Australian man critical after hit and run in Samui, family told no license invalidates insurance

[TMNH]

6 hours ago, transam said:

Can you expand on that...Are you saying an unlicensed guy should be paid out for doing something illegal..?

Did you ever think  tourists have no clue that their car insurance does not cover "bikes"? I'm sure every Thai citizen has a proper license (sarcasm).

[thaibeachlovers]

51 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

I believe that I would be able to convince any bike renter that the MC is a motor cycle licence when in fact it is not and this is where the problem is, the law needs to be made that if the bike renter rents a bike to an unlicenced rider then they will be held responsible for allowing an unlicenced rider on the roads and hit them with a heavy fine and also if someone tries to hire a bike with the wrong class licence then the renter should know the different licence classes from each country

I'm assuming the insurance in question is travel insurance, and every travel insurance I've had that covers m'bikes states the cc maximum allowed to drive, have to wear helmet and have to have a legal m'bike licence.

While it's hard to get used to the idea when living in regulated countries that one has to take responsibility for oneself, it is certainly true in LOS that "caveat emptor" is the rule here.

 

My sympathy to the guy, but if he didn't have a licence, the insurance company has an "out" from having to pay anything.

[Russell17au]

I possed a situation early about my "car - MC' licence and being able to rent a motorbike and no one picked up my licence class and that includes an Australian with a heavy vehicle licence. The MC licence is not a motor cycle licence it is a heavy vehicle multi-combination licence but the exercise that I was trying to show is just how easy it would be to get a bike renter to believe he was hiring to a licenced rider and this is a big problem if the government tries to enforce the licence for hiring bikes, I think what is needed is a Thai bike licence just for tourists so that a person cannot use a different licence. My actual licence is a car - R - MC the R is the Australian motor bike licence.

[mick01827]

Alot of people on here are saying the motorbike shop shouldn't be renting to people who don't have valid licences, would this guy ride a motorbike in his own country without a valid licence? Unless he's a dimwit the answer is NO! so why go to another country and TRY and ride a bike there? No sympathy sorry. Play with fire, you're going to get burnt!

[car720]

7 hours ago, transam said:

So did the shop rent out a bike to a bloke with no bike license from any country...?

good luck suing them though.  Not here.

[car720]

1 minute ago, mick01827 said:

Alot of people on here are saying the motorbike shop shouldn't be renting to people who don't have valid licences, would this guy ride a motorbike in his own country without a valid licence? Unless he's a dimwit the answer is NO! so why go to another country and TRY and ride a bike there? No sympathy sorry. Play with fire, you're going to get burnt!

You are all heart, aren't you?

[TMNH]

3 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

I possed a situation early about my "car - MC' licence and being able to rent a motorbike and no one picked up my licence class and that includes an Australian with a heavy vehicle licence. The MC licence is not a motor cycle licence it is a heavy vehicle multi-combination licence but the exercise that I was trying to show is just how easy it would be to get a bike renter to believe he was hiring to a licenced rider and this is a big problem if the government tries to enforce the licence for hiring bikes, I think what is needed is a Thai bike licence just for tourists so that a person cannot use a different licence. My actual licence is a car - R - MC the R is the Australian motor bike licence.

I've traveled to different countries and rented motor bikes (scooters) while there. Not once did the rental places ask me for a license and even if they did, do you actually think they are obligated to ask you if you have motor bike insurance? People here assume  that rental places properly ask for ID and even if they did, do you actually think they ask if you have MC coverage? Dream again.

[Get Real]

7 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

13th year as Samui expat, I'm still alive because I avoid driving after dark. 

I will certainly put you in my prayers, but how was it with everything regarding insurance fraud? Your namne clearly states "Global Moderator". So, an answer would be nice.

[Thian]

I read on stickboys website that it was not sure wether he weared a helmet....

[car720]

12 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I'm assuming the insurance in question is travel insurance, and every travel insurance I've had that covers m'bikes states the cc maximum allowed to drive, have to wear helmet and have to have a legal m'bike licence.

While it's hard to get used to the idea when living in regulated countries that one has to take responsibility for oneself, it is certainly true in LOS that "caveat emptor" is the rule here.

 

My sympathy to the guy, but if he didn't have a licence, the insurance company has an "out" from having to pay anything.

Trouble is they always have an out from everything.  Only my opinion but I think they are the biggest crooks in the world and on top of that they are usually owned by banks.

[Bastos60]

6 hours ago, heybuz said:

As certain insurance company I once insured with,told me on asking "was in insured for a motor cycle " they said yes, but after reading the very fine small print it stated that I must have a license for the country that i am using it in.

Which is saying you need an international drivers license when you go abroad and want to drive there.
You can get one at your local municipal for a fee. And that IDL is only valid for the vehicles you are allowed to drive according your drivers license.

[impulse]

6 minutes ago, mick01827 said:

Alot of people on here are saying the motorbike shop shouldn't be renting to people who don't have valid licences, would this guy ride a motorbike in his own country without a valid licence? Unless he's a dimwit the answer is NO! so why go to another country and TRY and ride a bike there? No sympathy sorry. Play with fire, you're going to get burnt!

 

Whether he's a dimwit or not, it would be futile to even try.  The rental company wouldn't do it, because they'd be on the hook financially for anything that happened to him.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, car720 said:

Trouble is they always have an out from everything.  Only my opinion but I think they are the biggest crooks in the world and on top of that they are usually owned by banks.

Not so. When I had a m'bike accident and required surgery, they paid out every cent they were supposed to.

[AGLV0121]

7 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

Every insurance is void if you don't have proper licence. 

