Video: Old motorcyclist survives - but car driver is not so lucky

 

 

Dash cam footage from Phitsanuloke on Thursday morning showed the moment a motorcycle ridden by a 68 year old woman cut in front of a Toyota Corolla driven by a 24 year old man. 

 

The motorcyclist Saiyut Khanthong survived with some cuts and bruises. But the car driver Apichart Suwanthep left the road, went into a ditch then collided with the base of a power pole.

 

He was dead at the scene from head trauma and had suffered multiple fractures. 

 

Thai Rath said that the entire area of the front driving compartment was crushed into the back seat.

 

Saiyuth's husband Buarian, 66, said his wife had left for her work as a maid at the new bus station just a few moments earlier. Then he heard two loud bangs and rushed to the scene. 

 

Police are investigating.

 

The dash cam footage from a following car That was shown on Thai TV will give them a fair idea of who was to blame. 

 

Source: https://www.thairath.co.th/content/1307589

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2018-6-14

Video shows the driver of the car was definitely moving at a very high rate of speed, which he would have had to be doing to crush the entire front of the car into the back. 

 

Its  always good to see these daily death updates, a new theme for tv?

While you have to say that the fella was serious travelling at speed down the road, it is the bike that is the major culprit. She crosses the road without looking, and the guy wipes out taking evasive action. Of course, if she had looked or he had been going at an appropriate speed, both would have probably got home safely.

He might be still alive if he  hadn't tried to avoid her.

 

She might be not. Alas it is her who caused the accident by foolishness.

 

Not uncommon in Thailand. I had two accidents caused by motorcycle riders (both women)  who just cut in front of me without caring to check the traffic.

It's difficult to really see whether the old lady just didn't look, gave a quick glance in her mirror of fully turned her head to check the road behind her. On a road where people potential drive very fast, moving across two lanes at a relatively low speed is a particularly dangerous manoeuvre because cars traveling at high speed will come out of nowhere. Certainly just checking ones mirrors will never give you the full picture. Perhaps in circumstances such as this, new learner motorcyclists (the older ones are too arrogant and think they know it all) should be taught to stop on the hard shoulder opposite the U-turn then turn perpendicular to the road so that they are able to physically look in direction of the oncoming traffic thus avoiding the need to use their mirrors. Also you can then ride across the two lanes via the shortest possible and therefore quickest route.


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1 hour ago, sweatalot said:

He might be still alive if he  hadn't tried to avoid her.

 

She might be not. Alas it is her who caused the accident by foolishness.

 

Not uncommon in Thailand. I had two accidents caused by motorcycle riders (both women)  who just cut in front of me without caring to check the traffic.

I have seen too may of these accidents now and have decided to not try to avoid the person who has done the wrong thing. I will of course try to brake to lesson the impact on them but I will hold true on the road. My dash cam will prove I was not in the wrong and the Number 1 insurance should cover the rest.

I will not endanger my life or those of the people riding with me for the stupidity of others. I know that sounds harsh but it is what I have decided. The same applies to dogs crossing the road.

As an aside, that car was doing at least 120 km/hr or more.

1 hour ago, sweatalot said:

He might be still alive if he  hadn't tried to avoid her.

 

She might be not. Alas it is her who caused the accident by foolishness.

 

Not uncommon in Thailand. I had two accidents caused by motorcycle riders (both women)  who just cut in front of me without caring to check the traffic.

As in any incident, there are multiple contributing factors. 

The deceased was definitely speeding. The moto rider was not paying attention. 

Lack of situational awareness on both parts. I.e. seems both put brains on autopilot. 

And someone paid with their life. 

Sad. 

When I did driving school as a teenager, I was taught that driving a motor vehicle was a privilege. And with privileges come reponsibility not only for yourself, but passengers and others on the road (which not only included awareness but maintaining your vehicle in a safe and roadworthy condition). 

Seems Thailand did not get the memo. If you have a car and 500 thb for a license, you can drive. 

On a side note, had to renew my Thai license recently and do the driving test. It was a joke. 

I successfully parallel parked my truck and was oogled and applauded by future licensees on the sidelines. 

Despite this, I was the last to receive his license that day as I refused to pay the "express service" fee. There were people rolling out of DLT not even qualified to operate a bubble-wrapped foam spoon with their DLs. 

I had similar happen to us , I was on a 3 lane highway(100k limit) and a motor cycle came out of a dirt road and went straight across the 3 lanes to get to the u turn area, old man going very slow and didnt bother to check for cars.  I was sitting on the speed limit and was able to just slow down but the car that had passed me  had to take evasive action and did several fish tails down the road, luckily he didnt crash, the old man just kept going, didnt even turn around to see what he had caused, trouble is too many are just ignorant and think the cars will stop for them

Too many generations with little to do but watch the paddy growing. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's the only explanation I can come up with for this kind of incident. Like others, I've seen this kind of "blind faith in Buddha" driving far too many times, and most incidents seem to involve someone who by appearance may be from a rural village. (Not stigmatizing, just trying to find reasons for this behaviour.) In small, out-of-the-way places, there are fewer vehicles and slower traffic.

