richard_smith237

With your (incorrect) understanding... no motorcycle, or truck, or passenger vehicle, or any private vehicle over 1600 kgs (that means most SUV’s) would be permitted outside of the left most lane and thus never able to overtake any slower vehicle... Section 35 simply serves to rule that all vehicles remain to the left when not passing. Section 34 clearly supersedes this. Clearly on city streets and in busy towns most vehicles are passing others, motorcycles are also ‘mostly’ passing, lane splitting etc and can travel in other lanes when passing !!! (which of course is most of the time in busy traffic).

You are blindly hanging on to section 35 without understanding section 34. Section 34 highlights vehicles can overtake slower vehicles in the left lane. Section 35 only points out slower vehicles must remain in the left lane. Land Traffic Act: http://web.krisdika.go.th/data/outsitedata/outsite21/file/Road_Traffic_Act_BE_2522_(1979).pdf

One would hope you never have to... Or at least hope that the local government hospital provides adequate cover for your child. IMO - there is a great deal of importance in ensuring our children have the best medical care - a lot can go wrong in their younger years - early identification of issues is paramount. Good medical insurance ensures private care and access to better equipment, doctors who have more time for you etc (I know this is debatable). Wife and son have been with BUPA, LUMA, April, VUMI... Inpatient only... Costs have been about 80,000 baht per year for them both. Different companies load higher premiums for younger children, thus, particularly for younger children its well worth shopping around. Also, it well worth considering ‘international’ vs ‘local’ cover, as local cover can heavily load the renewal premium if ‘something has been treated’ or they can out right reject renewal, where has international companies have stronger regulation for continued cover but also have higher premiums.

Is it possible to... 1) enter on a Visa Exempt, 2) then apply for the Non-Imm O Visa within Thailand (i.e. directly at Chaeng Wattana etc or a local Immigration office ?).... 3) then of course the extension of stay after that (and get the multiple re-entry permit when exiting the country) ????

Are you arguing that motorcycles are not permitted to be in any other lane than the left most lane ??? Then lane splitting would also be illegal in Thailand (its not). Section 34 covers that. There is no regulation which prevents a motorcycle from being in the middle lane or right most lane (or lane splitting between any of those lanes) when passing vehicles to the left which are slower. The reality is in slow moving city traffic the motorcyclist can ‘always’ pass the other traffic because lane splitting is legal in Thailand - thus the motorcyclist can be in the right-hand lane (city riding) or splitting the lane passing traffic to the left (and also to the right). When out in the highway in fast moving traffic, when there is no ‘queuing’ or slowly flowing traffic all traffic has to remain to the left lane unless passing, which is where section 35 comes into it. This is the difference between ‘city’ and ‘highway’ driving where these regulations come into effect. IF you are blaming the motorcyclist for being at fault in this accident then you are an utter danger to all those around you - the motorcyclist had exactly the same legal right to be in his position on the road as any other vehicle including a car. I hope you don’t drive or ride.

Are you seriously blaming the motorcyclist for this incident??? Or, are you trying to point out that ‘you think’ the motorcyclist was also in the wrong and therefor complicit in the outcome ? I think you've mis-understood this regulation... There are many translations of the Root Traffic Act, the wording clearer in some other translations. .... The regulation 35 states that vehicles must remain left on multi-lane roads when travelling slower than other vehicles. The regulation does not state that motorcycles are not permitted in 'passing lanes’. There is no stipulation in the preceding and superseding regulation 34 preventing the motorcycle from being in a passing lane. Although its not clearly stated in Thailands Road Traffic Act, this regulation is clearly for moving highways not within city and town limits where there is queued flowing traffic. That said - using the law exactly as you quoted: the Motorcycle was travelling faster than and passing the slower (hesitant) SUV and thus had every legal right to be in that lane. According to regulation 34, a, d, and e - the motorcyclist had every right to be holding that position on the road when passing the slower SUV as it slowed, hesitated, remained left... and then swung out without signal making an illegal U-turn over hashed lines at a junction. The SUV 100% at fault and any negative legal bias which could be directed towards the motorcyclist is easily countered. Thus JeffersLos - you couldn’t be more wrong in your claim that the motorcyclist was in the wrong.

Thats for highway driving and Motorcycles are not singled out. Your understanding of the translation of the Land Traffic Act would see people only using the left most lanes only in the cities and towns....

There isn’t a right side of ‘bias’ so stop your trolling nonsense.... Bias is bias and throughout the thread you have shown plenty of it against the Frenchman and anyone else who points out that the Thai guy was also a willing participant in the fight.

Does this dumb attempted Thai bash have anything at all to do with seasonal wind variation and adjusting the approach / takeoff direction at both of Bangkok’s Airports ?

Sadly... its perfectly believable.... We all know precisely how lazy the Thai Police are. They will ONLY step up to action in two scenarios... 1) Money (i.e. they are given cash to do their job and investigate). 2) Social Media embarrasses them into action. In this case, social media has embarrassed them into action... The Police will investigate, find the driver who will be duly charged with something minor... The driver will give the victims a basket of Brands Birds-Nest, be photographed offering a Wai... Pay the Police 500 baht for the driving infraction.... The lack of police response will be reported as a misunderstanding.... Face saved all around, victims still f*<ked over, out of pocket and with injuries...

