Russian tourist killed as motorcycle falls into ditch

By The Nation

 

Picture: Manager Online

 

A 35-year-old Russian tourist was killed when his motorcycle fell into a roadside ditch on a steep section of mountainous road on Koh Samui in Surat Thani on Wednesday evening.

 

Samui police were alerted of the fatal accident on the uphill road in Ban Mae Nam village in Tambon Mae Nam of Samui district at 6.30pm.

 

The tourist was identified as Zurab Dzhakhua. He suffered a severe head injury after his head hit a rock a deep ditch, police said.

 

Friends told police that Dzhakhua was riding a rented motorcycle alone to take photos of the sunset from the top of the mountain road but his motorcycle somehow fell into a ditch on the roadside.

 

Police suspect he lost control of the bike while riding the steep road.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30362849

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-01-24

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. A few tips for staying alive:

 

1. Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane.

2. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. 

3. Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. 

4. If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. Do not even consider getting on a motorbike, even for a short distance, without a good helmet. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too.

5. Bring along an international drivers license. Or better yet, use a Thai drivers license, if you live here. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or a lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last few 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. No helmet. 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. 

A troll post and some replies removed

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. A few tips for staying alive:

 

1. Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane.

2. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. 

3. Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. 

4. If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. Do not even consider getting on a motorbike, even for a short distance, without a good helmet. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too.

5. Bring along an international drivers license. Or better yet, use a Thai drivers license, if you live here. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or a lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last few 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. No helmet. 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. 

You missed one

 

Expect to be killed or have back broken when stopped at an intersection and the thai in their suv is having a Facebook chat followed by brake failure slamming into the back of you at 80 kmph

 

This is the scariest one. Absolute zero you can do as a rider.

 

1 hour ago, madmen said:

Expect to be killed or have back broken when stopped at an intersection and the thai in their suv is having a Facebook chat followed by brake failure slamming into the back of you at 80 kmph

 

This is the scariest one. Absolute zero you can do as a rider.

You can avoid being the only one stopped at traffic lights to avoid this one.

I see plenty of Thais stopping 50m before the red traffic lights on the hard shoulder, and others that hang a left then do a Uey.

One MASSIVE lesson I learned early on in Thailand (thankfully), is never to proceed to turn right across a carriageway when your light turns green... yes the oncoming light will be red but this means nothing to Thais apparently... wait until you see they have definitely stopped first. This is literally 'lifesaving' knowledge for any newbies on Thai roads

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

You can avoid being the only one stopped at traffic lights to avoid this one.

I see plenty of Thais stopping 50m before the red traffic lights on the hard shoulder, and others that hang a left then do a Uey.

A good friend, French, was stopped in traffic on a steep downhill road with his very young son behind him, both wearing helmets. The only problem was the school bus that didn't bother stopping. The child has had multiple surgeries after being airlifted to Bangkok. He's only got a broken pelvis.

 

I have lost 3 friends here in the past year in scooter accidents, 2 drunk and asking for it, the other doing nothing wrong but being where a big truck wanted to be.

 

Living on Samui, I NEVER stop in traffic in the middle of the lane. I always pull over to the left as far as possible for just this reason. The ring road from Maenam to Chaweng or Ban Rak is total lunacy at night. The Chaweng-Lamai part of the ring road I just avoid, period.

...guess it's too much to consider the possibility that another vehicle was involved...???

 

...checked the bike for any paint transfer...???

 

...skid marks....???

 

...witnesses...???

 

 

That road has some very steep sections.

10 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too.

Slow riders/drivers cause even more frustration and are more likely to be knocked off the road - poor advice.

 

Ride & drive at the speed of the traffic flow, not too fast, not too slow. 

Any chance this is the same Russian that just got drugged and robbed by two ladyboys?

16 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

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. A few tips for staying alive:

 

1. Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane.

2. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. 

3. Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. 

4. If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. Do not even consider getting on a motorbike, even for a short distance, without a good helmet. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too.

5. Bring along an international drivers license. Or better yet, use a Thai drivers license, if you live here. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

Just ask yourself- do I have enough problems already, without a broken skull, or smashed head, or face injury, or a lost eye? I have two friends who have been in motorbike accidents on Samui within the last few 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. No helmet. 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'd add have the best health insurance you can afford... iron clad to pay-out in any situation !!

Excellent advice. I've been riding 50 years, and I'm still terrified here in Thailand. Nothing you already know applies here. You will instinctively do what's right in Europe, and it will be completely wrong here. Go at half the speed you would normally go, or less. You will meet the slow idiots instead of the fast idiots, but you will have more chance of survival. If you have a good head, get a good helmet.

7 hours ago, SamuiGeezer said:

Ride & drive at the speed of the traffic flow, not too fast, not too slow. 

 

I say ride at a speed just slightly higher than the traffic flow, if you can, that way you have more control over your situation.

15 hours ago, islandguy said:

That road has some very steep sections.

I didn't see what road it was, only that it was steep. That could be one of several. Do you know which Soi they're referring to?

1 hour ago, GalaxyMan said:

I didn't see what road it was, only that it was steep. That could be one of several. Do you know which Soi they're referring to?

Probably soi1 between Maenam and Lamai. 

Quote: Friends told police that Dzhakhua was riding a rented motorcycle alone to take photos of the sunset from the top of the mountain road

 

sounds like soi 1

15 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

 

I say ride at a speed just slightly higher than the traffic flow, if you can, that way you have more control over your situation.

No, that way you run into someone in front of you!

 

12 hours ago, GalaxyMan said:

I didn't see what road it was, only that it was steep. That could be one of several. Do you know which Soi they're referring to?

 

11 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

Probably soi1 between Maenam and Lamai. 

 

5 hours ago, islandguy said:

Quote: Friends told police that Dzhakhua was riding a rented motorcycle alone to take photos of the sunset from the top of the mountain road

 

sounds like soi 1

I agree sounds like Soi 1, a joy to ride along in the daytime where you get great mountain views and can also see the obvious hazards. A nightmare in the dark .....

On 1/26/2019 at 12:31 AM, SamuiGeezer said:

No, that way you run into someone in front of you!

 

 

 

I agree sounds like Soi 1, a joy to ride along in the daytime where you get great mountain views and can also see the obvious hazards. A nightmare in the dark .....

I always thought Sonora Pass in Yosemite was the scariest road I'd every driven, then I met Soi 1 then I met Soi 3. There are some crazy gradients on Soi 3.

8 hours ago, GalaxyMan said:

I always thought Sonora Pass in Yosemite was the scariest road I'd every driven, then I met Soi 1 then I met Soi 3. There are some crazy gradients on Soi 3.

Yep, some of the gradients over here are shocking ..........

If turning left onto a main road after looking right to see if anyone is coming in your lane be sure to look left as there may be someone on the other side passing and in your lane.

Driving along a main road today I was turning left and some **** on a bike tried to overtake me inside into the corner. Lucky for him I left him enough room. I was in a good mood..... ????