Emergency Ban Imposed On Donut Boats After Recent Fatal Jet Ski Accident On Jomtien Beach.

[britmaveric]

Emergency Ban imposed on Donut Boats after recent fatal Jet Ski accident on Jomtien Beach.

Following on from the story we featured on yesterdays show regarding the fatal Jet Ski accident on Jomtien Beach which took the life of an 18 year old Thai man, we joined Khun Ronagit, Deputy Mayor of Pattaya as he made an inspection of a Donut Boat which s similar to the one involved in the accident over the weekend.

Khun Ronagit has decided to issue an emergency order to ban the use of such inflatable devices until a thorough investigation into safety concerns relating to the boats is undertaken. The Deputy Mayor has warned all boating operators that should anyone defy the ban, substantial fines will be handed out.

Khun Ronagit promised them that as soon as safety concerns are resolved, he will allow use of these donut boats to resume, but only if he is assured that accidents such as the one over the weekend will not occur again.

-Pattaya City News

Tuesday 16th January 2007

[Rinrada]

Assume he has also ordered an immediate BAN on Jet Skis as well....or is it a case of TIT

[britmaveric]

Assume he has also ordered an immediate BAN on Jet Skis as well....or is it a case of TIT

Jet Ski(s) are safe, obviously the donuts are the hazard!!

[icecubes]

Assume he has also ordered an immediate BAN on Jet Skis as well....or is it a case of TIT

Jet Ski(s) are safe, obviously the donuts are the hazard!!

Could be a step in the right direction.

We dont want people to die on holiday.

[londonthai]

those boats are all over the world, on each beach.

the mayor want's to make them bullet proof and unsinkable. Wise man

[MisterFingers]

This is the same as banning pedestrians from crossing a certain street because some drunk driver plowed into someone there.

Not too sure about the logic here.

I'm guessing the mayor has a friend who is somehow involved in the jet ski business.

Edited January 18, 2007 by MisterFingers

[tropo]

This is the same as banning pedestrians from crossing a certain street because some drunk driver plowed into someone there.

Not too sure about the logic here.

I'm guessing the mayor has a friend who is somehow involved in the jet ski business.

You beat me to it MisterFingers. I was seconds away from using exactly the same illustration, however pedestrians can be killed by sober drivers too. Pedestrians don't always look out for traffic and can also be drunk.

If we had to ban any vehicle wherein fatalities have occurred, we can include just about every transport vehicle i.e. airplanes, cars, motorcycles, trains, ships, boats, bicycles, rollerskates, skateboards and just about anything else that moves.

Edited January 18, 2007 by tropo

[OlRedEyes]

The mentality is nothing short of sad.

[Mobi]

And no doubt the donuts will be back in the sea within a week or so.

Yes, it is indeed very sad.

[thebounder]

Actually it is not a bad idea. In crowded waters such as Pattaya and Jomtien Bays, these donuts are very dangerous. If the boat pulling them turns, the effect is to whip the donut and its passengers across from one side of the boat to the other at very high speed. This will often shoot them out very wide of the boat pulling them. Their momentum cannot be easily stopped and therefore they are often basically out of control. With jet skiis zooming around every which way, the potential for serious accidents such as the one that took place at the weekend is exceptionally high. They are completely different to the banana boats which basically sit behind the speed boat and thus don't get thrown around and won't therefore suddenly appear in front of fast moving jet skiis.

[ZZZ]

I have not seen these donut boats in action but assume they are towed by a speed boat. If this is done the same way as they tow the parachutes they should definitely be banned, together with the parachutes.

These speedboats all have only one person in them. This guy have to drive the speedboat, keep an eye on where he is going, keep an eye on what he is towing and keep an eye out on everyone else to avoid collision.

There are definitely to many things to look after for one person, all these operations should have a minimum of two people in the speedboat and be in a designated area.

Edited January 18, 2007 by ZZZ

[tropo]

I have not seen these donut boats in action but assume they are towed by a speed boat. If this is done the same way as they tow the parachutes they should definitely be banned, together with the parachutes.