 

In Thailand, there is no word for 'scooter', everything for them is motorcycle. And that's the way it is reported in the media. What for us is a 'motor bike' might be a scooter.

 

But it may be below 49cc in which case a licence is not required. Maybe the family should investigate this: was is above or below 49cc.

[Russell17au]

41 minutes ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

You can ride up to a 125cc bike or scooter in Australia with just a car license. He must have been on a bigger bike. Also there is some severely damaged car or truck hiding somewhere. There aren’t many repair shops on Samui so tracking it down is possible if they can be bothered. 

 

How can can it be costing A$20,000 a day for him to be in the ICU? They seem incredibly excessive even for his injuries. Good luck to him and his Family. 

You are incorrect about the size of the bike. Both Australia and New Zealand will allow you to ride a bike with the maximum engine size of 50cc and a maximum speed of 50kph on a current full car drivers licence.

It has been reported on this thread by his sister that this was not a hit and run but a single vehicle accident where he lost control on a bend at high speed and crashed into a concrete wall.

 

[Thian]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Not so. When I had a m'bike accident and required surgery, they paid out every cent they were supposed to.

Don't forget the people who try to cheat the insurancecompanies...like changing the truth of what happened, and so on.

 

And if i had an insurancecompany i wouldn't pay much if the driver didn't wear a helmet..if the driver also was drunk i probably wouldn't pay anything at all.

[impulse]

1 minute ago, AGLV0121 said:

 

In Thailand, there is no word for 'scooter', everything for them is motorcycle.

 

But it may be below 49cc in which case a licence is not required. Maybe the family should investigate this: was is above or below 49cc.

 

I'm not sure if it's "don't need a license for less than 50CC" as much as "can't register anything below 50CC so they're not street legal at all".

 

 

[scubascuba3]

This thread is full of righteous people but i bet 90% never read the small print and exclusions in their travel insurance

[thaibeachlovers]

1 minute ago, Thian said:

Don't forget the people who try to cheat the insurancecompanies...like changing the truth of what happened, and so on.

 

And if i had an insurancecompany i wouldn't pay much if the driver didn't wear a helmet..if the driver also was drunk i probably wouldn't pay anything at all.

I had to present every medical bill I paid to get the money refunded. Bit hard to fake all them.

[jenny2017]

2 minutes ago, AGLV0121 said:

 

In Thailand, there is no word for 'scooter', everything for them is motorcycle. And that's the way it is reported in the media. What for us is a 'motor bike' might be a scooter.

 

But it may be below 49cc in which case a licence is not required. Maybe the family should investigate this: was is above or below 49cc.

Such a vehicle can usually be driven by somebody who's got a car driver's license. My apologies, I didn't Google it. 

[Thian]

1 minute ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I had to present every medical bill I paid to get the money refunded. Bit hard to fake all them.

Yup that's another scam they like to do..I meant drivers who don't tell the truth of what happened because they know it was their own fault...or who say another one was the driver because they were drunk...

[Russell17au]

12 minutes ago, TMNH said:

I've traveled to different countries and rented motor bikes (scooters) while there. Not once did the rental places ask me for a license and even if they did, do you actually think they are obligated to ask you if you have motor bike insurance? People here assume  that rental places properly ask for ID and even if they did, do you actually think they ask if you have MC coverage? Dream again.

See you have done it too, you have assumed that an Australian MC licence is a motor cycle licence and it is not it is a heavy vehicle multi combination licence and that just proves how easy it is to fool people about the licence classes from the various countries so even if the renters asked for the licence it is easy to fool them.

[AGLV0121]

3 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

My apologies

 

No need for apologies, it's the way the media report it, and translate from Thai to English.

[Thian]

Last year we rented 8 scooters on koh larn..one girl went there with our passports and it was done in a minute...i think only me had a real motocy license, all the thai not...some girls couldn't even put their feet on the ground when driving the scooter and we all had a passenger.

 

Going offhill the brakes barely couldn't stop us since the bikes were not maintained at all and very dangerous to drive.

[AGLV0121]

6 minutes ago, impulse said:

they're not street legal at all

 

Most scooters are 49cc's, perfectly street legal. You can pay a visit to the next scooter store and ask them about the cylindrate.

[Peterw42]

For those blaming the bike rental place, they may or may not ask to see a license but you usually sign a contract, stating amongst other things, that you have a license. A declaration of being correctly licensed. I would imagine that would put the liability on the person renting, in a court etc.

 

Surely a declaration of having a license would mean more legally, than simply siteing a license that may be fake, cancelled etc.

 

[jvs]

15 minutes ago, Thian said:

Don't forget the people who try to cheat the insurancecompanies...like changing the truth of what happened, and so on.

 

And if i had an insurancecompany i wouldn't pay much if the driver didn't wear a helmet..if the driver also was drunk i probably wouldn't pay anything at all.

Would you pay anything if he did not have a valid drivers license?

[Thian]

So they started a gofundme because it was a hit and run accident right?

 

I also thought about donating before i read the rest of this story.

 

Now it is an accident without any car involved? And it's not sure if he wear a helmet right (so it's not)? Also he didn't have a proper driverslicense right? Was he sober?

 

I mean.....come on...of course i wish him all the best but the story gets worse and worse the more i read...

 

 

 

 

[Thian]

4 minutes ago, jvs said:

Would you pay anything if he did not have a valid drivers license?

Of course not...and also not if was pissed....

 

You know, i have no more words for it...almost went searching for the gofundme, glad i read more.....this is not cool..can't appreciate it.

[sawadee1947]

He paid a high price for riding a motorbike in a 3rd world country. I suppose he doesn't use a motorcycle in AUS. 

The same story all time. 

But sad anyway. 

Travel insurance?