Heartbreak for family of Australian man seriously injured in hit and run on Koh Samui

[jenny2017]

16 minutes ago, sanemax said:

As his condition deteriorated after his long flight back to Australia , it may have been better to keep him in hospital in Thailand .

  Thailand has world class hospitals, but, the expense would have to be taken into consideration

You don't have to be a doctor to understand how little his chances were from the beginning. He's died three times before and all the injuries are catastrophic, I've got no idea how a doctor can give green light to airlift him?  But money seems to be the problem. 

[jenny2017]

2 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

From Australia?

I think relatives were here right after the accident. Perhaps they were already here. 

[smedly]

9 minutes ago, sanemax said:

As his condition deteriorated after his long flight back to Australia , it may have been better to keep him in hospital in Thailand .

  Thailand has world class hospitals, but, the expense would have to be taken into consideration

Thai hospitals are businesses and when it comes to billing foreigners they are very good at it, I don't trust any of them 

 

as for this young mans choices, it seems he decided to do something he would likely never do at home, took control of a vehicle while drunk

 

it is why we have enforced laws back home - to deter generally stupid irresponsible people from making poor choices

[spidermike007]

Samui is the most dangerous place on the planet to drive a motorbike. No doubt.People come to Samui, figuring it is a nice, tropical, relaxed island. What could possibly go wrong? Unless one has tremendous riding skills, it is not a safe place to ride. People are absolutely insane, when it comes to driving on Samui. Both the locals and the foreigners drive like there are no dangers, and the number of people who get injured and killed on Samui are staggering. Mind boggling. The risks that people take driving there are unimaginable. I lived there for many years and witnessed countless deaths and terrible injuries. The authorities care not one iota, and the hospital industry there thrives on these accidents. It is a perfect storm of cycle related death and destruction. 

 

What happened to this poor Aussie is terrible. But, it is very, very common on this island.

[sanemax]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

From Australia?

I'm sure that there was a way for his Family being able to guarantee that they money will be paid

[NoshowJones]

3 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

Why Thailand? The shops must offer a special insurance that covers all expenses, including hospital and damage to the bike.

And bikes for rent should be checked every three to six months if the brakes, tires, chains, etc are good.

The cops must check on these shop owners and if they don't follow, a hefty fine should change their mind.

And of course no bikes for people without a license, a helmet of good quality a must? Would that be too much? 

By law (I know this is Thailand) rental companies should have to make sure anyone who hires their bikes has the appropiate  license, and their bikes should have insurance, what is so hard about that? But as I said "This is Thailand".

[jenny2017]

Just now, smedly said:

Thai hospitals are businesses and when it comes to billing foreigners they are very good at it, I don't trust any of them 

 

as for this young mans choices, it seems he decided to do something he would likely never do at home, took control of a vehicle while drunk

 

it is why we have enforced laws back home - to deter generally stupid irresponsible people from making poor choices

There's never an article that he was drunk. If these hospitals wouldn't have the best available machines and technique, they couldn't do such a good job. Look at a government hospital, where patients have to stay with 15 others in the same room with 2.5 doctors for 150 patients and a private hospital with a private room, usually better medicine, better-qualified doctors, etc... 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Quote

...while riding a motorcycle at around 4am ...

 

In Thailand especially as a tourist, that's what I'd call living (and dying) dangerously.

 

[NoshowJones]

6 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

I think relatives were here right after the accident. Perhaps they were already here. 

Possibly, maybe I missed it.

[FritsSikkink]

FAKE news, no hit and run, declared in an earlier article.

[jenny2017]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

By law (I know this is Thailand) rental companies should have to make sure anyone who hires their bikes has the appropiate  license, and their bikes should have insurance, what is so hard about that? But as I said "This is Thailand".

There were so many strange accidents with GFM pages that I really lost track of who is who. Let's just hope that people will learn from these peoples' mistakes.  

[sanemax]

2 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

By law (I know this is Thailand) rental companies should have to make sure anyone who hires their bikes has the appropiate  license, and their bikes should have insurance, what is so hard about that? But as I said "This is Thailand".

I would go further than that , there should be a special driving licence for felangs in Thailand .

   Before being able to hire a motor vehicle , you should have to take a week long course learning about driving in Thailand , learning about how others drive , pot holes in dark roads , stray animals on roads etc

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

44 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Most also don't have the first clue how to ride a bike, or any awareness that they are on roads full of reckless, speeding idiots, who have almost total disregard for the laws or other motorists. While this is common knowledge here, for first time visitors, it is not. It is a recipe for disaster, that regularly ends up just like this sad case.

 

Sad but true... very true.

 

Paradise it is not, especially on the roads.

 

 

[jenny2017]

Just now, sanemax said:

I would go further than that , there should be a special driving licence for felangs in Thailand .

   Before being able to hire a motor vehicle , you should have to take a week long course learning about driving in Thailand , learning about how others drive , pot holes in dark roads , stray animals on roads etc

Especially for those who usually drive in the right lane. I drove my brother's car on a holiday in Germany eight years ago, and almost took a roundabout from the left. It was only good luck that it was one of his cars from his driver's school with brakes on his side. 

[sanemax]

4 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

FAKE news, no hit and run, declared in an earlier article.

Although the heading is incorrect , I dont feel that this can regarded as "fake news" because they did initially think that this was a hit & run , but it was only later that they found out that it was nt .

   The heading is an incorrect mistake, rather than deliberate fake news

[FritsSikkink]

1 minute ago, sanemax said:

Although the heading is incorrect , I dont feel that this can regarded as "fake news" because they did initially think that this was a hit & run , but it was only later that they found out that it was nt .