These speedboats all have only one person in them. This guy have to drive the speedboat, keep an eye on where he is going, keep an eye on what he is towing and keep an eye out on everyone else to avoid collision.

There are definitely to many things to look after for one person, all these operations should have a minimum of two people in the speedboat and be in a designated area.

Reminds me of the time I was dragged along the beach in Bali when they were trying to land me in a parachute. I take it they don't do beach landings here, but you couldn't pay me to try that again.

[PhilHarries]

I also have never seen these things in action but I presume the principle is the same, speed boat driver executes tight turns at the ends of each run to try and throw the inflatable's passengers into the water. Great fun (?), not for me though I've ridden on a banana boat a couple of times and it isn't pleasant (there's no place to rest your beer bottle ).

The biggest risk comes when all the passengers are thrown of these items into the sea, out beyond the normal swimming zones. Then you have a mixture of power craft (Speed boats and jet skis), sail craft (wind surfers and catamarans) and swimmers. Then, say, the jet ski driver who has had his eye on the banana boat suddenly has to watch for up to eight scattered swimmers. If his attention is distracted at the moment the people are thrown into the water he may be completely unaware that they are there and in choppy water it's not easy to spot folks heads.

It is fairly obvious from the number of accidents that some form of control is required. Accidents, mostly minor, are heppening almost every day particularly with jet skis but it takes a death or serious injury to make the news. The difficult part is coming up with the right level of control that assures people's safety without spoiling the fun aspect. We don't want to resort to a kind of beach police force patrolling the waterfront blowing whistles every couple of minutes.

The only simple scheme I can come up with, short of a total ban which does have it's attractions, is create a zone for jet skis only and none are permitted to operate outside of it.

[Phil Conners]

Those donut thingys are lethal, not anything like the docile bananaboats. By turning the boat slowly the donut swings with extreme speeds up to 90-100 kts, they're small enough to be easily overseen and difficult to control for anyone, not least Somchai on a sleepy afternoon.

[Basil B]

Ban drunken Turnips…

But to be serious, extend the law to being drunk in charge of any vehicle, boat, ship or plane.

Make it an offence to lend, loan or rent any vehicle, boat, ship or plane to anybody who is incapable of using it without risk to others.

Make all these activities carry public liability and accident insurance to cover the users as many may not be covered by there own holiday insurance.

BB

[bazmlb]

This is the same as banning pedestrians from crossing a certain street because some drunk driver plowed into someone there.

Not too sure about the logic here.

I'm guessing the mayor has a friend who is somehow involved in the jet ski business.

Wow i wonder why Mobi and Tammi didnt jump on this post and say how silly it would be to ban pedestrians, kinda the same as i said about banning cars

I really don't want to get into a slanging match over this but your comments can't go unanswered.

It is patently ridiculous to compare cars to jet skis.

Cars a a necessary evil and essential to modern day life. Jet skis are an unneccesary evil, and are just there for the fun of the users.

[Tammi]

This is the same as banning pedestrians from crossing a certain street because some drunk driver plowed into someone there.

Not too sure about the logic here.

I'm guessing the mayor has a friend who is somehow involved in the jet ski business.

Wow i wonder why Mobi and Tammi didnt jump on this post and say how silly it would be to ban pedestrians, kinda the same as i said about banning cars

I really don't want to get into a slanging match over this but your comments can't go unanswered.

It is patently ridiculous to compare cars to jet skis.

Cars a a necessary evil and essential to modern day life. Jet skis are an unneccesary evil, and are just there for the fun of the users.

[Tammi]

This is the same as banning pedestrians from crossing a certain street because some drunk driver plowed into someone there.

Not too sure about the logic here.

I'm guessing the mayor has a friend who is somehow involved in the jet ski business.

Wow i wonder why Mobi and Tammi didnt jump on this post and say how silly it would be to ban pedestrians, kinda the same as i said about banning cars

I really don't want to get into a slanging match over this but your comments can't go unanswered.

It is patently ridiculous to compare cars to jet skis.

Cars a a necessary evil and essential to modern day life. Jet skis are an unneccesary evil, and are just there for the fun of the users.

