence before committing to an EV - Though as the competition grows EV’s are starting look like a far more viable option, especially Bangkok and my next car is likely to be an EV. That said - from another perspective China coal extraction & consumption has increase by 3x over the past decade (no link to that as I’m on my phone, but factual articles are out there highlighting this).

As per the comment below - bad luck is rarely part of it…

100% agree - no ‘public use’ vehicle should erupt into flames so quickly. Front left blew out - what was the condition of the other tyres ? (Possible to tell or were they melted)

Utterly heartbreaking- not much more to say here really. Years ago in the Uk a school minivan on a trip crashed in a bridge on a motorway. Following the horrific tragedy there was significant regulatory change & enforcement. I fear all we will see here is ‘an announcement’ - with no developments, checks or measures & certifications for public & school transport. How a fire starts & spreads this quickly implies LGV (potentially or similar) & highly flammable materials / upholstery etc.

Theoretically, the same regulations apply. personally believe such behaviors adds to the ‘community spirt’ of driving (in the Uk rural areas anyway) & makes drivers more considerate of each other - this is something cities across the globe are missing as the selfishness of human nature surfaces.

Perfect response…. Anyone looking to promote themselves to halfwitted troll of the day - this is now the ‘measuring stick’ !!!

Op is clearly looking to load the response by shoehorning in his bias…. IMO - it’s like fast food, does the job… but not as part of a daily diet. But how many people speaking badly of street food do things like getting on the back of a moto-taxi… … there is potential a lot of hypocrisy in the juxtaposition between the response & people’s daily behavior.

I think this facet of the 'cash vs cashless payments debate' revolves around bank charges. For many business (i.e. that take debit and credit cards in the UK) the banks take a charge each time a transaction is made.... there is growing 'push-back' amongst small business owners against cashless payments as this eats into their profits. That said, cashless payments such as PromptPay do not include additional bank charges for the vendor, so this push-back is not necessary. On the otherside of this argument is the use of credit cards to gain points and air-miles etc. We use our credit card in Thailand as much as possible and some of our yearly flights out of this (and lounge use etc)... But, someone will point out, this is not free - somewhere in the chain the banks are making money out of the card use and its ultimately costing the end user (in aggregate - i.e. everyone else is subsidising my flights etc - because the cost of doing business is more expensive for everyone when banks charge 3% for card use, unless that 3% is added on top of the sale price of whatever it is we buy at the the time)... (I wanted to use our card to buy a car, but they were going to charge 3% - bummer - that would have been a good few flights !) PromptPay = good & convenient (and free if I'm not mistaken). Apple Pay = simple and very fast (but I wonder what their % take is). Credit / Debit cards = Bad and devalue money (with 3% charges all the time)

A valid point - are they even insured ?

Yup... If you already have an HSBC account its handy... I've used it all over. But, Wise is also very handy.... I link both to Apple Pay and have found both useful... It really depends which currencies you wish to use - as HSBC Global money does not cover all currencies and neither does Wise.

Yup... after looking at the photo's some more... I am seeing that likelihood too.

You are correct... 'no reference in the article to her riding into oncoming traffic'... but the description of events certainly implies that is exactly what the motorcyclist did - as others have pointed out 'oncoming' can mean many things... ... i.e. if crossing a road, there is 'oncoming traffic'... the word is not specifically referencing travelling in the opposite direction to the flow of traffic which you seem to imply. Nevertheless, it appear the motorcyclist turned into a lane with 'oncoming traffic'... or would the term 'incoming traffic' be better ??? or approaching traffic.... Thats the semantics dealt with... ---- The incident itself. Either the motorcyclist pulled out in-front of the bus after making a U-turn. Or, the motorcyclist was slowing to make a U-turn and was hit by a the bus. The article is not completely clear which.

Are you thinking the bus was also making the U-turn and the U-turn lane was a 'dual lane' U-turn, the bus hitting the girls on the motorcycle ? Or, would could it be that the lane into which the motorcyclist was entering upon completion of the U-Turn was a 'two lane road' in which the bus was in the right most of of the two lanes and 'rear ended' the motorcyclist who'd 'entered that lane' upon completion of the U-Turn... No tit for tat here - just interested in your thoughts if I have misread the report and my version (based on what I read) is incorrect.

Oh, totally! I mean, who hasn’t wanted to engage in hand-to-hand combat with a toddler after a solid 10 minutes of their adorable antics? Their tiny hands and squeaky voices? Absolutely unbearable! Honestly, I don’t know how anyone can resist the urge to just square up and start throwing punches. It's not like they're just little humans trying to navigate life or anything. Nope, definitely not. This so-called "former female government official" deserves to have her entire existence flipped so violently upside down that even Machiavelli himself would be taking notes. She deserves the kind of brutal, cold-blooded takedown that would make the toughest, most stone-hearted creatures in society break into a cold sweat, clench so hard they'd snap in half, and question their life choices. Already by now she should not know what hit her.

She wasn't U-turning into oncoming traffic causing the deaths, as you suggest by your comment on this thread, her bike was hit from behind by the bus. She [the deceased rider] U-turned close enough to the bus for it to have hit her. i.e. she U-turned too closely in front of flowing traffic and was hit by a bus driver who reportedly didn't see the the motorcyclist(s). Either the bus driver wouldn't have been able to 'slow / avoid' anyway, and as mentioned a 'time honoured tradition' of pulling-out without looking. In another thread I mentioned how many motorcyclists are 'saved' by drivers taking avoiding action. This happens to me frequently - motorcyclists U-turning or pulling out without slowing or looking and I have to hit the anchors... they ride off blissfully unaware that they were so very nearly hit. Such a waste of life - its astonishing the sheer absense of self-preservation witnessed daily on Thailands roads.

