StatlerandWaldorf

For the people against the death penalty, please read this story and have a rethink.

What would it achieve? The man and woman both are either insane or dangerously stupid and should certainly not be allowed to have children, but that applies to untold millions of so-called parents on the planet.

Do you think either of them would have been deterred by the death penalty? I dont.

Sterilising stupid people at puberty would be much more effective and would solve many of the world's other problems too.

On the other hand the death penalty is a sure guarantee that he would not repeat this despicable act.

I do agree with you to a large degree, it does seem to be the trend that people least able to raise children properly breed the most. The human rights people would have a field day with the idea of forced sterilisation. Although I do see it's merits, and I do not think this applies only to Thailand.

Tough guys. Gang fight against a 62 year old. They should be ashamed of themselves. Terrible behavior here.

I believe there are many reasons for their behavior, pent up anger, an oppressive culture of not showing any emotion, and not least the fact that perpetrators of extreme violence towards foreigners is not punished by law. In a society where many children are not raised in any way by parents to know right from wrong combined with almost zero law enforcement I am only surprised that things are not even worse than they currently are.

Maybe, just maybe, the motorbike went through a red light !!

Yes, the other car in the video is stopped but he is waiting to turn right. Its possible that the car went through a green light, albeit in the wrong lane...

My thoughts exactly, as someone else pointed out, one of them went through a red light but it is not as obvious as many people are making it out to be. However, one could argue that as the car was in the lane which was clearly marked for right turn only, that he actually did run a red light, not a clear cut case but the whole episode is an example of the daily flouting of any rules and regulations in Thailand.

People have lost their loved ones, their children. A child has lost his mother. Please consider this before posting.

Why would you need to ask people to do good things?

I think it is because he knows that the default behavior of most people is extremely inconsiderate of others.

The motorcycle cut in front of him , sounds about par for the course , happened to me at least 3 times yesterday , you just have to drive slower as the average Thai m/cycle rider has very little between the ears , rip young lady .

You have it all wrong, the Pick up driver is the one with nothing between his ears the lady M/Cycle rider was probably driving safe but the idiot pick up driver going way to fast trying to have a accident and he did,,,

I dirive a car and ride a m/bike many car and pick up drivers are very dangerous, as are many other vehicles.

In my humble opinion both your arguments are valid. Many drivers in Thailand seem to have no judgement of appropriate speed for the road location and conditions, this requires one to take responsibility for making that judgement. Many people here don't seem to shoulder even the most basic responsibilities very well at all, just yesterday a car joined from a slip road and almost sideswiped me just because the car in front went first, they simply followed foregoing any responsibility to make a decision, just because the car in front does something, it is not guaranteed that it is safe for you to follow.

On the other side, I have witnessed countless times motorcycles just drifting between lanes without a care in the world, mirrors? often they are positioned so they can look at themselves in them while riding, for some bizarre reason. Many people also seem to lack any concept of speed and distance so they will still change lanes/pull out of a side road regardless of the traffic speed, assuming they bothered to look which is often not the case.

One thing is for sure, the general standard of driving and situational awareness is abysmal in Thailand, combine this with peoples reluctance to shoulder any responsibility there is little wonder there is daily carnage on the roads.

I understand everybody's outrage but let's face it, how many of you didn't already know that this would be the outcome?

Thanks for the heads up, I was thinking of planning a trip to Samui for a few days in the school holidays but I will look at other options now.

what is wrong with these people

I think there are no compassion, no emphathies learned out in this country. Just hard and angfry save face attitudes and non understanding of other persons/childrens problems or differences

The school childrens can not even discuss and ask the teachers about simple things, as that will expose the theachers absolute stupidity and unknowledge of his/hers supposed field. This is due to the teachers actually are BUYING their jobbs from the head masters or school ovners without any certifcations or knowledge in their field. I've met 3 different english teachers that couldnt speak any english more than "how do you do"........

I really think thiis is a national problem in Thailand too, that is created in the schols in early ages, as I've seen this in minor classes in the country sides too.

Maybe also an assault of the thai people by the upper class to stop them from knowiing more from abroad, get crazy idees, or even learn english.....to discover the world and question the leaderships competence?

There does seem to be a general lack of empathy in Thailand, I have said this before and I will say it again, it is largely down to upbringing or lack thereof. Of course this does not apply to everyone that would be to generalise just too much, but it does seem to be the norm. One blatant demonstration of this lack of empathy is the general lack of consideration for others when driving/blocking the road to buy noodles etc. because they can't be bothered to get out of the car. Also the amazing way many people manage to dump their shopping trolly in the most inconvenient place.

