richard_smith237

Interesting question.... clearly the high numbers of road accidents in Thailand are a result of the high numbers of motorcyclists in Thailand... We’d need to work out the number of motorcyclists and number of motorcycle KM’s ridden... and then incidents of ‘crushed head’ per motorcycle KM’s ridden to secure and accurate statistic. Thats going to be pretty difficult to achieve... So, all I have to go by is this ‘crushed by a truck’ news is not wholly uncommon in Thailand... I’d hazard a guess and suggest that this incidence occurs proportionately more in thailand than it does in the developed nations with safer roads, better rider training etc... but when getting down to specific gory incidents such as this its difficult to prove without factual data. I’m sure it also happens elsewhere - but it seems to happen a lot here as a high or low % compared to other area’s - thats too difficult to tell with any accuracy.

As usual, it is your comment which is distorted and weird which is why its been so easy to flag it with further comment... I already presented my thoughts - This was someone going for a swim.. could have had cramp for all we know. i.e. we don’t know what happened... but your post stating that ’The Thai’s are laughing at us’... is just downright strange.... as if you really have some issues comprehending the world around you and make these extremely bizarre, strange, weird and outlandish assumptions... ... Do you really think all the Thai’s are laughing at us ???... And not too busy getting on with their own lives not to really give even so much as a passing thought ? Perhaps you think the Thai’s laugh at us so much because you think they laugh at you ??

Nah, already have that. However, your post is strange. You say that you ask for a friend, but at the same time point your question at me. Do you want your friend to answer? You need to look inward at yourself and your comments - the reason you are getting these responses is because it is YOUR post which is strange.... ...‘the asking for a friend part’ was clearly just to add some humour - you may not have understood that.

I’m trying to understand your posts - the reasoning or basis of your posts, what you may be trying to say or implying - if its none of that, what are you implying then ?

Very strange behaviour from the BiB - it seems the Police in Pattaya (and Phuket) have this strange attitude towards foreigners that we are all potential criminals or something. I'd be very interested in the ‘why’... there may have been a logic.. I’d just be very curious to know why I was stopped etc... usually they just say something like ‘big boss say’.. .but that doesnt answer the question... I want to know whats going on in their heads.. The 'phone a friend option’ can be very useful.... I don’t like to use it and always try to sort out any issue directly myself - but a couple of times the past I’ve had to resort to the 'phone a friend option’ which resolves a simple issue very quickly...

Note: I never carry my passport in BKK (never did - but have photos on phone & pink Id). BUT... whenever I go out of the province... i.e. on Holiday to Samui, Phuket, Trat etc... I always bring my passport with me (it stays locked way in my bag). I bring the passport ‘just incase’ its needed... i.e. I end up with some issue (car accident or whatever can be imagined or envisaged where I need my passport accessible within a reasonable time frame). In Bangkok, my passport remains locked in my safe unless specifically needed.

I think you do need a certificate for each licence (i.e. 2x original certificates)... that said... Before I had the Pink when I renewed my DL and MC licence I used a ‘colour photocopy’ of the Affirmation of Address document from immigration... the DLT didn’t notice one was a photocopy. (I didn’t want to pay 2x for the document at the Embassy).

It's many motorcyclists in general who ride like this..... its just that the ‘many delivery riders’ with a big green box on the back of their bike are more identifiable and visible doing this...

Darn! You must be a very unlucky guy. As usual - in a rush to contradict you let your foot slip off the clutch too quickly and didn’t think about your comment.... .. my luck, or absence of, has nothing to do with reading reports of others getting hurt or killed on their motorcycles... On this forum alone.... at 4 or so per year... Maybe ‘time and time again’ is phraseology you are un-familiar with - it means we’ve seen this plenty of times before... certainly in far more elevated numbers than we are used to in our home countries. There is also a Facebook group called ‘dangerous driving Thailand’ in which we see far more reports of accidents etc than we get on this forum.... a lot of those can be quite gory - motorcyclists getting caught under trucks....

A copy of your passport and also photos on your phone (showing entry stamp etc) should be more than acceptable in the rare occasion that the BiB ask for your ID. To place this into perspective - I’ve been asked for my passport about 5 or 6 times in over 25 years. I’ve never had my passport on me and have shown my Driving Licence... only once was that an issue and the Police were demanding a Passport (I ended up phoning a friend in the BiB to back me up). So... while never 100% assured you won’t have a problem, the chances of being stoped and asked for ID in the fist place are minimal... Then IF on the extremely rare chance you are stopped and asked for ID it would be even more rare that a photo-copy of your passport is not accepted, particularly when backed up with Visa / entry stamp photos on your phone. The probability of losing a passport when out and about is far higher than getting stopped by the BiB. The hassle of replacing a lost passport is far higher than dealing with the BiB IF on the extremely rare chance they do demand a passport and nothing else.

