Frenchman killed in motorcycle crash on Samui

[webfact]

Frenchman killed in motorcycle crash on Samui

By The Nation

 

Picture: Tnews/77Jowo

 

A Frenchman who owned a few French restaurants on Kon Samui in Surat Thani was killed in a motorcycle crash Tuesday evening, police said.
 

Oliver Aunay, 54, a French citizen, died in the accident on Thawee Ratphakdee road in Moo 1 in Tambon Mae Nam of Samui district at 6pm.

 

Footage from a security camera showed that Aunay was riding his motorcycle when a motorcycle driven by a Thai man crossed the road, cutting his way.

 

The clip showed Aunay trying to stop his motorcycle, but it fell over and slid on the road until the Frenchman’s head hit a step pedal on the other motorcycle.

 

The other motorcyclist was identified as Pongpol Pinpat, 30. He claimed that he had already crossed the road halfway when Aunay's motorcycle sped towards him.

 

Aunay's friend told police that he was returning home from a meeting at a law firm in Tambon Maret on Ban Lamai beach to negotiate the sale of one of his French restaurants to a German.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30338798

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2018-02-14

[cornishcarlos]

Thailand, maintaining their worlds top spot, 1 crash at a time !!!

RIP Mr French man...

[BEVUP]

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

The other motorcyclist was identified as Pongpol Pinpat, 30. He claimed that he had already crossed the road halfway when Aunay's motorcycle sped towards him.

 

Amazing !

[Darcula]

15 minutes ago, webfact said:

He claimed that he had already crossed the road halfway when Aunay's motorcycle sped towards him.

 

Just for giving such a ridiculous excuse, they should double his fine to 1000 baht.

[PoorSucker]

23 minutes ago, Darcula said:

 

Just for giving such a ridiculous excuse, they should double his fine to 1000 baht.

I have seen the video, the Thai was five seconds into turning right towards Bophut, accident happened at mid road. 

[KhunBENQ]

Sad accident.

He was wearing a helmet but probably a broken neck.

Very unlucky. With some luck he would have escaped with some bruises.

 

The other bike was almost over the center line and the French was quite fast and obviously realized the other bike quite late.

He had more than enough chance to avoid the situation.

The other bike rider used a sufficient gap in traffic to cross over.

Busy traffic, high speed, not looking forward.

An avoidable accident in an everyday situation.

 

 

[evadgib]

The video shows quite clearly that the other bloke was looking entirely in the wrong direction as he crossed the deceased's lane 

[Shroud]

Where's the video?

[1337markus]

2 hours ago, evadgib said:

The video shows quite clearly that the other bloke was looking entirely in the wrong direction as he crossed the deceased's lane 

Ever see a Thai look, its me first!

[KhunBENQ]

47 minutes ago, Shroud said:

Where's the video?

https://vdokh.matichon.co.th/videos/public/iframe/89a50ef6e73b1475e69ad47ed74024c4/adaptive_hls/?post_id=753029&category=around-thailand

[spidermike007]

And why are these drivers speeding in the first place? The primary reason is the toy police force. Nobody, and I mean nobody takes these guys seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (weak Little P.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends the trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

 

When I was growing up, we took drivers education classes. They showed us these horrendous films, of semi trucks crashing into cars, and literally obliterating them, and everything inside. Also, they showed very graphic images of head on collisions. Even as a young kid, it left a lasting impression, and I realized driving was no joking matter. Especially when you have your friends, or loved ones in the car with you. I am constantly astonished at the kinds of chances people take here, with their entire family in the car with them. Why? What is the logic? What is the reason? Why take those risks? Often, when someone cuts onto the highway in front of me, as I am doing 100kpm or more on the highway, I look in my rearview mirror, and there is nobody behind me for quite some distance. Which means, had they paused, and waited 2 or 3 seconds, there would have been zero risk to them, their family, or me and my family. What can one even say? All of this matters even more when driving a motorbike, where there is no protection. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. 