Of course these are very minor examples compared to what has happened in this case, but it does demonstrate the attitude of quite a lot of people and in this case it has gone to an extreme that is both heart breaking and despicable.

I have a 3 year old daughter and just imagining what this little girl went through saddens me to my very soul. I don't normally subscribe to the hang em high brigade but in this case I don't see that any other option can bring justice to this subhuman scum.

I liked the bit at the beginning with the guy at the front of the pickup who somehow thought he was preventing it from moving forwards. Perhaps he should not have moved!

If the police did their job 10 and 14 year olds wouldn't be riding around at 2am ,and there wouldn't be street racing but this is Thailand

If the parents did their job 10 and 14 year old kids would't be riding around at 2am. But as you said "this is Thailand".

While poor parenting is a global problem it does seem to be quite common here.

In your situation I would suggest Black Mountain, in my opinion it is a little more friendly for younger children while still having enough to keep the older ones entertained. My son particularly likes the 'wipeout' thing they have on the lake, but I think this does not open until 1 or 2pm.

I have mixed feelings about this situation, while I agree that teachers should not use physical violence against children, many are raised (and I use the word raised very loosely) with little or no discipline from parents, that is if the parents are even around. This may cause the children to seek attention elsewhere and by other means.

I have rarely had cause to smack my kids and once they reach a certain age there are other ways to punish them for misbehavior such as withholding certain privileges. This is an approach which is used in my kid's school also, if they misbehave then they may have to miss out on at least part of an activity which is desirable to them.

I can see both sides of the argument here, people condemning these actions have likely raised their own children with discipline and values, and have not been exposed to children who have not been 'raised' under the same circumstances.

Having rambled on for a little too long, in this case I do not believe that a smack round the head was warranted for wearing long trousers, on the other hand the video is purely visual and there is no telling if the girl in question said anything to provoke the teacher to act in this way.

A light toot for letting people know you're there is usually sufficient, high beams if you have speed and are distant.

Holding the horn down should be reserved for imminent collisions, you'll get abuse when you do but there isn't really a good alternative. Just keep doing what you're doing and come here to rant each time it happens.

Actually had one today, a saleng changed lanes on a highway from the left lane of a 3 lane highway coming across to the right to u-turn in the ditch (not actually a u turn area but the grass was worn out as if used often as a u turn area).

I was doing 110km/h and him about 10km/h, I dropped to about 80km/h while holding the horn down and he came across anyway. I had to slow to about 20km/h to avoid hitting him. I slowed next to him and said, "chuay chai krajok bang noi" - it means please use your mirrors sometimes (very polite). He yelled back "ja reep pai nai" which pretty much means why the rush (angrily)? He seemed clueless to the fact that he was almost a smear on the pavement. I do believe some riders believe cars are able to instantly stop on command.

The stopping distance of a Thai operated vehicle is 1m regardless of speed because that is how far many of them drive behind the vehicle in front.

At the school my children attend the transport department inspect any vehicles outsourced for trips. They must have functional seat belts, they must also be used. The drivers are all breathalysed before the kids are allowed in the vehicles.

The school vans for transporting kids to/from school are regularly checked and have a driver and a bus monitor on each bus who is responsible for taking a register on/off the bus and ensuring the kids wear their seat belts.

The buses/vans are clearly identifiable with a number, if I see them driving irresponsibly I report them, I understand there is a 3 strike rule before they lose the contract.

My biggest concern is that how can you check on the competence of the drivers?

Is there special driver training for bus drivers in Thailand? Is there a special test that must be passed?

I do not know the answers to these questions but if anyone does, I would be interested to know.

On a side note, I still do not allow my kids to use the daily school transport because I do not trust the drivers.

At the school my children attend the transport department inspect any vehicles outsourced for trips. They must have functional seat belts, they must also be used. The drivers are all breathalysed before the kids are allowed in the vehicles.

The school vans for transporting kids to/from school are regularly checked and have a driver and a bus monitor on each bus who is responsible for taking a register on/off the bus and ensuring the kids wear their seat belts.

The buses/vans are clearly identifiable with a number, if I see them driving irresponsibly I report them, I understand there is a 3 strike rule before they lose the contract.

My biggest concern is that how can you check on the competence of the drivers?

