kwilco

Speaking as someone with experience in road traffic engineering: most of the comments here are pure speculation, with no basis in fact, no crash report, and not even a confirmed knowledge of the accident location.

People are assigning blame, drawing conclusions, and moralising — all without knowing who had right of way, what visibility was like, the speed of either vehicle, road markings, or even what happened. No witness accounts. No forensic evidence. No official report.

And yet we get sweeping claims like “the pickup is obviously to blame” or irrelevant diversions about toddlers and helmets — when the victims were two adult women. This isn’t just uninformed, it’s misleading and disrespectful to those involved.

If you're serious about road safety, start by understanding how crash investigations actually work. Otherwise, it’s

again the self-appoited RTI "experts" spout their baseless nonsense

4 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Yes I did. 

 

I am not suggesting it's the norm. 

 

Only consumables had to be replaced. 

 

433,000km is about 270,000miles, and Sierra was at over 300,000 miles when my brother-in-law sold it. 

You really are absurd - you didn't even own it.

2 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

I had a '99 GMC Sierra that did that. 

1 - no you didn't

2 trying to suggest that was the norm in th US is just false - that would have been a very rare example in the US - how much of the factory fitted parts would still be in pristine condition?

53 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

What might that be? 

a wider range of vehicles than the whole rest of the owrld put together.

51 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Yes, I meant  shedding light

 

So, they have a whole video to say the car goes 400 km on a charge? 

 

 

no! 433,000 km overall mileage and all major components still running

1 hour ago, ChipButty said:

Around where I live they have stood in the same place for the last 20 years, they were there this afternoon team handed

Tes- but what is your point?

9 hours ago, The Cyclist said:

 

A badly fitting piece of plastic, can be just as dangerous and lethal,  as wearing nothing.

try the hammer on your head test.

On 6/7/2025 at 10:43 AM, ChipButty said:

Not many people seem to be taking any notice of the new helmet law where I live, 

THe RTP -have said they are setting up 93 checkpoints across the country - in reality this means they have no idea of how to enforce the law.

On 6/7/2025 at 10:19 AM, Quentin Zen said:

When I was in my EARLY 20's I bought a BMW 318i.  

 

Are we really talking about scooters?????????????????????  hahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahhahahahaahahahas

 

Car. SUV.  Limo is fine.  it's 2025 and if you can read this and don't have a Thai passport, you 10000000% should have a real mode of transportation.  if not, that's on you.  helmet talk is for the kiddoes.   or the Thais.   that's understandable.  

 

 

Wow. So, because you once bought a BMW in your early 20s, helmet safety is now beneath you? That’s quite a leap—even for someone who apparently thinks punctuation is a personality.

This isn’t about status symbols or flexing your ride history. It’s about basic road safety in a country where thousands die on motorcycles (only the ignorant say "scooter") every year—many of them tourists or expats who thought they were too cool, too rich, or too foreign to bother with a helmet.

If you're too grown-up for “helmet talk,” maybe try growing into some responsibility too. Scooters are a real mode of transport in Thailand—for millions of people. And unlike your BMW story, that’s not a joke.

PS - Also, just a note: calling everything on two wheels in Thailand a “scooter” (its not eve  a real definition just an American colloquialism) really shows you don’t understand the range of motorbikes here. . Plenty of people ride 150cc to 650cc+ bikes in real traffic conditions. Dismissing them as "scooters" or  as kid stuff just makes you sound out of touch.

8 hours ago, The Cyclist said:

 

If there is anyone that does not get it, it's you.

 

For £5 ? Really

You are a bit stupid, aren't you - that was a typo that I corrected - but you are so desperate you have to clutch at staws as if that alters the point of my argument in any way.

8 hours ago, GanDoonToonPet said:

 

...because... 🤔

Thailand is in red and France is in blue - it also isn't a cut and dried black and white thing (blue/red in this case) - do you really need it expalining?

15 hours ago, lordgrinz said:

 

In Thailand, the "immediate danger" starts when you leave your driveway, and continues until you return.

you obviously can't drive.

23 hours ago, GanDoonToonPet said:

Bit of a north / south divide. 🤔

 

Clearly incorrect

1 hour ago, johng said:

 

Wow that's cheap  where do you get them from ?

