British Rider Held After Hit & Run on Phangan

4 hours ago, BerndD said:

You should never walk in the direction of traffic in the dark, but always against the traffic. This means you can keep an eye on oncoming vehicles and avoid them if necessary.

This way the accident with the drugged idiot could have been avoided.

sounds like victim blaming to me.

I have had this walking against the traffic conversation with Thais many times. The received knowledge here is that one rides a bicycle against the traffic flow but walks with the traffic flow (presumably because of the bicycles!)

This strikes me as risky to the point of stupid but the Thais I have discussed this with could not be persuaded to change their viewpoint or behaviour.

I have come to the conclusion that there are ways of doing things here that are both taught in school and in the home and it is very difficult to unteach that. The exception would be if a phoo yai or government official told you to do things differently.

1 hour ago, wensiensheng said:

I wonder if that will reduce his sentence if found guilty.

Yes, I think it will.

.

Please enjoy your time in the BKK Hilton. I hear that they have comfortable accommodations during the upcoming Super El Nino season. Also, the Lunch Buffet is to die for.

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Lately yes, but the scummy shirtless types are coming to Thailand rather than Ibiza, magaluf etc

Yes, we are getting the low class peeps from Spain, because the Spaniards are kicking them out.

5 hours ago, baansgr said:

Another junkie foreigner causing harm and destruction...when will this madness end. Drug tests and police clearance reports should be demanded for anyone coming here

That'd destroy the tourism industry.

6 hours ago, NanLaew said:

True, but when it comes to the scummy league here in Thailand, you have to admit that Fair Albion is over represented.

Only on the English language boards.

4 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

Oh dear, EVERY day at least ONE Brit from the riffraff brigade here.

The visa regulations have to be stricter for the Islanders I reckon

Make it 15 day VOA on presentation of hard copy criminal record report on entry.

6 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Lately yes, but the scummy shirtless types are coming to Thailand rather than Ibiza, magaluf etc

That's probably to do with the crackdown there on these types. The islanders had had enough and got tough.

45 minutes ago, save the frogs said:

Yes, I think it will.

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Based on what premise?

I have no idea as to the potential sentences for the various crimes that he appears to have committed and whether or how dropping a charge of driving while under the influence of drugs would effect those.

1 hour ago, Toby1947 said:

Well educated doctor my ar#e, walking with the traffic flow dressed in black at night, always face the oncoming traffic. Nuff said

I think you will find that he is most definitely a well educated doctor. The basic details of his background set out in the OP attest to that.

Common sense is a different attribute. But road rules are supposed to help out those who don’t exercise common sense.

A lack of commonsense from a pedestrian doesn’t detract from the responsibility of those riding a motorbike on the roads. The guy who has been arrested deserves all he gets as far as I am concerned.

28 minutes ago, BusyB said:

That'd destroy the tourism industry.

Not really, so many people I know used to visit Thailand with their families but go else where the past few years...how many hundreds of thousands of others the same... And these are quality tourists, don't cause trouble...they would have no problem providing this unlike the unwashed junkies from all corners of the world. It's such a shame, Thailand used to be a safe, welcoming country but no so anymore.

3 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Not really, so many people I know used to visit Thailand with their families but go else where the past few years...how many hundreds of thousands of others the same... And these are quality tourists, don't cause trouble...they would have no problem providing this unlike the unwashed junkies from all corners of the world. It's such a shame, Thailand used to be a safe, welcoming country but no so anymore.

I've spent inordinate amounts of time for months on end in LOS almost every year for over 20 years now. It has always been a haven for undesirables and losers, along with hordes of professional criminals avoiding the heat back home, and conmen. Not to mention the English teechers who existed on 30 day border runs - when they could fit them into their drinking and drugging routines. Nothing new about this at all.

It is still a safe welcoming country in my experience. In all that time only one threat of violence (tuktuk mafia in the Phuket open toilet) and I could count the misunderstandings - that were always resolved - on one hand.

