kwilco

"I've been to Peckham" – so what? - No, it wasn't – I'm checking to see if our racist friend actually know either Notting Hill or Peckham – both places where I lived – so you nearly spoiled it

...and you think that makes you and Peckham not racist? PS I also lived in Peckham ...where was the eel and pie in those days???

Afraid to say, like all racists, you rely on assumptions rather than facts.

I used to stay on Portobello for the carnival - I worked in Notting Hill and Peckham is the other side of the river! but Peckham has always been the home of London racism.

I doubt if you'd know an accurate weather forecast if it rained all over you...you obviously can't read them and have no idea what a "monsoon" is even.

how many carnivals have you visited?

"According to Backpirch Weather, the typhoon seems to have no significant geographical hurdles in its path, allowing for possible intensification. The core of the storm is expected to stay south of Hainan, China, reported Thai Newsroom." Tuesday is when Thailand will feel it most, the Met office said that Typhoon Kajiki would weaken before entering the northern province of Nan on Tuesday evening.

So often referred to as "conflict" this tragedy is a result of encroachment.

THe police are very resistant to change - it would have to be constitutional - at present most police are businessmen rather than enforcers. But this is rooted in Thai culture for centuries. THry might look like a modern western police but in reality thy are quite doifferent - how they see themselves and how the public sees them is quite different from the West.

blow to the military who over the past months have been making a concerted effort to take over again. could even be a step towards Thailand becoming a genuine democracy and a slackening of the grip of the military. Of course they won't take this lyingg=down so we ca expect some more draconian moves from them.

do that thing with an egg in a box!

I've been driving in Thailand since 1998, and worked lived in the Kingdom for 20 years - I also have driven extensively (more than most Thai drivers) for that period. THe people I work with these days wear seat belts 20 years ago people were actually often buying their first cars just being in a car and not on a bike was new to them, now they have more experience and many have learned to drive wearing seatbelts. A lot of expats use the “nothing ever changes” cliché, but in fact it is seldom true. With seatbelts, progress has been made, but there is still a long way to go When the mandatory seatbelt law was introduced back in 1996, usage rates have slowly improved. However, they remain far behind those in most developed countries. Compliance is very uneven and it depends on where you are in the country, what type of vehicle you’re in, and whether you’re the driver or a passenger. The average seatbelt usage rate across Thailand is still only 37.8%, based on recent research. Bangkok leads the way with the highest usage at 78.9%. then the Northeast at 46.2%, followed by Central: 44.0% North and South are the worst at 28.2% and 24.2% respectively I worked mostly in Chonburi and Rayong and certainly amongst th industrial employees, seat belt wearing was common It also varies between drivers and passengers – ( I won’t drive off if people are belted up – including in the back) Apparently 67.3% of drivers wear seatbelts, whereas with front-seat passengers, only 18.9% wear them. Rear-seat passengers are an alarming 0.5%. Use varies too according to demographics. As expected younger males, especially from the North and South, are the least likely to buckle up. Usage also drops in the early morning, during major festivals like Songkran, and even on main city roads. Road safety is a public health problem yet the Thai authorities place very little importance on this, consequently things like public and Road Safety Campaigns are very scarce and ill-thought out. Low exposure to public safety campaigns and less discussion about road safety within families or communities are strongly linked to non-use attitudes and awareness. Unaware of the dangers, people still think it’s a matter of “getting away with it” again a personal “freedom” choice. …and just a matter of paying a bribe when stopped. So, 30 years after seatbelts became law, the numbers show that Bangkok is making progress, but other parts of the country is still far behind. Rear-seat passenger figures are alarming, they remain practically unprotected, and regional differences are stark. With Thailand’s notoriously high road fatality rates, these figures show that there is still much work to be done in changing behaviour and attitudes toward something that is as basic as wearing a seatbelt. But one has to bear in mind that over 75% of road deaths are motorcyclists and th death rate in 4-wheeled vehicles in actually lower than in the USA

“You can help, but not by expecting one conversation with a teenager to shift a whole culture. Road safety attitudes here are deep-rooted. If you want to make a difference, it helps to speak Thai, to listen as much as talk, and to engage with more than one person out of 65 million. Change is possible, it’s gradual, and it comes from steady example and consistent messaging — not quick fixes.”

as ever, totally the wrong end of the stick

It’s not “left vs right” — it’s just dim. When you refuse seatbelts or helmets, you’re not just risking yourself, you’re wrecking families and driving up costs we all pay through taxes and insurance. It’s not some heroic “individual choice” — you’re part of a society, like it or not, and that comes with responsibilities.

Yes! - I think he's already got brain damage!

you always get it wrong, don't you? A seatbelt works best if it is against your body, but it works by shock absorption i.e. it stretches in an accident and slows down your bones and internal organs in order to minimise damage such as internal bleeding - An Air bags assists that but you need the seat belt to work in conjunction and keep you in the right position for th bag to be effective

then you haven't got a Thai driving licence?

the fact that you've asked that on an internet forums kinda answers your own question.

what about e-SIMS bought before arrival?

Too dumb to answer, eh? Or make sense of a simple typo? You really take the biscuit.

really? How have tyou quantified that stement?

you're quibbling about UK law....this is THailand.

That absolutely is victim blaming. To even raise the helmet question while a woman has just been killed is vile. The crash report will state her injuries—that’s where that information belongs, not in some casual comment that shifts attention away from the reckless foreigner who caused her death. Suggesting her life might have been “mitigated” if she wore a helmet is a way of softening the responsibility of the killer. The real issue here is Thailand’s failure to control foreigners who think “freedom” means acting without responsibility—driving drunk, driving without a proper licence, IDP, or insurance, and putting others’ lives at risk. Those are the questions that matter, not whether the victim had a helmet on.

hardly see the nationality is important - however there are some aspects that need looking at - we know that mob mentality can get very nasty if whipped up on a falsehood - it happens all over the world. However we also know that some of these motorcycle rental scams etc are just totally blatant and out of control. Take your pick