Aussie woman’s birthday trip to Thailand a ‘holiday from hell’ after horror scooter crash

A BIRTHDAY trip to Thailand has become a living nightmare for an Australian woman who may lose her leg after a gruesome scooter accident in Phuket.

Lauren McMah@lauren_mcmah 

news.com.au

 

IT WAS meant to be an idyllic holiday in Thailand to celebrate her 30th birthday.

 

But Brisbane woman Stacey Liddle is instead holed up in a Phuket hospital and facing the prospect of losing her leg after she became badly injured in a horror scooter accident.

 

Ms Liddle’s loved ones are desperately trying to raise money to bring her back to Australia amid fears her seriously injured leg will need to be amputated.

 

And they’re also struggling to deal with the gruesome crash that turned Ms Liddle’s dream birthday trip into a nightmare.

 

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/aussie-womans-birthday-trip-to-thailand-a-holiday-from-hell-after-horror-scooter-crash/news-story/a61acc2e0bdba5e801fa00d58de34484

 

-- © Copyright News.com.au 2017-10-31

"My sister took a risk that she would never take here in Australia"

 

Therein lies the problem, but good luck to the young lady.

Seems some keywords don't add up: age almost 30, idyllic holiday, scooter and travel insurance...

Unfortunately most tourists have never sat on bike in their lives before renting a scooter here. Sad story and even if she had insurance it's probable to exclude bikes

Does she have a motorbike licence? I'm sure she wouldn't do the same in Australia. When will these companies stop renting bikes to those who have no idea of how to ride a bike, especially in a foreign country. Even rules such as "Right of way" also has a different interpretation here. 

Edited October 31, 20178 yr by DavisH

well she wont be doing that again !!

"While Ms Liddle took out insurance before her trip, it appears her coverage does not insure her against this incident"

would be interesting to know why. most people know to make sure their insurance cover motorbikes when in thailand as chances are you are going to get on one at some point and well, the RTA figures speak for themselves. I have heard of people having insurance whether travel or expat where travelling on motorbikes was covered but they wouldn't pay out if you weren't wearing a helmet even if on mototaxi or your driving licence didn't cover you to ride motorbikes that kind of thing. at the end of the day most insurers are going to look for a way not to pay

that said, very unfortunate. one of so so many every year

9 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

"While Ms Liddle took out insurance before her trip, it appears her coverage does not insure her against this incident"

would be interesting to know why. most people know to make sure their insurance cover motorbikes when in thailand as chances are you are going to get on one at some point and well, the RTA figures speak for themselves. I have heard of people having insurance whether travel or expat where travelling on motorbikes was covered but they wouldn't pay out if you weren't wearing a helmet even if on mototaxi or your driving licence didn't cover you to ride motorbikes that kind of thing. at the end of the day most insurers are going to look for a way not to pay

that said, very unfortunate. one of so so many every year

to the contrary, i would suggest that, to the vast majority of those who visit thailand, whether or not their insurance covers motorcycle accidents only occurs to them after a motorcycle accident.

37 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

Unfortunately most tourists have never sat on bike in their lives before renting a scooter here. Sad story and even if she had insurance it's probable to exclude bikes

Didn't she even have a motobike driverslicense and insurance?

In that case the renter of the bike is responsible as well.

54 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

Unfortunately most tourists have never sat on bike in their lives before renting a scooter here. Sad story and even if she had insurance it's probable to exclude bikes

My travel insurance is voided if I ride a m'bike over a certain cc and if I don't have a valid m'bike licence and if I am not wearing a helmet. Some policies require an extra payment to cover m'bikes.

 

The real problem is that some tourists leave their brains at immigration.

It's past time for any tourist to require travel insurance on arrival, or be denied entry. Too many stories about tourist's family "desperately" trying to raise money because the injured person didn't have insurance.

 

 

Edited October 31, 20178 yr by thaibeachlovers

9 minutes ago, Thian said:

Didn't she even have a motobike driverslicense and insurance?