All the checkpoints do is clog traffic on the highways, and put alot of cash into the pockets of the toy police. It is all about catching people performing moving violations. That is what causes most accidents. And herein lies the deterrent. As long as everyone is allowed to get away with extremely reckless driving, entering the highway in front of an oncoming vehicle that is only 100 meters away, going 100kph, cutting in front of vehicles within one meter at high speeds, swerving like crazy idiots all over the highway, trucks and 40 year old cars occupying the fast lane doing 40kph, when other vehicles are approaching doing 120kph, drunk driving, etc, accidents, major injuries and deaths will continue to happen, and no amount of rhetoric and platitudes by the fabulously incompetent and insincere authorities are going to make any difference. 

 

Real men do what is necessary to save lives. Kids and highly underdeveloped people make promises, tell lies and engage in deflection.

 

Little P.  - Moving Thailand backwards at a breath taking, alarming, and astonishing pace. 

 

 

 

 

Now for my scooter rant:

Many of us drive motorcycles or scooters here, and it is dangerous getting on the roads with some of these other drivers. 

Getting on a scooter, or a motorcycle anywhere in Thailand, much less Phuket, Phangan, Dark Tao, or Samui without a very good helmet, is like playing Russian Roulette with three or four bullets in the chamber. It is absolutely asking for problems. The degree of recklessness here is astounding. And many foreigners come here thinking "how much trouble could I get in on a little scooter, on a tropical island"? Well, the answer is alot. The amount of foreigners who are killed on the Southern islands is staggering. Most are not reported in the media. I had a friend who worked for Samui rescue for many years, and said the numbers were about 30-60 a month, on Samui, Phangan and Koh Tao. The official number is about 3 a month. Rider beware. Use as good a helmet as you can afford, and do not use these eggshells pieces of crap. They crack at the first impact, and what lies underneath them? Your skull, which is very delicate. 
 
Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last two years. One still cannot walk, or talk or function on her own, from a motorbike accident, where she hit her head on the pavement going only 20 kph. The other one has lost alot of his mental capacity after hitting his head. He insisted for years he would never wear a helmet. Now, he seems 15 years older. 

 

I was told by a very reliable source. He did not have an agenda. He rescued alot of the survivors. He attended to alot of the ones who did not make it. The press here is highly censored. The report only what the so called leaders want them to report. Nothing else. Social media? Why would social media report these statistics? They report individual accidents, but not overall statistics. Anything you read about accidents on Samui in the media would be false. 

 

 

• Road deaths are now calculated based on fatalities on-site. Victims dying later in hospital not counted.
• In 2000 there was an average of 30 deaths a month on Koh Samui (official figures released each month).
• Now it is stated that Koh Samui has 3-5 deaths each month (using the new way of reporting road deaths).
• In the last ten years the population has almost doubled and there are now 5x more vehicles on Koh Samui.
• Based on ‘official figures’ today it is possible to estimate that Koh Samui currently has 60 deaths per million per year. (Compared to 23 in London.) Based on the population and traffic density statistics from 10 years ago Koh Samui has in reality 720 deaths per million per year. This is probably the highest rate of road deaths in the world. Samui is a fatality death spot that nobody is willing to acknowledge!

 

In the world that I come from, respect has to be earned, and it is never freely given. The authorities here deserve little respect, as they do not earn it. The police care little for the people, do not engage in any sort of traffic safety, only show up after an accident has taken place, do not ever pull anyone over for reckless driving, threatening lives on the highway, speeding, or driving while drunk. Sure, they nab people at checkpoints. But, most of those checkpoints just slow up traffic on the highway, and rarely result in making the highways safer. So, unless and until they start doing their jobs, they will continue to get little respect from the public. You get what you earn in this life. Most cops here cannot be taken seriously, as they are not serious people, and treat their job as a private franchise, rarely engage in law enforcement, or protection of the public.