Sorry about that. It's been a long day. I would like to see jet skis banned from, at least, busy beaches. They are noisy and dangerous. From what I read donuts should be banned too. I remember how it was without jet skis, donuts, and banana boats, and speed boats. Idyllic. Would take my beach chair and G&T to the beach to watch the sunset to the tune of the sea gently lapping on the clean, white sand. Then to the Sugar Hut for supper. No car park, no motorbikes, no shops. Just a handful of tourists and the soft wind whispering in the palms. Then walk home with no thought of chain snatchers, bag snachers, knifers, bashers. No ladyboys, transvestites, kamoys, katoys. Leave the windows open and sleep tight.

[tropo]

Sorry about that. It's been a long day. I would like to see jet skis banned from, at least, busy beaches. They are noisy and dangerous. From what I read donuts should be banned too. I remember how it was without jet skis, donuts, and banana boats, and speed boats. Idyllic. Would take my beach chair and G&T to the beach to watch the sunset to the tune of the sea gently lapping on the clean, white sand. Then to the Sugar Hut for supper. No car park, no motorbikes, no shops. Just a handful of tourists and the soft wind whispering in the palms. Then walk home with no thought of chain snatchers, bag snachers, knifers, bashers. No ladyboys, transvestites, kamoys, katoys. Leave the windows open and sleep tight.

They call it progress. Jet Skis are important in a popular beach tourist destination. They're absolutely essential in the context of Pattaya's image.

There are plenty of quiet, serene beaches for the not so adventurous.

Edited January 18, 2007 by tropo

[tropo]

-->

QUOTE(Basil B @ 2007-01-18 13:10:54) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ban drunken Turnips…

But to be serious, extend the law to being drunk in charge of any vehicle, boat, ship or plane.

Make it an offence to lend, loan or rent any vehicle, boat, ship or plane to anybody who is incapable of using it without risk to others.

Make all these activities carry public liability and accident insurance to cover the users as many may not be covered by there own holiday insurance.

BB

Everyone keeps harping on about 'drunk' as though only drunk people can have accidents. Everyone can have accidents. I've had accidents and I NEVER drink.

A lot of these tourists who hire jetskis are totally inexperienced on them. In my estimation inexperienced drivers of high powered jetskis would be the biggest danger. Most of these tourists never ride jetskis except once or twice while on vacation. They're being handed 700cc - 1000cc speed machines without any training at all....that's the big danger.

[icecubes]

This is the same as banning pedestrians from crossing a certain street because some drunk driver plowed into someone there.

Not too sure about the logic here.

I'm guessing the mayor has a friend who is somehow involved in the jet ski business.

Wow i wonder why Mobi and Tammi didnt jump on this post and say how silly it would be to ban pedestrians, kinda the same as i said about banning cars

I really don't want to get into a slanging match over this but your comments can't go unanswered.

It is patently ridiculous to compare cars to jet skis.

Cars a a necessary evil and essential to modern day life. Jet skis are an unneccesary evil, and are just there for the fun of the users.

Sorry about that. It's been a long day. I would like to see jet skis banned from, at least, busy beaches. They are noisy and dangerous. From what I read donuts should be banned too. I remember how it was without jet skis, donuts, and banana boats, and speed boats. Idyllic. Would take my beach chair and G&T to the beach to watch the sunset to the tune of the sea gently lapping on the clean, white sand. Then to the Sugar Hut for supper. No car park, no motorbikes, no shops. Just a handful of tourists and the soft wind whispering in the palms. Then walk home with no thought of chain snatchers, bag snachers, knifers, bashers. No ladyboys, transvestites, kamoys, katoys. Leave the windows open and sleep tight.

All true, but the last ones stretching it a bit

[Mobi]

Wow i wonder why Mobi and Tammi didnt jump on this post and say how silly it would be to ban pedestrians, kinda the same as i said about banning cars

Seeing as you've asked, OK then...

It's patently ridiculous to comapare pedestrians with donuts.,

(although come to think of it, there's few residents of Pattaya who could make a passing resemblance to one)

In fact, let's ban donuts any farang who looks like one.

Happy now?