Scraping around to find a bit of sympathy here. The factual components of the story seem to be :-
(1) Not a ‘motorcycle’ but a ‘scooter’, small-wheeled and even more unstable than an actual motorbike.
(2) Downpour
(3) Night
(4) Chaotic traffic area
(5) … and a reasonable assumption … middle-aged Brit on holiday not likely to have any of the riding skills developed by most native Thai or long-term farang residents.
(6) Brit on Pattaya holiday? Another reasonable assumption, his blood/alcohol > zero.
Add them up and join me in not being surprised.
Why bother even posting this?
Vain hope that some incoming naive holiday-maker may read this and think 2, 3 or 10 times before electing to drive a scooter in Thailand.
If you absolutely MUST experience the delights of scootering here, then load up on your insurance and make sure it’s watertight and you’re fully licensed in your home country and your next-of kin have sufficient funds to visit and repatriate your remains.
Then … try it out for an hour or two in small village or island, daytime, no rain and sober and maybe go the whole hog with a bit of protection - helmet, long pants, gloves and closed shoes.
If the inevitable near-miss that you WILL have in those idyllic conditions doesn’t scare you silly enough then god (who does not exist) help you because you have a death wish.