[animatic]

21 minutes ago, KhunBENQ said:

https://vdokh.matichon.co.th/videos/public/iframe/89a50ef6e73b1475e69ad47ed74024c4/adaptive_hls/?post_id=753029&category=around-thailand

Clearly the other drivers fault. Pulling out before he has a proper place to enter his lane and abruptly blocking the right of way of Mr. Aunay. Who appeared to be driving at the speed of other traffic on that direction.

 

Tres triste, RIP monseur A.

[quandow]

9 minutes ago, animatic said:

Clearly the other drivers fault. Pulling out before he has a proper place to enter his lane and abruptly blocking the right of way of Mr. Aunay.

If this were a civilized country I couldn't agree with you more. The problem is this lack of civility in driving is accepted by all Thai natives. It's the double-edged sword we all suffer. One of the most important factors in my deciding to leave the U.S. and move here was speed limits. I just can't obey them, and was spending too much money on raised insurance rates and speeding tickets. The obvious lack of give-a-damn by the Thai government from top to bottom means adherence to driving laws won't change any time soon. This doesn't negate what the Thai driver did, he was clearly wrong - from a logical, civilized point of view. Unfortunately, when in Rome ...

[BEVUP]

13 minutes ago, animatic said:

Clearly the other drivers fault. Pulling out before he has a proper place to enter his lane and abruptly blocking the right of way of Mr. Aunay. Who appeared to be driving at the speed of other traffic on that direction.

 

Tres triste, RIP monseur A.

Technically your right, but as we know TIT

I think a few things contributed to his death, but one can only state as they were not in the situation.

As mentioned the entering bike delayed his turn mid drift & to me I think the French guy was assuming that he may be clear by the time he got there

Even though the French guy was speeding I do think he may of had time to react by way of just swerving to the left

- it seems like some 20 mtrs or so that he should of had him in his sights

& just thinking of the last phrase, It was obvious the laying down of the bike that caused his fate (but we never guess we may end up hitting something )

[VocalNeal]

32 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

And why are these drivers speeding in the first place?

What if Superman had worked for the Germans?

 

Video? The deceased had all the opportunity in the world to to move to his left and ride behind the guy. He was distracted by something. It pains me to say this but either the bike was not ABS equipped or it malfunctioned. ABS not withstanding the diseased was not riding with 100% of his faculties engaged in the activity of riding and yes he may have thought the guy would not be there when he got there but made no attempt to move to the left. Distracted.

[KhunBENQ]

Could not have described it better than @BEVUP

With an attitude like the French guy your chances are bad to survive on Thai streets.

 

And now think how long you would you have to wait for two completely clear lanes to cross over at such a street. Might become a long night.

 

7 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

to me I think the French guy was assuming that he may be clear by the time he got there

Obviously, he steers directly towards the other bike without a sign of reaction.

 

[spidermike007]

It appears he was wearing a very cheap helmet, that flew right off, when his head hit the drivetrain of the oncoming bike. It is possible a 2,000 baht helmet might have saved his life. Maybe. Maybe not. It does appear that the motorbike might have run over his head, or may have run over his neck, in which case he did not have a chance. In Thailand this kind of severely reckless driving, on the part of the numskull who cut out across the lane takes place all the time. There is no deterrent. And Samui is the worst and most dangerous place in the country. Just returned from four days there, and it is only getting worse. The roads are getting busier by the month, and few exercise caution. The police do not care, one iota. Traffic deaths mean nothing to them, as they are so accustomed to dealing with it daily, they are poorly paid, and there seems to be little profit engaging in traffic safety. 

 

He may have been distracted. Very hard to tell by the video. It does not appear he made an attempt to slow down, to avoid this clown. The pavement does appear to be wet. It was probably a rental bike, and his tires may not have been in the best condition possible. Surviving on a motorbike, on the roads on Samui, takes a great deal of skill, experience, patience, consciousness, awareness, and fortitude. Nobody should ever drive a motorbike on Samui without many years of riding experience, and even then, you are taking a big risk daily. 

