Chinese father dies in Koh Larn motorbike cliff fall

4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I very much doubt that it was a rental. The bike carried Bangkok registration.

Yes, much more likely that he rode the bike from Bangkok to Koh Larn as opposed to renting it locally while he was on holiday there!

4 hours ago, dddave said:

Not just Thailand. In Bermuda, non-residents are not allowed to rent cars, only motorbikes. It's a popular honeymoon destination and every year a litany of stories about newly-weds dying in motorbike accidents on the islands curvy roads.

So touchy is the issue that the Bermudian Govt. classifies road death stats as State secrets.

Are you sure about that?...

https://www.bermudapolice.com/road-fatalities/

https://www.gov.bm/news/public-health-impact-road-traffic-collisions

The "secret" is out now.

2 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

No mate. Maybe you can tell me if it's legal to rent a motorbike with Bangkok plates on Koh Larn. Whatda' think?

Why would it be illegal? Is it illegal to ride, or take, a motorcycle out of its registered province? "Whatda'" [sic] think?

Only thing worse than a motorcycle rental is having 2 inexperienced riders on one...

One rider one bike is bad enough..

Should be forbidden and tougher requirements...

23 minutes ago, Packer said:

Of course it is.

Have you actually been to Thailand, Barry?

Thanks. In answer to your question, I've lived here for close to 30 years. How about you? But I've never had the need to rent out a vehicle. or to rent one myself.

Seems to be at least one of these tragedies a week. Pity Thailand does not ban tourists--not residents--from renting and driving motorcycles with no road familarity and, likely, no motorcycle license or experience.

1 hour ago, Liverpool Lou said:

No, they should check the qualification of the person who rode the motorbike, the chances are that the brakes are in a much better condition than his riding ability that could have killed his daughter was.

Yeah, many possible assumptions on this case.

His riding abilities aren't important if there was a brake failsure

9 hours ago, shackleton said:

Its always the same reasons coming up when there is a motor bike incident

Blame the Vendor or the person involved does not have a licence

Or not wearing a helmet driving to fast

The Thai authorities need to start enforcing stricter rules on people riding motor bikes

Unfortunately it's part of the Thai "sanuk" culture. Freedom to ride unhindered by wearing a crash helmet or abiding by rules believed not applicable ( or not applied) to them.

9 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

he bike carried Bangkok registration.

My scooter

2012 model Yamaha

driven by me for 13 years

in Patty

with Bangkok plates.

😎

3 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

His riding abilities aren't important if there was a brake failsure

They'd be even more important

6 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

No mate. Maybe you can tell me if it's legal to rent a motorbike with Bangkok plates on Koh Larn. Whatda' think?

maybe they rented it in bkk and drove it to pattaya? or maybe rental company bought it from bkk dealer and waiting to change registration.....who knows...problem is one dead and one scarred for life regardless of where the bike was rented.

Automatic motorbikes are not designed to safely drive down longer steep slopes. Since they are unable to use the engine as a brake, the brakes can easily overheat and fail. Combining this with an unexperienced driver on a motorbike for the first time, is a recipe for disaster.

7 hours ago, kimamey said:

I don't normally ride a motorcycle but I did wonder about the the road in question. If it is steep could the brakes have faded? Also, given what some roads are like in Thailand, is it littered with bumps and potholes? On the roads it's bad enough for cars, but for bikes the risk of being thrown off is much greater if avoidance isn't possible.

You can gain speed quickly when heading downhill on a scooter with the weight of two people. The key is to avoid building up too much speed in the first place. Additionally, the driver may have experienced target fixation, which is common among inexperienced riders. There’s also the possibility that he hit gravel, dirt, oil, or other obstacles. In Thailand, they aren’t exactly known for practicing proper maintenance, which can include issues like worn tires, worn-out brake pads, and not bleeding the brakes properly. However, in the photo, the path does not seem very steep, and the turn isn’t particularly sharp. 

12 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I very much doubt that it was a rental. The bike carried Bangkok registration.

"Police said initial inquiries indicated that Wan and his daughter had rented the motorcycle and ridden up to the wind turbine viewpoint.". The registration will reflect the location of the central business. Very likely the business operates more than one location.

So sad for the daughter and family.

19 hours ago, riverhigh said:

While this endorsement may mean a lot to you as an American,

How dare you sir, I am British! I took a M/C driving test in the UK

Edited August 7Aug 7 by jacko45k

It's hard to resist renting a MB isn't it. My first and only Koh Larn visit we had planned on songtaws for transport. When we got there, nothing....no public transport. Sooo we rented a MB for 2 adults and a 9 yr old and off we go. The road leading down to the beach was crazy steep, both brakes the whole way. Too steep to make it back up so ole lady took a win back.

