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

[stevenl]

2 hours ago, taipan1949 said:

Excuse me BUT, riding around Thailand at 4:00am on a scooter when probably 90% of the drivers are either drunk or on ya ba???? When I lived and worked in Thailand we were advised, by whom I will not say, if you hit something at night shut off your lights and drive like hell because if you stop the person you may have hit, wearing black and walking down the middle of the road, will have more relatives come out of the work and you will never be able to pay them all. Also another trick the Thais used to pull and we were told never to stop at night. The Thais would wait for us leaving Map Ta Phut if we had to work overtime and into the night they would drive up behind our trucks and hit us to make us stop. I guess a few stopped and were beaten and robbed and some lost their company trucks. Night time is dangerous in Thailand.

Nonsense

[Brickbat]

After reading this , I checked with my Australian Travel Insurance company , Cover More, and was told that having a valid Thai motorcycle licence leaves me in the lurch. Not covered.

Contrary to what the salesman online told me when he signed me up. 

 

As for Ben, it certainly is a tragedy and with the damage sustained, it’s a disaster for all concerned. 4 am is never a good time to be out on Asian roads, esp on 2 wheels. May others learn from this.

 

[kannot]

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.

it isnt and they dont care one jot

[NoshowJones]

10 minutes ago, Acemaker said:

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.

True, but is Thailand not a bit backwards when it comes to computers, authorities in some provinces cannot keep up with ones in other provinces. I would bet there are other examples also.

[stevenl]

3 minutes ago, Brickbat said:

After reading this , I checked with my Australian Travel Insurance company , Cover More, and was told that having a valid Thai motorcycle licence leaves me in the lurch. Not covered.

Contrary to what the salesman online told me when he signed me up. 

 

As for Ben, it certainly is a tragedy and with the damage sustained, it’s a disaster for all concerned. 4 am is never a good time to be out on Asian roads, esp on 2 wheels. May others learn from this.

 

Check the policy conditions, not what they (sales man or claims department (on a Sunday BTW?)) tell you.

[BEVUP]

2 minutes ago, Brickbat said:

having a valid Thai motorcycle licence leaves me in the lurch. Not covered.

So I'm going to presume (knowing Auss ), that they wouldn't recognise a Thai Lic., since you took out the Travel Ins in Australia

 

So what would they require ?

The only other possible thing would having to have an Australian Motorbike Lic, with a International Permit

[jenny2017]

23 minutes ago, Brickbat said:

After reading this , I checked with my Australian Travel Insurance company , Cover More, and was told that having a valid Thai motorcycle licence leaves me in the lurch. Not covered.

Contrary to what the salesman online told me when he signed me up. 

 

As for Ben, it certainly is a tragedy and with the damage sustained, it’s a disaster for all concerned. 4 am is never a good time to be out on Asian roads, esp on 2 wheels. May others learn from this.

 

They should rename their company into " Pay more, cover less."

Why are you not covered? 

[catman20]

4 hours ago, moana said:

They probably signed quite a few papers in order to get him treated, and are now bound contractually.

 let the hospital chase them for the money in ozz. they wont bother their too busy ripping the next tourist that come through their doors.

[stevenl]

12 minutes ago, catman20 said:

 let the hospital chase them for the money in ozz. they wont bother their too busy ripping the next tourist that come through their doors.

Why the negativity? As far as I can see, there has been no ripping here.

[sanemax]

18 minutes ago, catman20 said:

 let the hospital chase them for the money in ozz. they wont bother their too busy ripping the next tourist that come through their doors.

I do feel that the family should pay the hospital and not try to avoid paying them

[Ninni]

So sorry for his family and friends!

Let him climb over the RainBowBridge!

[impulse]

15 minutes ago, sanemax said:

34 minutes ago, catman20 said:

 let the hospital chase them for the money in ozz. they wont bother their too busy ripping the next tourist that come through their doors.

I do feel that the family should pay the hospital and not try to avoid paying them

 

I'd agree if you modified that to read "his estate" should pay the hospital...

 

He's probably leaving some assets behind, and may have some life insurance tied to employment, a credit card, etc.  And, of course, there's the GoFundMe money.  The hospital should be first in line for that money.  Otherwise, he was an adult, making his own decisions and nobody else in his family should be required to pay for his decisions. 

 

If they signed an agreement as a condition of getting him released and on a plane, that's different.  That's on them.

 

Edit:  But, fingers crossed for a medical miracle, hoping he beats the long odds.

 

[natway09]

This is very sad & I feel for the family but driving a motorbike at 4 am obviously without experience as he had no licence probably with a few sherbets aboard is a bit silly.