 

(Attack me, if you will, but I hope some will try to identify the reasons for this kind of blind faith.)

Same ole. same ole.......Thailand's traffic laws are like the gun laws in the US....it will be very difficult to change, people are so used to having something a certain way for so many years that they're unwilling to change no matter how many senseless deaths occur.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

. On a road where people potential drive very fast, moving across two lanes at a relatively low speed is a particularly dangerous manoeuvre because cars traveling at high speed will come out of nowhere.

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In a country where there is very strong possibility that someone in front of you will act like a t***, it is a very bad idea to drive as if the road in font of you is (and will be forever) clear and nobody in front of you........will act like a t***.

 

Perhaps the deceased driver momentarily forgot that.......or perhaps it had never really "registered" with them in the first place.......and it was just a matter of time?

 

 

 

 

Edited June 14, 20188 yr by Enoon

1 hour ago, Dexlowe said:

Too many generations with little to do but watch the paddy growing. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but it's the only explanation I can come up with for this kind of incident. Like others, I've seen this kind of "blind faith in Buddha" driving far too many times, and most incidents seem to involve someone who by appearance may be from a rural village. (Not stigmatizing, just trying to find reasons for this behaviour.) In small, out-of-the-way places, there are fewer vehicles and slower traffic.

 

(Attack me, if you will, but I hope some will try to identify the reasons for this kind of blind faith.)

 

Both parties were in "blind faith" mode.

 

 

7001 and counting.

15 hours ago, kannot said:

Its  always good to see these daily death updates, a new theme for tv?

Our youth is so desensitized to death and destruction they are hardly phased these days by such daily scenes.  I on the other hand 'feel' it.

Imho the bike rider should have waited, and the car driver was obviously moving too fast to avoid the bike rider. The lady whose dashcam recorded the incident gave a couple of yelps and did stop but probably in state of shock herself unable to decide which way to turn. Tragic for the victims and sad for the lady who could do little to help.

i see many m/bike riders who never ever stop to check the road that they are entering onto....they JUST drive out as if it is THEIR right.....which, of course it is NOT...

When driving in Thailand, especially up country , you have to know and expect that this kind of bad driving and riding is very common and adjust your own driving to anticipate it. This means not going too fast and looking way down the road to try and spot idiots who are likely to pull out in front of you thus giving yourself more time to react  without wiping out.

Title is wrong, should be called:

 

Video: Some same same accident happens, DASH CAM DRIVER ACTUALLY STOPS TO CHECK!!oneone!1111eleventy!!1!

 

 

So, that happened.

13 hours ago, thequietman said:

I have seen too may of these accidents now and have decided to not try to avoid the person who has done the wrong thing. I will of course try to brake to lesson the impact on them but I will hold true on the road. My dash cam will prove I was not in the wrong and the Number 1 insurance should cover the rest.

I will not endanger my life or those of the people riding with me for the stupidity of others. I know that sounds harsh but it is what I have decided. The same applies to dogs crossing the road.

As an aside, that car was doing at least 120 km/hr or more.

Whilst I understand where you are coming from, I'd hazard a guess that when push comes to shove you will end up acting instinctively to try to avoid an impact, it is human nature and even more so when experienced.

15 minutes ago, Denim said:

This means not going too fast and looking way down the road to try and spot idiots who are likely to pull out in front of you thus giving yourself more time to react  without wiping out.

 Drivers with lots of experience use peripheral vision for vehicles in their immediate vicinity and are always looking hundreds of meters ahead and scanning for road junction etc. Always, not just up country. Places like Pattaya are worse.

 

Motorcyclists in similar situations are always scanning for their 1m of escape, just in case. But as an extra concentration load have to be considering the road surface as well.

 

This thread is the exception that makes the rule? There is obviously at least one old, bold motorcyclist  

Edited June 15, 20188 yr by VocalNeal

70 a day,  the Thailand way.

1stupid + 1 stupid  = 0.7 of the daily amount required to keep the number 1 slot

Nothing new about this thread, Just normal behaviour on the roads

No one cares about each other here on the roads

Just me, me and guess what, more me. 

8 hours ago, flyingtlger said:

Same ole. same ole.......Thailand's traffic laws are like the gun laws in the US....it will be very difficult to change, people are so used to having something a certain way for so many years that they're unwilling to change no matter how many senseless deaths occur.

 

 

 

Best analogy I've heard yet   

13 hours ago, InfinityandBeyond said:

As in any incident, there are multiple contributing factors. 

The deceased was definitely speeding. The moto rider was not paying attention. 