Is any of that relevant at all ???? Was he really a tourist or was he living here? Completely irrelevant... Or would you be implying that if he’s a tourist he doesn’t know how to ride here and was the architect of his own demise ? Was it actually his motorbike or was it rented? Again... how is the relevant at all ???... Or would you be implying that if borrowed or rented motorcycle he doesn’t know how to ride here and was the architect of his own demise ? Did he have a valid license for driving motorbike in Thailand? Yes, relevant from a legal perspective - but does a licence or not relate cause of an accident? If no on the last one and motorbike rented, then they should jail the rental guy/girl. That was ‘supposed’ to be the law - can’t rent without a licence or an IDP - but businesses do not care. None of it is relevant if a motorcyclist is going to ride dangerously, OR, if he’s riding perfectly safely but another vehicle is on the wrong side of the road and hits them etc...

You speak for all the Thai’s now ???? This was someone going for a swim.. could have had cramp for all we know. Your comments, as usual... ’Thai good, non Thai bad’ is ridiculous, you’d have been beside yourself if the news was that this foreigner was British !!! .... But it still astonishes me how you can always ’spin a simple story’ into something negative and ‘anti-foreigner (or Brit) and Pro-Thai’.... Do you have nothing good to say of the other foreigners who recused this man ? & yes, of course, props to the Thai who also assisted offering first aid. What time does the lifeguards work day finish ??... it looks fairly light... I think it gets dark in Phuket at about 6pm... Lifeguards working until 5pm ?

Just a dash of reverse snobbery there !.... The chinese stuff on Lazada is utter rubbish - it may work up and down the soi. The bolt on stuff you linked to earlier, again.. bolt on stuff... Its kind like the difference between a tuk-tuk and a car... You can’t get Haibike in Thailand obviously, but they’ve been in the e-bike industry for a while now and make very good machines...... (or if you can’t afford them, toys for elitists )... https://www.haibike.com/gb/en/hardtail-mountain-bikes

I know what I'd do if I were conscripted and if it was shoot them or them shoot me I'd do the first option and <deleted> the morality. Run away and get shot for desertion, refuse to obey an order and get shot on the spot. Not many choices for a conscript. I think you missed that the point was about Russian's coming to Thailand to avoid conscription in the first place. Of course, they would now be forced to become perpetual tourists which makes like difficult.

It applies for Visa Exempt entries and those Entering with a Tourist Visa. Not for those entering with a Non-Immigrant visa.

Excellent if it goes ahead - it’ll cut down the ridiculous queues at the security check point. Last time I few out of the UK (summer) - the security queue were hours long (set 3 hrs+) Was 100% missing my flight until I was allowed to jump the queue.

Thats one of the facets of road safety here in Thailand. Road safety is not just about law enforcement, driving training and safety awareness, which of course are primary facets, but also about ‘road design’, how logical road layouts are, how clearly they are laid out, marked and sign posted.... But also ‘how safe’ the roads itself is with barriers, armco and as with this example, how close immovable objects such as power poles etc to the road itself.... There’s the ‘human factor’ which we can’t completely eradicate - thus, when the ‘human factor’ surfaces and there is a ’slip up’ a micro-sleep a distraction or moment of inattention a devotion from the ‘lane’ good, safe and well thought out planning and road design means there isn’t something ’solid’ to hit.... (in most cases)... In Thailand this aspect of safety is not even an after thought - hence, so many of these ‘power poles’ and 'light poles’ are impacted....

Correct - the 20,000 baht (or currency equivalent / 40,000 baht for families) is a requirement for Visa Exempt entries, its not a requirement for someone entering with a Non-Imm visa.

Obviously price matters, but more so than price is the reliability of the VPN to respond to the cat-&-mousing used by some of the geocached providers. BBC iPlayer seems recognises as lot of VPN’s as does Amazon Prime... we then have to switch server - it which seems successful (so far). Netflix used to recognise a VPN (if trying to access geocached content to watch something not available in my region) - sometimes a VPN works, sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve found Express VPN to be decent enough for most of my needs.

Deep fried Mars Bars.... a culinary delight invented by our Jacobite neighbours north of the antonine wall !!!

England invented football. If we accept the Scottish origin, we would have to rename it footsheepsstomach. Kids have probably been kicking something about for millennia.... I’m not sure football was actually ‘invented’ rather it was an evolution...

Oh the irony... A corrupt corporation (association) accusing a corrupt country of corruption !!!!

1 in 4 people will have a thrombotic event in their life time.... The risk of Thrombosis is also increased when someone catches a cold Flu or Covid... primary a result of dehydration. IF blood clots are going to be discussed - the incidence needs to be placed in clear perspective to avoid singular bias.

So is a car accident.... to those who are involved in dangerous car accidents....

Gruesome... but those plastic helmets are pretty much useless except... Tests show that ’some’ decent helmets to protect, but that also depends on how heavy the truck is - but I’m not sure I can see Grab riders paying 10k baht for a good helmet. Very unlucky to fall directly under the wheels a truck - but we’ve seen it time and time again and it will continue to happen with very large vehicles and lots of motorcycles sharing the road while untrained on safety... I feel sorry for the poor lads family, hope he didn’t have any children etc.. .