[Berkshire]

24 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Video? The deceased had all the opportunity in the world to to move to his left and ride behind the guy. He was distracted by something. It pains me to say this but either the bike was not ABS equipped or it malfunctioned. ABS not withstanding the diseased was not riding with 100% of his faculties engaged in the activity of riding and yes he may have thought the guy would not be there when he got there but made no attempt to move to the left. Distracted.

Have to agree.  The deceased could have easily moved to his left or slowed down.  An easily avoidable accident, but instead, a needless death. 

[KhunBENQ]

1 minute ago, spidermike007 said:

experience, patience, consciousness, awareness

[Crash999]

53 minutes ago, animatic said:

Clearly the other drivers fault. Pulling out before he has a proper place to enter his lane and abruptly blocking the right of way of Mr. Aunay. Who appeared to be driving at the speed of other traffic on that direction.

 

Tres triste, RIP monseur A.

Unfortunately that’s the normal way of driving here. Pull out and wait in the center. 

 

No no idea why the frenchman didn’t swerve until the last minute but you can see he was going much much faster than the motorcycle that was in front of him at the start of the video. 

 

If one assumes people will drive here like in their home country it’s a recipe for disaster. Always drive defensively. 

[aussiebrian]

45 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

Technically your right, but as we know TIT

I think a few things contributed to his death, but one can only state as they were not in the situation.

As mentioned the entering bike delayed his turn mid drift & to me I think the French guy was assuming that he may be clear by the time he got there

Even though the French guy was speeding I do think he may of had time to react by way of just swerving to the left

- it seems like some 20 mtrs or so that he should of had him in his sights

& just thinking of the last phrase, It was obvious the laying down of the bike that caused his fate (but we never guess we may end up hitting something )

This is Thailand, the Thai guy in a western country would be in the wrong for not waiting for a completely free gap, but the French guy had plenty of time to first slow down when he saw him, to check if safe which it was and move to the left a little, not panic at the last moment and lock his front wheel up, and also to wear a helmet that would have saved his life. 

In the video, it also shows his helmet, which is broken, and would have been the final straw that was caused his death. 

The French guy looks like he is going too fast, but that wasn't the main cause of the collision. 

Maybe the French guy wasn't paying attention and didn't see him till just before he grabbed the front brake, but if he was paying attention, there was plenty of time to avoid it if he was experienced.

Some people said he layed the bike down, he didn't, it was the panic grab with the front brake made him lose control and drop his bike.

After riding in Thailand covering over 200,000 km, to me this is not unusual in the least to see the bike crossing like that in front of me,  this is exactly what you have to look for and normal in Thailand. I would say it was inexperience in riding overall or just maybe in Thailand.

I feel sorry for the Thai guy also, as he will have this to live with for the rest of his life, but really should not be held responsible, as he did pick a large enough gap on his right to move, if the was aware. 

I would like to know how long the French guy had been riding for, if he had any training, if he had a licence from France, or had just got it in Thailand, or didn't have a licence.

R.I.P. to the French guy and condolences to his family. 

This video should be used as a training video, as one of the things to  look out for, then his death will at least maybe save others lives.

 

[spidermike007]

40 minutes ago, quandow said:

If this were a civilized country I couldn't agree with you more. The problem is this lack of civility in driving is accepted by all Thai natives. It's the double-edged sword we all suffer. One of the most important factors in my deciding to leave the U.S. and move here was speed limits. I just can't obey them, and was spending too much money on raised insurance rates and speeding tickets. The obvious lack of give-a-damn by the Thai government from top to bottom means adherence to driving laws won't change any time soon. This doesn't negate what the Thai driver did, he was clearly wrong - from a logical, civilized point of view. Unfortunately, when in Rome ...

 

Spot on. All good points. I rather like the lack of accountability sometimes. But, the complete lack of traffic safety, and the astonishing degree of indifference on the part of the authorities is unfathomable. The things the drivers do here is often shocking. I am amazed by the number of times I see someone cutting in front of me, and then look, and there was nobody behind me. It was almost as if behaving in a reckless fashion was muscle memory, and taking care to do what he needed to do, to ensure his and my safety, was never even a consideration. Even when it meant only waiting 2 more seconds. 