In that case the renter of the bike is responsible as well.

In LOS?  

This is an all too tragic event which keeps reoccurring, perhaps governments back in the home countries of those, not just Aussies, should start advertising that if you hire a bike or para-sail in overseas countries, it is more than likely that your not covered under your travel insurance policy, if you are for riding a bike, then make sure you have the appropriate motorcycle license to be able to ride overseas.

 

It really is that simple, they could add to that, that is more probable that the owner of the motorcycle business doesn't have insurance to cover you and suing them in a foreign country would be ill advisable, so to recap:

 

Check what your insurance covers you for, as most exclude motor scooters/cycles, para-sailing, etc etc and the like of you leaving hospital without paying your bills, cannot be possible. 

10 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

My travel insurance is voided if I ride a m'bike over a certain cc and if I don't have a valid m'bike licence and if I am not wearing a helmet. Some policies require an extra payment to cover m'bikes.

 

The real problem is that some tourists leave their brains at immigration.

It's past time for any tourist to require travel insurance on arrival, or be denied entry. Too many stories about tourist's family "desperately" trying to raise money because the injured person didn't have insurance.

I appreciate your candor and totally agree with you, but as we all know here in the LOS, its all about the money, money, money, in other words, Thai could think like this, i.e. opposed to us; OMB if we stop people coming in who don't have travel insurance, Thailand will sink

45 minutes ago, Happy enough said:

"While Ms Liddle took out insurance before her trip, it appears her coverage does not insure her against this incident"

would be interesting to know why. most people know to make sure their insurance cover motorbikes when in thailand as chances are you are going to get on one at some point and well, the RTA figures speak for themselves. I have heard of people having insurance whether travel or expat where travelling on motorbikes was covered but they wouldn't pay out if you weren't wearing a helmet even if on mototaxi or your driving licence didn't cover you to ride motorbikes that kind of thing. at the end of the day most insurers are going to look for a way not to pay

that said, very unfortunate. one of so so many every year

Personally I can't blame the insurance company for wanting out, i.e. when you take out insurance, you have to do everything that is required of you in that country, i.e. you have a duty of care to the insurance company as they do to you, duty of care doesn't include riding without a helmet, or riding without the appropriate license to ride in that country.

 

So it boils down to the one taking out the insurance to make sure that they have read their policy and to use commonsense, which is much around these days, ah, have insurance, will travel, question; what kind of insurance do you have, ah, don;t know, but I'm insured because I paid for it before I left.....der

1 hour ago, InMyShadow said:

Unfortunately most tourists have never sat on bike in their lives before renting a scooter here. Sad story and even if she had insurance it's probable to exclude bikes

And she probably didn't have a licence, so that would invalidate any insurance even if bikes were covered.

Hmmmm, kind of sad if family and friends can't put together enough money to bring her home.   Also that the only money she had was for the trip and no other savings? Plus no insurance and not knowing how to ride a scooter properly.  Good luck to her, she'll need it!

2 hours ago, DavisH said:

Does she have a motorbike licence? I'm sure she wouldn't do the same in Australia. When will these companies stop renting bikes to those who have no idea of how to ride a bike, especially in a foreign country. Even rules such as "Right of way" also has a different interpretation here. 

They never will,  They have no care for you,  at all on the roads.

Money Number one.  every time.  

Edited October 31, 20178 yr by metisdead
Please do not modify someone else's post in your quoted reply, either with font or color changes or wording.

I bought an accident insurance policy here through a well known farang broker and specifically told him via email I wanted bike cover as a pillion passenger.. No worries done deal. I took his word, he was recommended.

No coverage in bold letters!

I urge every one who has insurance to take time to read your policy before your next spin.

 

    It's a very tragic and sad accident, but somehow forseeable. I assume that she hasn't got a dl for a motorbike and it's not a great idea to blame the country for it.

 

A speedy and fully recovery and good luck. 