Having said that, my comment about the tourism industry was tongue in cheek although I think an argument could be made for the post about VOA and criminal records ;D

26 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Based on what premise?

sorry, maybe not.

but if DUI, insurance will probably not pick up the tab so you will pay for damages and medical bills of the victim out of pocket.

4 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

where does it say he was under the influence whilst riding the bike ?

You clearly didn't read the article !! .

...."After being taken into custody, the suspect underwent a drug test which showed the presence of cocaine, in his system. Police subsequently charged him with reckless driving causing serious injury, fleeing the scene of an accident, driving without a license and drug us" ...

Thailand is a different place now, before cctv this guy would have had a much higher chance of getting away withrunning away from an accident.

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Not really, so many people I know used to visit Thailand with their families but go else where the past few years...how many hundreds of thousands of others the same... And these are quality tourists, don't cause trouble...they would have no problem providing this unlike the unwashed junkies from all corners of the world. It's such a shame, Thailand used to be a safe, welcoming country but no so anymore.

In the old days backpackers were a very mixed bag of travelers and riffraff too. The change is that you ain't getting away with hit and run like back then. Cctv is everywhere for a reason.

8 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

Rather than blame "Brits" which comes in the comments, prosecute all the scummy ones causing trouble, sadly you have those in all nationalities

But you have to admit that Brits are overproprortional often in the BAD news, won't you?

10 minutes ago, D Peter said:

But you have to admit that Brits are overproprortional often in the BAD news, won't you?

People massively overestimate how representative these stories are of British tourists in Thailand generally.

The 'over-proportional' impression is due to a mix of demographics, visibility, media incentives and a genuine subculture effect.

A few things are happening at once.

First, there are simply a lot of Brits in Thailand. Millions visit over a few years, and there’s also a huge long-stay and expat population. Brits are heavily concentrated in exactly the places where bad behaviour becomes highly visible - Pattaya, Phuket, lower Sukhumvit, Samui, bar districts, nightlife zones etc.

If you have a huge population concentrated in high-friction environments, you’re going to generate a lot of incidents in absolute numbers even if the overwhelming majority are perfectly normal.

Second, English-language media creates a huge distortion effect. If a Brit gets arrested in Pattaya:

• Thai English-language media reports it

• British tabloids pick it up

• expat forums discuss it

• Reddit reposts it

• YouTube channels farm it for outrage clicks

• Facebook groups circulate it endlessly

If the same incident involves a Czech, Korean or Brazilian tourist, most English speakers never hear about it. So people consuming English-language media end up with the impression that Brits are uniquely terrible, when part of what they’re actually seeing is an English-centric reporting ecosystem.

There’s also a reporting contagion effect. Once “Brit behaving badly in Thailand” becomes a proven click-generator, the media starts actively looking for those stories because readers engage with them we also see this with other 'stories' that get played out a lot...

• Russians in Phuket generate lots of local resentment

• Chinese tour groups have long had complaint stereotypes

• Israelis in Pai recently became controversial

• Indian tourists get heavily stereotyped online

• Scandinavian retirees cause issues too

Every new incident reinforces the stereotype, algorithms amplify it, and people start noticing and filming incidents more because they already expect the narrative. It becomes self-perpetuating.

That said, there is a real demographic component too. Thailand attracts a certain subgroup of British visitors that’s unusually visible:

• heavy drinkers

• nightlife tourists

• “escape from life” types

• older men living cheaply abroad

• people with unresolved personal or financial problems back home

• long-stay bar culture expats

That group is much more publicly disruptive than, say, Japanese family tourists or Korean package groups. And British binge-drinking culture is a genuine thing. Not uniquely British, but definitely more culturally normalised than in many Asian societies.

Thailand itself also amplifies this behaviour. Cheap alcohol, permissive nightlife, weak day-to-day enforcement, social deference from service staff, and a feeling of anonymity can make some people behave in ways they never would at home. Add heat, ego, money issues and alcohol, and you get predictable explosions.