 

On Samui, part of the reason for this kind of reckless driving is the incredible amount of congestion on the Ring Road. There is only one main road on the whole island. And it is only going to get worse. I lived there for many years. I saw how much more congested it got over the years. Samui is perhaps five years away from being as bad as SW Bali. Utter gridlock. While there visiting Bali, it took me over an hour to go 3 km on a motorbike. And most of that time was spent on the sidewalk, as the road was a parking lot. Unless the fabulously incompetent authorities do something visionary about public transportation (highly unlikely, as Samui is one of the least progressive places on earth), this is in their near future. 

[crazykopite]

Very sad that there a lot of negative remarks regarding the deceased the guy has died for goodness sake .The police will eventually decide who was to blame in the meantime RIP to the French man and prayers to his family for there tragic loss ??

[catman20]

Footage from a security camera showed that Aunay was riding his motorcycle when a motorcycle driven by a Thai man crossed the road, cutting his way.

 

why dose this not surprise me ?

 

i just looked the video the french man was very unlucky, i think he applied the front brake too much and or the road was wet or had sand on it as the front wheel went from under him.

[sawadee1947]

4 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

Sad accident.

He was wearing a helmet but probably a broken neck.

Very unlucky. With some luck he would have escaped with some bruises.

 

The other bike was almost over the center line and the French was quite fast and obviously realized the other bike quite late.

He had more than enough chance to avoid the situation.

The other bike rider used a sufficient gap in traffic to cross over.

Busy traffic, high speed, not looking forward.

An avoidable accident in an everyday situation.

 

 

Quite fast?????  Probably more than 45km/h ???? Anyway RIP. I never would take a bike in Thailand.. Just to be alive as long as possible 

[thaibreaker]

Sorry to say, but this accident could easily be avoided by the French man. I can't see anything unusual from the Thai guy. This is how anyone in Thailand approach crossing the road to join traffic in the opposite lane.

 

The French man had plenty of time to slow down, or pass to the left. I always make sure that these crossings are cleared when I drive myself. This is essential in Thailand. He should have known better. 

 

The French man was probably distracted, and was unfortunately mostly to blame.

This is also an example how important it is to use both brakes in a balanced way.

 

RIP.

[spiroinusa1]

Thanks Spidermike007. Well written. It's an impossible situation. and the roads are  not that good. Speed kills. No enforcement. La La land with no end in site. And my daughter wants to start riding a motor bike.

[wavemanwww]

Hard to guauge who was 100% at fault, The driver who survived Yes for not checking traffic to the right properly BUT the Frenchman had  some space  to at least slow or almost stop  and so I assume and can only assume he must have been accelerating at that point then suddenly realized "Sh..it this guys coming out" by then too late. In short shit happens RIP and all bikers  ride at a lower speed. More time to avoid morons.

[Wake Up]

RIP. But if I was on the jury I would have to find the Thai man innocent as the way the Thai man pulled out to turn happens a lot all over Thailand. It appears the French man was distracted and did not see him until too late  and it appears the French man was driving fast. The French man IMO had plenty of time to slow down or change lanes to avoid the collision.  But we all drive distracted sometimes but with so many motorbikes on the road this is not a place to drive distracted or fast. Tragedy for all involved.  

[Tchooptip]

1 hour ago, animatic said:

Clearly the other drivers fault. Pulling out before he has a proper place to enter his lane and abruptly blocking the right of way of Mr. Aunay. Who appeared to be driving at the speed of other traffic on that direction.

 

Tres triste, RIP monseur A.

Not true at all,l I know on Thai visa the rule for many is Thais are wrong all the time, the French man did not fall for hitting the Thai motorcycle, but just a very short time before, for braking too much with his front brake. It is so clear looking at his front wheel skidding before the impact, I do not understand how everyone does not saw it clearly. Many motorcycles driver do not even know if the front brake is the right or the left one, on wet or even more on sandy roads like Samui the front brake must be used with great care. Apparently, the French man did not know and certainly did not do it.