   The heading is an incorrect mistake, rather than deliberate fake news

If you repost the article with a knowingly misleading header, you are spreading fake news. 

[jenny2017]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

If you repost the article with a knowingly misleading header, you are spreading fake news. 

Perhaps it would make sense to change the headline, without criticising anybody.  

[Just Weird]

2 hours ago, smedly said:

sad story indeed

 

but how are his family or anyone else responsible for "his" medical bills

Who else would have to pay for an uninsured individual's hospital bills? 

 

Got a feeling that as he and the family are not in Thailand the bills may not get paid although it is unusual that he would be allowed to leave the hospital without some kind of guarantee of payment if the unpaid bills are a large as the article claims.

[sanemax]

2 minutes ago, FritsSikkink said:

If you repost the article with a knowingly misleading header, you are spreading fake news. 

Although this is a new article about his current condition .

I do believe that the heading mistake was a genuine error, rather than a deliberate  attempt to spread fake news

[NoshowJones]

7 minutes ago, sanemax said:

I would go further than that , there should be a special driving licence for felangs in Thailand .

   Before being able to hire a motor vehicle , you should have to take a week long course learning about driving in Thailand , learning about how others drive , pot holes in dark roads , stray animals on roads etc

 "there should be a special driving licence for felangs in Thailand" .

I thought there was, I have one. But good point, only what you say would put all the vehicle hirers out of business.

Then again, there maybe will be one or two left who would be legitimate, Oh wait! Brown envelopes spring to mind again.

[YouYouYou]

A sad story indeed. As many pointed out, in developed countries you need the correct licence to hire a vehicle. Here in Thailand they disregard this on motorbikes, big or small. They just take your passport and if you mess the bike up then you have to pay otherwise no passport back, and yes the police will back the renter. Yes, by Thai law you need a licence to ride a motorbike over 50 cc, no licence invalidates all insurance claims domestically and internationally; no surprise there eh.

 

So it is easy to rent a bike here and so many do with dire consequences. A recent visit to a guest house nearby Suratthani hospital had 3 walking wounded who had accidents on bikes on the islands. None of them had a licence. Riding my big bike on KPG the biggest dangers were not the Thai drivers but the swarms of farangs on 125's making dangerous manoeuvres in front of me or coming towards me. Obvious to me that many haven't ridden a bike ever until on holiday in Thailand. To add to this, many in just a pair of shorts and nothing else tearing along without a care in the world ... great holiday experience until it all goes wrong.

 

So yes, Thais should not rent bikes to inexperienced riders aka those without a motorbike licence, but they do and I don't think this will change anytime soon. IMO the onus is on the farang and why he/she thinks this is ok to learn to ride a motorbike in Thailand, Thailand a country with a dismal road safety record. "Hey, this is just another story and its not gonna happen to me" I think is the mindset of many farang travellers, and thus more stories of the same sadness will countinue to be seen on TV.

 

Whoever was to blame for this tragic story doesn't alter the outcome. My heart goes out to the family in Australia.

[Just Weird]

28 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

From Australia?

His mother was here to accompany him back to Australia.

[smedly]

15 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

There's never an article that he was drunk. 

there may not have been but that doesn't mean he wasn't, on holiday - 4am in the morning and has a serious accident - I'll take any bets on that one, sorry but that is how it looks to me

[jenny2017]

Just now, smedly said:

there may not have been but that doesn't mean he wasn't, on holiday - 4am in the morning and has a serious accident - I'll take any bets on that one, sorry but that is how it looks to me

There's a very high possibility that he was. But it doesn't really matter because he didn't injure anybody else. 

[BEVUP]

Why is this running

 

There's already a thread 2 weeks old

[Just Weird]

28 minutes ago, jenny2017 said:

You don't have to be a doctor to understand how little his chances were from the beginning. He's died three times before and all the injuries are catastrophic, I've got no idea how a doctor can give green light to airlift him?  But money seems to be the problem. 

It doesn't matter whether a doctor gives him the green light to leave when a private flight is involved.   From the medical point of view the family can insist on his being released from hospital and taken elsewhere if that's what they want.

[Just Weird]

1 minute ago, BEVUP said:

Why is this running

 

There's already a thread 2 weeks old

Because it's a new news item that Thaivisa has re-published.

[sanemax]

5 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

 "there should be a special driving licence for felangs in Thailand" .

I thought there was, I have one. But good point, only what you say would put all the vehicle hirers out of business.

I wasnt talking about whatever licence you have .

Foreigners shouldnt be allowed to drive any vehicle in Thailand until they have learnt about the road conditions in Thailand .

   This wouldnt be a test to see whether you know how to drive vehicles , it would be informing you of how others drive and the local road conditions .

   An International driving license teaches you to stop at red lights .

A felang  Thai licence should teach you that most drivers ignore red lights

[lvr181]

3 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Very sad news. I had hoped given the money people generously donated that the care he was getting would help him recover.

The roads here are seriously dangerous for the unwary and inexperienced, so it really is time that bikes can only be rented to people with valid licenses. I know the profit made will stop this happening, but in a country full of Buddhist ideals, life really should be more valuable than money.

Very sad for the family, maybe a blessing in disguise.

 

"life really should be more valuable than money." Yes, but money is KING in this feudal society. 

[Acemaker]

48 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

From Australia?

Documents can be signed and verified online, Electronic signatures are acceptable as proof in a court of Law, so all the Hospital had to do is send the Docs via a PDF for example online and that would be sufficient, also Fedex the Docs to Australia Express service, 2/3 day turnaround.