Another factor is that Thailand has become far less tolerant of “bad foreigners” over the last decade. Social media means locals film incidents instantly, authorities publicise arrests more aggressively, and nationalism has increased post-COVID. Things that might once have stayed local now become international viral stories within hours.

But if you consume English-language content, British incidents become disproportionately salient.

The important point is that raw story volume tells you almost nothing without context. Even if Brits behaved badly at exactly the same rate as everyone else, a very large British population would still generate a large number of incidents.

If 1 million Brits visit Thailand and even 0.05% behave outrageously, that’s still hundreds of highly reportable stories.

So the stereotype contains a dash of truth, but it’s hugely magnified by:

• sheer visitor numbers

• concentration in nightlife areas

• English-language media bias

• social media amplification

• reporting contagion

• the visibility of a specific expat/tourist subculture

Most British and foreign visitors to Thailand are completely normal. The disruptive minority is just extremely visible and extremely reportable - and heavily commented on and amplified on forums such as this.

27 minutes ago, D Peter said:

But you have to admit that Brits are overproprortional often in the BAD news, won't you?

Right now yes, they need to get tough with the skalliwags and kick them out and ban

39 minutes ago, off road pat said:

You clearly didn't read the article !! .

...."After being taken into custody, the suspect underwent a drug test which showed the presence of cocaine, in his system. Police subsequently charged him with reckless driving causing serious injury, fleeing the scene of an accident, driving without a license and drug us" ...

Clearly I read more than you.

He was arrested the day after the alledged incident.

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Not really, so many people I know used to visit Thailand with their families but go else where the past few years...how many hundreds of thousands of others the same... And these are quality tourists, don't cause trouble...they would have no problem providing this unlike the unwashed junkies from all corners of the world. It's such a shame, Thailand used to be a safe, welcoming country but no so anymore.

This was caused by the make money at all cost mentality of the Thai Government and Thai Tourism.

6 hours ago, wensiensheng said:

Excellent point 👏👏👏

I didn’t really express clearly that I was drawing reference to the reduction in the tourist visa time period from 60 days to 30 days and that it would have no impact in reducing this type of incident caused by a foreigner who is in Thailand not on a retirement visa extension, probably not an education visa unless it’s a dodgy one, probably not on a wealth related visa and I suspect not with a work permit.

Pad Thai visa? Muay Thai visa? Learn the lingo visa? Long-term dental treatment visa? All of the above?

3 hours ago, Des1 said:

sounds like victim blaming to me.

BS, but it brings more safety for all road users

Even if another know-it-all says that in Thailand people always drive on the wrong side anyway, so it's no use, that's also BS. Even if some drive on the wrong side every now and then, to walk against the traffic still brings a lot more safety.

But here everyone knows everything better - well, not everyone, but a lot of them.

14 minutes ago, BerndD said:

BS, but it brings more safety for all road users

Even if another know-it-all says that in Thailand people always drive on the wrong side anyway, so it's no use, that's also BS. Even if some drive on the wrong side every now and then, to walk against the traffic still brings a lot more safety.

But here everyone knows everything better - well, not everyone, but a lot of them.

You too huh?

The first know-it-all has already reported, or: a hit dog will holler, albeit anonymously.

Just now, NanLaew said:

You too huh?

My name is not NanLaew. Huh?

2 minutes ago, BerndD said:

My name is not NanLaew. Huh?

I was acknowledging your superior knowledge of all aspects of road safety and how it applies to Thailand. That's all.

though it might not have made a difference here, as the guy was on drugs,, but this is why, when walking along a road, you walk on the side of the road that the traffic is coming towards you ,, so at least you have a chance of seeing it coming and have a chance of avoiding it

9 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

I was acknowledging your superior knowledge of all aspects of road safety and how it applies to Thailand. That's all.

Nobody has to have superior knowledge of all aspects of road safety, a little common sense and a little intelligence are enough. But unfortunately not everyone has both, not even one of them.