Many many times in LOS and many other countries (western and Asian) I've seen the cashier / sales clerk give the price / total price, then (and not before) the purchaser opens his / her bag and looks for their cash purse etc. I give an example, my own mother, bless her, always waited for the price before opening her big handbag then looking for her money purse. Can't count the number of time the sales person and other customers were becoming frustrated about the total time being consumed and I would say to my mother "here's your money purse', and her reply "oh no, I only keep the money for my bread and milk in that purse", then the search for the actual cash money purse starts again. Exactly... The person who is slow using a QR code is the same type of person who is slow getting cash out of a purse or wallet. Its the same type of person who doesn't have their keys ready when they walk up to their front door. Its the same time of person who gets in their car, then faffs about for 5 mins before exiting the parking space while others are indicating waiting to get into the the same space. i.e. its not the method of payment thats slow - its the type of person who is.

Agreed... as mentioned this is a potentially risky scam. Not at Points of Sale such as 7-11 though. But in restaurants when using a QR code to access a menu etc... Or on a poster with a QR code to link to an info site there is a risk of getting 'directed to nefarious pishing page'... None of this is a risk if just using QR promptpay though - so its somewhat moot from that perspective. Faster and safer still is the payments such as Apple Pay... its one tap of a button, face ID and touch the photo to Point of Sale... It takes no more than a second.

In that case, I assume you agree smoking should be banned so the idiot smokers are protected from themselves, I refer to your logo of a guy smoking a cigarette. To some extent - thats what is happening... taxation on smoking is increasing as an incentive to force people not to smoke. Though using smoking as a source of comparison has a fundamental flaw in that an incident involving a motorcycle may well involve 'other motorists'... regardless of fault, if a helmet is not worn, there is a higher probability of serious injury or death and that 'can be' pinned on the driver / rider of the other vehicle. i.e. A motorcyclist cuts out in front of someone a collision is impossible to avoid. Motorcyclist head smashed the ground, he's dead, or brain damaged - should that person have to live with the potential guilt when wearing a helmet would have resulted in cuts and bruises ? Taking this a step further, if someone commits a traffic offence, an innocent mistake such as changing lanes and 'just didn't see the motorcyclist' (it happens), and knocks the motorcyclist off, head smashed the ground, he's dead, or brain damaged... should that person be legally accountable for the death (or brain damage) when the motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet (i.e. not on the road legally ?). Thus... there are 'other implications' - contrary to what some people suggest, not wearing a helmet does not 'only potentially impact the rider'....

Ultimately - if he is not going to have any interaction with his local Immigration office, then it doesn't matter about the TM30 as Immigration at the airports are never bothered about it. However, technically yes, but this also depends on 'what' the hotel fills out. IF Hotel A fills out a TM 30 when he checks in. IF Hotel B (1 nighter) also fills out a TM 30 when he checks in. Then Hotel A will need to fill out another TM 30 when he re-checks in. However, IF Hotel B doesn't fill out a TM30 then any change of address is not registered under a new TM30 and thus there is no need for Hotel A to re-register a TM30 again. Again... If your 'friend' is only here for one month and exiting via the airport without having any dealings with an immigration office, none of this is necessary.

Yep... I think its a decent thing to do... even for a fool who doesn't wear a helmet (the other rider not you). In the UK we flash oncoming traffic when there is a roadside speed camera.... On a recent UK trip about 10 cars in row flashed their lights - I knew there was a speed camera somewhere up the road - it saved me 3 points and £100 (if I'd have drifted over the 50mph limit or whatever the limit was on that part of the road). I 'thought' it also happened once on the expressway in Bangkok heading out of town on the Bang-Na Trat 2nd Level... There was a mobile speed camera at the 'wider part of the road' about 1km before the toll booths.... before the camera 3 oncoming vehicles flashed their lights. I've no idea if this was coincidence, or they were flashing because of the police camera. Wife says no way... Thai's do not flash to warn others of a Mobile Speed Camera etc... the other vehicles were probably coincidental... nevertheless, I slowed down and then observed the cameras so the coincidence saved me a fine.

Where are the 'alpha males' who suggest the stray dogs are harmless if you stare them down and show them you are 'boss' ??? These hardmen usually pop up in every thread about soi dogs etc... I'm sure they'll be along soon....

The speed differential between different modes of transport on fast highway roads in Thailand is a major hazard. BUT... no driver should be 'driving into something else' if paying adequate attention. Whats the betting the pickup driver was looking at his phone ?....

100% agree. My Son has a MetaQuest VR headset... he's not allowed to use it in the week. But he uses it for a few hours at the weekend... There are some great games on it that are very acitve, it's almost like exercising indoors with all the movement. But, the one thing that does concern me is the potentail damage to near sight - but that is offset with the enjoyment he gets out of the the VR headset and the fact that use is not daily.

I think the advantage of these payment methods is that they are 'free'... i.e. not like a credit card were the money is devalued with each use. i.e. Pay 1000 Baht - and 3% is bank charges... that 1000 baht is now worth 970 baht and so on.. After approximately 23 cycles the value of that cash is halved, or rather the banks have made 50%