Typo - £35

56 minutes ago, The Cyclist said:

 

No, I'm asking you about this

 

 

Is the 40% based on Thai bits of plastic, or real crash helmets that you get in the West 

 

You know helmets that cost upwards of £300 in the UK, or helmets that cost £10 at Lotus ?

You really don't get it do you?

Crash helmets meeting international safety standards in the UK start at around £5

THe figures for head injury deaths are also categorised for those with or without a helmet - it doesn't specify - in short a cheap plastic bowl id better than nothing - but it seems you think that because you haven't got a £300 helmet, you ill wear nothing - do you not realise how stupid that is??

no helmet, no matter how expensive can protect you from direct impacts - your brain turns to jelly inside the hat. What helmets do is protect tyou from glancing blows between the motorcycle and along te asphalt even a cgep plastic hat will do some good - obviously it is better to have British Standard BS 6658:1985  Kitemark or UNECE Regulation 22.05/22.06 but there are a lot of very poor people riding motorcycles in Thailand (and apparently a lot of very stupid foreigners).

the situation has improved over the last 10 years as  many youngsters now regard a helmet as a sports or fashion item (in much the same way as in th UK) so this alone improves the chances of wearing something more effective - however I do see some customisations that render a hat useless.

At the end of the day the RTP are completely useless when it comes to road safety - they have little or no grasp of the basic principles (like you?0 and so enforcement is only done when someone tells them to and as yet there is no enforcement of standards.

42 minutes ago, Reddavy said:

Try google 🤷🏼

It looks like you are a person who can't use Google and doesn't know the difference between "search" and "research' - you'll be perpetually in the dark on this.

3 minutes ago, Quentin Zen said:

When I was in my EARLY 20's I bought a BMW 318i.  

 

Are we really talking about scooters?????????????????????  hahahhahahahhahahahahhahahahhahahahaahahahas

 

Car. SUV.  Limo is fine.  it's 2025 and if you can read this and don't have a Thai passport, you 10000000% should have a real mode of transportation.  if not, that's on you.  helmet talk is for the kiddoes.   or the Thais.   that's understandable.  

 

 

[perhaps you'd care to ex[plain your thinking, bcause it seems a little obscure of just plain daft to me

26 minutes ago, The Cyclist said:

 

Real crash helmets, or Thai bits of plastic, pretending to be crash helmets ?

are you still confused? Even they are better than nothing and you are making a sweeping generalisation - is that what ou'd buy? THen you are very confused - do a test - put a cheap plastic helmet on your head and tap yourself on the head with a steel hammer, than take the hat off and do it again  ....please!

On 5/31/2025 at 10:21 AM, EVENKEEL said:

never wear a helmet on our MB while riding locally but if I venture out into the heart of the city here I will because I know checkpoints do happen

because you skull is thicker near your home?

for all you confused expats out there...

How to Wear a Helmet in Thailand (Yes, Really):

Find your head – It’s the round bit on top of your body, above your shoulders.

Put the helmet on it – Not on your arm, not on the handlebars.

Do up the strap – That little buckle under your chin? Click it in.

That’s it. If your helmet flies off in a crash, you weren’t wearing it. You were carrying it.

47 minutes ago, daejung said:

In France, same as in Thailand; The use of a car horn is strictly regulated and is generally prohibited in built-up areas unless there is an immediate danger

Actually, I’d say it’s almost the opposite. The French have always had a strong culture of using their horns—so much so that specific legislation had to be introduced to try and reduce the habit.

In Thailand, by contrast, the horn is seen as inherently aggressive. Raising your voice, let alone sounding a horn in frustration, is heavily frowned upon. Thai regulations on horn use aren’t aimed at curbing overuse—they exist to maintain the already minimal use and to discourage any escalation of tension.

If you visit some of the old French colonies, you’ll still notice how that fondness for the horn lingers—a bit of cultural carryover that highlights just how different the underlying attitudes are.

"Never drink and drive but had a few beers and was stopped" - oxymoron!

On 5/31/2025 at 9:18 AM, Reddavy said:

That’s why the aussies  are called convicts 🤷🏼

so why do you think that is?