I got nicked twice here (driving my car) for "staying too long in outside lane" whilst overtaking a line of slower cars in the inside lane. I thought it was ironical being that most locals use the outside lane at all times, even when the inside one is empty. I suppose they have to make up some reason to earn their 200 baht. The Police have tried the same thing with me about 15 and 10 years ago... (Rayong and Khon Kaen areas)... Both times argued and told them they were wrong... both times waved along, they know when they are trying it on and you know better than they do.

Wrong.... thats a myth as explained above. Vehicles are supposed to be in the left hand lane unless passing another vehicle - this rule is for flowing highways, not city, town traffic. There is no law against lane splitting in Thailand.

As others have pointed out... The Dashcam will have an internal battery which maintains the settings and time etc.. What model of Dash-cam is it ?..... You may be able to open up the dash-cam and change out the battery yourself (it’ll very likely be like a watch battery etc).

One of yours Bob Smith ???????

Are for real? Its night, its dark, what can you see?? There is a man on the floor not moving, what is the French guy supposed to do? There were plenty of other people to help the Thai guy... .... Who seriously sticks around after a fight ?.... Does sparktrader seriously expect the Frenchman to hang around so the Thai guy can get back up and start fighting again ???.... or for others to potentially join in ???.... They had the fight, one guy was grounded... the other walked off... thats how it is everywhere in the world. This time the guy who lost hit is head - an extremely unfortunate consequence for both.

Lots of french do muay thai It's not called ‘Muay-French’ though is it.... Your implication that the French Guy is some sort of Muay-Thai expect and the Thai guy outgunned by a skilled master of martial arts is seriously over egging it.... .... at the beginning of the fight the French guy is on the floor as the Thai guy tries to kick him... They’re both throwing punches and kicks....

A few seconds before the Thai guy was knocked down, the Frenchman was also on the floor - the Thai guy can be seen attempting to kick him while he is on the floor as people pulled him [the Thai guy] away. This is very clearly a fight BOTH parties wanted.... I think we can all see this except for the trolling fool who is so amazingly halfwitted he thinks he’s somehow balancing the scales by mentioning the opposite of reality.

Nonsense. Look into eyes. Look for any blood. Anybody can see if someone is in a bad way. Plenty of people around to help. The French guys had just been in a fight with a Thai - getting out of there was perhaps the sensible thing to do, they didn’t know how seriously injured the Thai guy was at the time.... as far as they were aware, he’d just be knocked to the ground thats all. If hanging around. the situation ‘could’ have escalated to them being attacked by more Thai’s - thats the primary reason people escaping the scene of an accident. They had their ‘fight’... they left. There is still no information of how all of this started... nothing realistic anyway (i don't believe the reported version of events at all).

Wrong on many levels.... stay off the roads, you are a danger to others !!!

Are you crazy? Scooters can drive in any lane as long as they are not impeding traffic. That is, they can drive in the rightmost lane as long as they are traveling faster than the vehicles in the left lane. The car (SUV) was clearly at fault for making the U-turn from the wrong lane. Indeed... jossthaifarang is repeating the common myth which swung around Thailand 10 years ago... At the time the Police in Sukhumvit area Bangkok (and perhaps other areas of Thailand) were running a racket - pulling over riders in the 2nd lane and fining them for not riding in the left most lane... there is no such rule. Some of the BiB even had no idea that there is no such rule, they simply learned from their peers - it took a while for this legacy error to sort itself out... But, some people still believe this to be a law [that motorcyclists must stay in the left such lane] - there is no such law.

Most people on this thread and forum are pro Thai, that’s why why we are here. But, being Pro-Thai without intelligent critical balance is simply bias…. As you have exampled… Pro-right & anti-wrong regardless of nationality is not the opinion you have expressed in this thread - That is why it probably seems like you against the world at the moment - you are on the wrong side of bias in this situation.

There is precedent for Thai on Thai, Thai on foreigner attacks & fights which ended in serious injuries & death… It would be fair for these penalties to be in line with those passed before under similar circumstances. Nationality should not play any part in the judgement or provide any reason for any of us to expect a more severe penalty.

Agreed…. IF those legal consequences for the Frenchman are the same as those a Thai would receive in exactly the same circumstances….

In my video, two punches and a half-hearted kick from the Frenchman don't constitute "incredibly beaten up". The Thai bloke fell badly - that's as much his fault as the Frenchman's, maybe more - which which was more responsible for his injury than Frenchie's punch. I think that’s the way most people see this… two people willingly fighting, not even an extreme fight…. But with horribly unlucky and potentially grave consequences. Then we have an utter fool come along and try and ‘tip the scales’ with some opposing bias as if this provides some balance to the thread…..

& no… that is your flawed reading comprehension leading to your hyperbole…. Not one person has suggested the ‘beating’ (fight) was justified…. The result is extreme & tragic & could have been the other way around with the French guy in ICU had the Thai guy landed one of his kicks or punches well. Both guys flighting - both at fault. It is being pointed out that this was not a an unprovoked attack on an innocent party.