 

   

  

4 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

I bought an accident insurance policy here through a well known farang broker and specifically told him via email I wanted bike cover as a pillion passenger.. No worries done deal. I took his word, he was recommended.

No coverage in bold letters!

I urge every one who has insurance to take time to read your policy before your next spin.

It's against the law for foreigners to sell insurance in Thailand.

So what did you expect?

4 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

I bought an accident insurance policy here through a well known farang broker and specifically told him via email I wanted bike cover as a pillion passenger.. No worries done deal. I took his word, he was recommended.

No coverage in bold letters!

I urge every one who has insurance to take time to read your policy before your next spin.

It might be good to know that a motorbike insurance is only covering medical costs of up to 12,000 baht, which isn't a lot. 

38 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

I appreciate your candor and totally agree with you, but as we all know here in the LOS, its all about the money, money, money, in other words, Thai could think like this, i.e. opposed to us; OMB if we stop people coming in who don't have travel insurance, Thailand will sink

Or as adults we could just take responsibility for our own actions. 

The ridiculous indifference to the inherent dangers of renting & operating any form of motorised transport in a foreign country is strangely lacking from a large majority of tourists. 

Attempting to place blame at the feet of the renter does nothing to solve the problem. In Asia we are far removed from the cotton wool, save us from ourselves interventions back home. It’s up to us to identity and recognise the risks, which in this case are all too obvious, something that seems to have been lost in the new millinium. 

Enforcing legislation to stop people from renting unless licenced and insured would have little effect IMO. What’s to stop people just getting a friend that is licenced to hire a bike for them?

 

It's against the law for foreigners to sell insurance in Thailand.
So what did you expect?

He like everybody else uses a thai to complete the transaction. Thousands of businesses here operate the same way.
I assume your a tourist not knowing that
It certainly doesn't make them all dishonest
I got the balance refunded and bought a cheaper one through bangkok bank

27 minutes ago, stanleycoin said:

They never will,  They have no care for you,  at all on the roads.

Money Number one.  every time.  

She had no care for herself. Ignorance number one.

6 minutes ago, InMyShadow said:

He like everybody else uses a thai to complete the transaction. Thousands of businesses here operate the same way.
I assume your a tourist not knowing that
It certainly doesn't make them all dishonest
I got the balance refunded and bought a cheaper one through bangkok bank

Still a crook.

1 hour ago, InMyShadow said:

Unfortunately most tourists have never sat on bike in their lives before renting a scooter here. Sad story and even if she had insurance it's probable to exclude bikes

Yesterday I was leaving a restaurant and some tourist comes crashing to the curb, surprisingly got over the curb and onto the sidewalk, and drove straight into a wall. Russian male.

 

It happened 5 feet from me and I just shook my head, asked if he was OK, then left.

 

Not too long ago I saw a Chinese couple pull out of a bike rental shop and drive head first into a parked mini van.

 

Everywhere you look there are people with fresh bandages limping about, obviously from bike accidents.

 

It’s absolute carnage out there.

Still a crook.

Not a thai thing as you're suggesting. Just as crooked in your birth place

This type of story gets played again and again. People with no experience riding motorcycles on their safe roads at home think they can just come out and do it while on vacation in the developing world where it's just not as safe. Inexperience plus the poor local driving skills are often a recipe for disaster.

I feel bad for this woman, but it should serve as a warning to anybody coming here. Don't rent a scooter if you don't ride a motorcycle at home. Even if you are an experienced rider, you are not experienced riding in Thailand. 

1 hour ago, Thian said:

Didn't she even have a motobike driverslicense and insurance?

In that case the renter of the bike is responsible as well.

And why would that be?

Go to a restaurant, eat a fish and choke on a bone, I suppose you'd also say it's the restaurants fault for not removing them. 

People need to take responsibility for their own actions.

2 hours ago, Thian said:

Didn't she even have a motobike driverslicense and insurance?

In that case the renter of the bike is responsible as well.

Responsible for what exactly?