Is there special driver training for bus drivers in Thailand? Is there a special test that must be passed?

I do not know the answers to these questions but if anyone does, I would be interested to know.

You presumably have a dashcam in the event of establishing post-accident blame?

I do but I doubt the angle of my dashcam is wide enough to capture the position of this guy.

I am still exasperated about a potentially fatal incident that happened this morning whilst driving my son to school.

3 lane road with hard shoulder, I am driving in the middle lane due to motorcycles in the inside lane, not fast due to traffic. I notice a family of 4 on a motorcycle in the inside lane as I pass slowly, man wearing helmet, young children and mother not. As I am passing the motorcycle slowly starts to veer to the right and if left unchecked is going to side swipe my car. This clearly would have pretty dire consequences for the family, especially the kids with no helmets. With nowhere to go due to traffic to my right I give a short 'bip' of my horn as the rider clearly had no situational awareness and was not aware of my presence. He swerved back over the broken line into the inside lane whilst screaming a torrent of abuse at me, my 'bip' had obviously startled him/woken him up, whatever.

Just what did this guy expect me to do in this situation? let him side swipe me and have his kids slide down the road with no helmets? Is his delicate little ego so fragile that me sounding my horn to warn him of pending doom was just too much to handle?

I see on a daily basis people riding motorcycles with absolutely no idea of what is going on around them, the only thing that surprises me is that there are not even more fatalaties on the roads.

Sorry, I know this is a bit of a rant but I had to get it off my chest how a delicate ego is more important than your own kids lives.

How about training the drivers and "assistants"? or do 3 and 4 year olds have more comprehension?

Yes, yes they do.

I know it has been mentioned before that child seats in Thailand attract a 'luxury tax', child safety obviously being considered a luxury in Thailand. However, I regularly see very wealthy families who do not bother to either buy car seats or insist that they are used. If this child had been in a car seat with the seat belt fastened this could not have happened.

My daughter is 3 years old and as soon as she gets into the car she immediately climbs into her car seat without being told, simply because it has always being enforced. When she was born I took her from the hospital in a baby carrier and strapped her into the car, the hospital nurses protested at this, in their eyes she should have been carried by her mother in the car, disgusting level of ignorance.

One message, if you do not strap your child into a car seat and they die in an accident, YOU HAVE MURDERED YOUR CHILD! Good luck to anyone who could live with that for the rest of their lives, I couldn't.

This is a case of playing the fiddle while Rome burns.

I think everyone with any sense can see that the Thai economy has taken a serious downturn, but what is reported is often quite the opposite.

Just like when the old Government were telling everyone that prices of everyday food items were not increasing when they quite clearly were.

Crime also appears to be on the rise which goes hand in hand with a struggling economy, and violent crime increasing with people's frustration.

I don't know if it is because there are simply more cars on the road or is the standard of driving becoming even worse?

On my daily drive to drop my Son at school I had 4 near misses the other day due to people cutting corners, randomly changing lanes, not knowing (or caring) what the road markings mean.

I see on a daily basis people in charge of motor vehicles who quite clearly are not in complete control of the vehicle, having young children myself, it terrifies me.

This is tragic and heartbreaking that such a young life was taken due to one persons carelessness, ALL accidents are preventable.

So let's put it simply.

Someone who has contributed to the country for many years and has chosen to live outside of the U.K. for whatever reason is denied their democratic right to a vote.

Someone who has not worked a single day in their life, has contributed nothing to the country and is basically a parasite, is held in higher regard and is afforded the right to vote.

The U.K. has now foregone it's right to preach to Thailand about democracy and human rights. HMG, keep your opinions to yourselves.

Yet another example of the abhorrent kicking and stamping of the head when someone is down and defenceless, not least a number of 'men' against one slightly built female, their mothers must be so proud!

Scum, subhuman scum.

I think the Thai soaps are a reflection of how some parts of society actually are. Many people seem unable to control their emotions without resorting to quite extreme violence, or in this case, 'arranging' for other people to do violence on her behalf. Here's an idea, learn how to control your emotions, you are not children, physically at least.

Thailand has long needed a revenue dept with more teeth. It is hard to believe that this guy will be powerful enough to go for the really big Thai owned companies. We live in hope.

I agree but what will likely happen in reality is that they will go after people and businesses who are already paying their share and demand more because that is the easy option. Going after the ones who simply don't pay requires effort and that simply won't do.