Wake up tourists !! Why would you drive a bike in Thailand when you wouldn't back home??

THAI ROADS ARE DANGEROUS EVEN AT DAYTIME!!!

[jenny2017]

15 minutes ago, sanemax said:

I do feel that the family should pay the hospital and not try to avoid paying them

 Let's hope that the hospital is not asking for hundreds of thousands. 

[watcharacters]

1 hour ago, Brickbat said:

After reading this , I checked with my Australian Travel Insurance company , Cover More, and was told that having a valid Thai motorcycle licence leaves me in the lurch. Not covered.

Contrary to what the salesman online told me when he signed me up. 

 

As for Ben, it certainly is a tragedy and with the damage sustained, it’s a disaster for all concerned. 4 am is never a good time to be out on Asian roads, esp on 2 wheels. May others learn from this.

 

 

 

If it isn't in a legal contract for whatever country is involved it's  not a binding/legal contract.

 

 

[geriatrickid]

2 hours 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? 

 

Not going to happen. Keep in mind that in many parts of the country, motorbikes are uninsured.  The reality is that the Thai people must ask for and  support the changes you request. Look around. How many people  do not wear a helmet or high pile their motorbikes with kids? If the police try to apply the law, the people will protest. So what if there are"hefty" fines? The people who do not have insurance, often have no money and work subsistence jobs. You can't take blood out of a rock. Take away their motorbikes and they cannot work and feed their families.

 

We must take care of ourselves. It is up to the foreigner to act accordingly.

[impulse]

4 minutes ago, natway09 said:

Wake up tourists !! Why would you drive a bike in Thailand when you wouldn't back home??

 

Because you can. 

 

That's the nature of a holiday.  You can be up at 4:00 AM without worrying about the office.  You can rent a scooter with no license.  You can take home a very young and very pretty lady, the likes of whom wouldn't give you the time of day back home. 

 

And 99+% of the time, there are no negative consequences beyond the hangover (and maybe some crabs).  Smart decision?  Probably not.  But completely understandable.  And probably no more hazardous than most of the righteous guys posting on here who ride a scooter for their daily transportation.  Usually, it's fine.  But once in a while you get bit. 

 

Every one of us has to make our own mental calculation of the trade-off between fun, convenience and safety.  Having done the math, some will still opt for fun and convenience over safety.

 

[jenny2017]

2 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

 

Not going to happen. Keep in mind that in many parts of the country, motorbikes are uninsured.  The reality is that the Thai people must ask for and  support the changes you request. Look around. How many people  do not wear a helmet or high pile their motorbikes with kids? If the police try to apply the law, the people will protest. So what if there are"hefty" fines? The people who do not have insurance, often have no money and work subsistence jobs. You can't take blood out of a rock. Take away their motorbikes and they cannot work and feed their families.

 

We must take care of ourselves. It is up to the foreigner to act accordingly.

Yes, but please look at all these accidents that happened in the last days. how else can you stop this insanity?

 

    I wasn't talking about Thais who're using a bike in the village, it was about foreigners who rent bikes without a driver's license and then end up dead, or heavily injured. 

[tropo]

5 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.

$20,000 a day? $20,000 AUD? 500,000 baht per day? How can they charge that much per day even in intensive care?

 

Life is worth valuable than money until you have to pay the bills. Most of us would be in the same boat had we had the accident. Many of us would have been worse off without family support. I don't have that? Do you?

 

I think most expats are risk-takers. They know the dangers. They are a different breed to the ones back at home who grow old and die in old-age homes.

[PoorSucker]

1 hour ago, catman20 said:

 let the hospital chase them for the money in ozz. they wont bother their too busy ripping the next tourist that come through their doors.

They sell the debt to a Australian company. 

[midas]

3 hours 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.

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

At least it should be compulsory for hirers to be  responsible for ensuring the rider understands  the key differences in style. I think one of the best examples of this is the Thai driver’s ‘Range of Responsibility’ (which incidentally I think is completely daft and dangerous but this is Thailand). I mean how many visitors would know anything about this aspect of Thai traffic behaviour in that the insurance assessors apportion blame based on the rule  the motorcyclist is only responsible for that which appears in his eyesight without turning his head.

 .

[NoshowJones]

3 minutes ago, midas said:

At least it should be compulsory for hirers to be  responsible for ensuring the rider understands  the key differences in style. I think one of the best examples of this is the Thai driver’s ‘Range of Responsibility’ (which incidentally I think is completely daft and dangerous but this is Thailand). I mean how many visitors would know anything about this aspect of Thai traffic behaviour in that the insurance assessors apportion blame based on the rule  the motorcyclist is only responsible for that which appears in his eyesight without turning his head.