Lack of situational awareness on both parts. I.e. seems both put brains on autopilot. 

And someone paid with their life. 

Sad. 

When I did driving school as a teenager, I was taught that driving a motor vehicle was a privilege. And with privileges come reponsibility not only for yourself, but passengers and others on the road (which not only included awareness but maintaining your vehicle in a safe and roadworthy condition). 

Seems Thailand did not get the memo. If you have a car and 500 thb for a license, you can drive. 

On a side note, had to renew my Thai license recently and do the driving test. It was a joke. 

I successfully parallel parked my truck and was oogled and applauded by future licensees on the sidelines. 

Despite this, I was the last to receive his license that day as I refused to pay the "express service" fee. There were people rolling out of DLT not even qualified to operate a bubble-wrapped foam spoon with their DLs. 

 

Yes, but...

 

Thais know best. Advice from foreigners neither needed nor wanted, nor acted upon.

14 hours ago, thequietman said:

I have seen too may of these accidents now and have decided to not try to avoid the person who has done the wrong thing. I will of course try to brake to lesson the impact on them but I will hold true on the road. My dash cam will prove I was not in the wrong and the Number 1 insurance should cover the rest.

I will not endanger my life or those of the people riding with me for the stupidity of others. I know that sounds harsh but it is what I have decided. The same applies to dogs crossing the road.

As an aside, that car was doing at least 120 km/hr or more.

 

Quite right. I have had to explain numerous times to my wife, that in UK, it is against the law to swerve trying to avoid an animal on the road. I am less sure what the law is regarding people on motorcycles or pedestrians who suddenly and thoughtlessly put themselves in harm's way, but I imagine it is the same. Do not risk an alternative accident by trying to swerve and miss a pedestrian, motorist or motorcyclist behaving stupidly, because a worse accident may be the result.Stay in your lane unless you are quite sure there are no vehicles in the oncoming lane.

 

And yes, I agree the motorist was probably exceeding the speed limit (same as 80% of them do. The price he paid wasn't worth the few minutes of time he might have saved by trying to be Lewis Hamilton.

 

Will he learn anything from this? No he won't, he's history. Will anyone learn from this? Not if they're Thai they won't. Thais know best.

 

 

Edited June 15, 20188 yr by KiwiKiwi

59 minutes ago, essox essox said:

i see many m/bike riders who never ever stop to check the road that they are entering onto....they JUST drive out as if it is THEIR right.....which, of course it is NOT...

Yes, I see it all the time here and this is in a crowded town, not upcountry as others have posted, so it seems pretty well nationwide.

 

Every time I drive my car here I have to watch out for these idiots coming out of side roads without looking, and 90% of the time that's what happens, so slowly and carefully I wend my way through these crowded streets always trying to be aware that there is an idiot sitting somewhere on a motorbike or behind the wheel of a car waiting to cause damage and mayhem, perhaps death.

 

Probably not fixable, because it's a mindset thing in Thailand, so the carnage will continue.

Speed kills. Sad so many Thais have to learn this lesson the hard way. One feels for the lady's family.

3 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Speed kills. Sad so many Thais have to learn this lesson the hard way. One feels for the lady's family.

Yes, knowing that she caused the death of a young man who without her doing a suicide maneuver would most probably still be alive (yes he was going a bit fast but he was on a main highway) she cut the flow of traffic and most probably has no licence nore insurance. She should be charged with death by reckless driving but she will not even get the 500 Baht fine as she is a poor old lady...

 

Speed does kill but so does lots of other things...

 

RIP to the young man

On 6/14/2018 at 6:51 PM, sweatalot said:

He might be still alive if he  hadn't tried to avoid her.

 

She might be not. Alas it is her who caused the accident by foolishness.

 

Not uncommon in Thailand. I had two accidents caused by motorcycle riders (both women)  who just cut in front of me without caring to check the traffic.

Just this year I was on my motorbike just outside Nakhon Thai when a woman rode across my path, I "T" boned her bike and I and my partner were thrown on the road. 

50,000 Baht damage to the bike and it took three months to get over the injuries. 

We have a judgment against her for damages, only 35,000 Baht and not sure I will ever see it. 

She was not in good shape but the daughter agreed to pay. 

It could have been worse. 

On 6/14/2018 at 6:17 PM, kannot said:

Its  always good to see these daily death updates, a new theme for tv?

I suspect it's news because it's pretty rare for the car driver to be the casualty rather than the 'bike driver!

 

Impossible (?) to know who was most in the wrong in this case as the dashcam footage is from too far away.  The car driver was clearly speeding, but did the 'bike rider check her mirrors?

 

Not that checking mirrors is 'enough' (if you value your life!) as Dmaxdan points out.  It's also necessary to turn one's head as speeding drivers can appear out of nowhere or, be in the blind spot.

 

 

Edited June 30, 20188 yr by dick dasterdly