Point is I didn't want to rent a MB but the only option for getting around.

20 hours ago, dddave said:

Not just Thailand. In Bermuda, non-residents are not allowed to rent cars, only motorbikes. It's a popular honeymoon destination and every year a litany of stories about newly-weds dying in motorbike accidents on the islands curvy roads.

So touchy is the issue that the Bermudian Govt. classifies road death stats as State secrets.

Tourists can rent the small electric cars in Bermuda. My daughter and son in law went there last year and said it was the craziest drivers they've ever seen. It mirrored what I tell them about Thailand, people on scooters cutting each other off all day long, making u-turns without looking, following too close and speeding. They saw a few accidents staying there only a few days.

17 hours ago, kimamey said:

I don't normally ride a motorcycle but I did wonder about the the road in question. If it is steep could the brakes have faded? Also, given what some roads are like in Thailand, is it littered with bumps and potholes? On the roads it's bad enough for cars, but for bikes the risk of being thrown off is much greater if avoidance isn't possible.

I've been driving a car long enough to know how to deal with long descents in either a manual or automatic. The only time I've ridden bikes is on the flat so I don't know what sort of engine braking there is.

The road in question is more of a walking path, about 1 meter wide with a surface consisting of brick tiles laid in the dirt. Many are loose and unstable. Portions are very steep with hairpin turns. It's a challenge to pass on coming traffic safely.

It's certainly steep enough to fade brakes, I alternate between using the front and back brake during descent to avoid brake fade.

The large majority of rental bikes are Honda Click 125, Scoopy 125, or Yamaha Aerox 155 all with "twist and go" transmissions offering no engine braking. A brake failure on a steep portion of the trail would be catastrophic, although there's plenty of opportunity to crash without a brake failure.

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

Tourists can rent the small electric cars in Bermuda. My daughter and son in law went there last year and said it was the craziest drivers they've ever seen. It mirrored what I tell them about Thailand, people on scooters cutting each other off all day long, making u-turns without looking, following too close and speeding. They saw a few accidents staying there only a few days.

Interesting. I should have pointed out my information was 20 years old. Small electric cars are probably much safer than motorbikes. Bermuda has always aggressively limited the amount of cars on the island. When I used to visit there, only one car per registered household was allowed. No two car families.

26 minutes ago, ftpjtm said:

The road in question is more of a walking path, about 1 meter wide with a surface consisting of brick tiles laid in the dirt. Many are loose and unstable. Portions are very steep with hairpin turns. It's a challenge to pass on coming traffic safely.

It's certainly steep enough to fade brakes, I alternate between using the front and back brake during descent to avoid brake fade.

The large majority of rental bikes are Honda Click 125, Scoopy 125, or Yamaha Aerox 155 all with "twist and go" transmissions offering no engine braking. A brake failure on a steep portion of the trail would be catastrophic, although there's plenty of opportunity to crash without a brake failure.

Adding a passenger on the back makes this much worse. When a GF and I were motorbiking around Chang Rai, she would have to get off the bike and walk down the steep hills. With her on the back, even with full brakes on, we'd still pick-up speed and there would always be an accumulation of sand at the bottom of the hill, just to make things spicier.

14 hours ago, papa al said:

My scooter

2012 model Yamaha

driven by me for 13 years

in Patty

with Bangkok plates.

😎

My query wasn't about owning, it was whether a bike could be rented out with plates from another province. It appears that it can.

On 8/8/2026 at 2:37 AM, ftpjtm said:

The road in question is more of a walking path, about 1 meter wide with a surface consisting of brick tiles laid in the dirt. Many are loose and unstable. Portions are very steep with hairpin turns. It's a challenge to pass on coming traffic safely.

It's certainly steep enough to fade brakes, I alternate between using the front and back brake during descent to avoid brake fade.

The large majority of rental bikes are Honda Click 125, Scoopy 125, or Yamaha Aerox 155 all with "twist and go" transmissions offering no engine braking. A brake failure on a steep portion of the trail would be catastrophic, although there's plenty of opportunity to crash without a brake failure.

Thanks, that all makes sense. It seems there could be many reasons that problems could have occured.

On 8/7/2026 at 3:57 PM, Mr Awesome said:

You can gain speed quickly when heading downhill on a scooter with the weight of two people. The key is to avoid building up too much speed in the first place. Additionally, the driver may have experienced target fixation, which is common among inexperienced riders. There’s also the possibility that he hit gravel, dirt, oil, or other obstacles. In Thailand, they aren’t exactly known for practicing proper maintenance, which can include issues like worn tires, worn-out brake pads, and not bleeding the brakes properly. However, in the photo, the path does not seem very steep, and the turn isn’t particularly sharp. 

I hadn't thought of gravel but that could cause problems, even if it was only a small patch.