 .

IMO, driving and riding are 80% common sense, that alone tells you the main reason for Thailand being the worst in the world for Road fatalities.

[stevenl]

14 minutes ago, midas said:

At least it should be compulsory for hirers to be  responsible for ensuring the rider understands  the key differences in style. I think one of the best examples of this is the Thai driver’s ‘Range of Responsibility’ (which incidentally I think is completely daft and dangerous but this is Thailand). I mean how many visitors would know anything about this aspect of Thai traffic behaviour in that the insurance assessors apportion blame based on the rule  the motorcyclist is only responsible for that which appears in his eyesight without turning his head.

 .

Source?

[Lingba]

6 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

It wasn't a hit and run. 

 

    There'll be the day when they must decide to switch the machines off. I hope some people will read this sad story. 

The family of an Australian man who was severely injured after being involved in a hit and run accident on Koh Samui have been told he is unlikely to survive

[jenny2017]

2 minutes ago, Lingba said:

The family of an Australian man who was severely injured after being involved in a hit and run accident on Koh Samui have been told he is unlikely to survive

He wasn't hit and nobody did a run. 

[impulse]

21 minutes ago, possum1931 said:

IMO, driving and riding are 80% common sense, that alone tells you the main reason for Thailand being the worst in the world for Road fatalities.

 

Nope.  Aside from being downright racist, the numbers just don't bear that out.  It's the percentage of scooters vs 4 wheel vehicles, along with the number of km ridden per capita.  In the USA, 2 wheelers represent 2% of the registered vehicles and 14% of the vehicle deaths- in spite of the fact that most scooters in the USA are weekend vehicles and not the main transport like they are in Thailand, so fewer km ridden.  (US and Aus studies show 2 wheel vehicles are 20-40X as deadly per km driven as a 4 wheel vehicle) 

 

If economic realities suddenly put 60-70% of the US public onto scooters like in Thailand, the death rate would skyrocket, far exceeding Thailand's.  The numbers in the UK would be similar.  Of course, the nanny gov'ts and insurance companies would nip that in the bud- but it wouldn't be because of superior driver intellect.

 

But it sure must feel good to go all Bwana on the silly brown people we've chosen to live among.

 

Source:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year

 

[Letseng]

7 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.

The bike rental isn't a nanny shop. The renter is/was ignoring the rules. At 4 am he wasn't on his way to buy fresh rolls for breakfast. More likely he was on his way home from a good night out. He hit the wall all by himself. Where do the Buddhist ideals come into it?

[NoshowJones]

11 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Nope.  Aside from being downright racist, the numbers just don't bear that out.  It's the percentage of scooters vs 4 wheel vehicles, along with the number of km ridden per capita.  In the USA, 2 wheelers represent 2% of the registered vehicles and 14% of the vehicle deaths- in spite of the fact that most scooters in the USA are weekend vehicles and not the main transport like they are in Thailand, so fewer km ridden.  (US and Aus studies show 2 wheel vehicles are 20-40X as deadly per km driven as a 4 wheel vehicle) 

 

If economic realities suddenly put 60-70% of the US public onto scooters like in Thailand, the death rate would skyrocket, far exceeding Thailand's.  The numbers in the UK would be similar.  Of course, the nanny gov'ts and insurance companies would nip that in the bud- but it wouldn't be because of superior driver intellect.

 

But it sure must feel good to go all Bwana on the silly brown people we've chosen to live among.

 

Source:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorcycle_fatality_rate_in_U.S._by_year

 

I see where you are coming from with your post, but look at it from another way, how many MC riders in the US, UK or Australia regularly ride on the wrong side of the road? How many ride on the sidewalks? How many underage children are regularly riding motorbikes?

I cannot ride the 15 Ks from my village to the bigger town without riders riding against me, and that road is a single carriageway the whole way, and it is just as easy to ride with the traffic as against. I cannot ride in the big cities without riders riding against me on the wrong side of the road.

If you could inject the Thai riders with the same common sense as the ones in the US, UK, and Australia, the road fatalities amongst MC riders would plummet.

I also keep in mind the amount of motorbikes on the road in Thailand compared to the aforementioned western countries.

 

[FritsSikkink]

4 hours ago, jenny2017 said:

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

I can't change the headline, the poster should.

[jenny2017]

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

I can't change the headline, the poster should.

The poster is an employee of Thai Visa forum, shouldn't be a problem to take the hit and run out, it's irritating for those who haven't followed the whole story.