Video: Japanese student refuses to budge for motorcyclists on the sidewalk

[OneMoreFarang]

7 minutes ago, berrec said:

Dude your actions as a bike rider are the exception to the rule, the dam morons especially taxi motorbikes where I live in BKK on Pradit Manutham Soi 84 Wang Thong Lang are serial pests.

 

They drive like maniacs along the cycle/ walking pathway, it even has the big sign "No Motorbikes symbol, 5,000 Baht fine...........but the idiots just ignore it, yesterday while out walking one of these morons handlebars traveling at over 50 KM brushed past my shirt. If I challenge him I will have the local motorbike mafia gang give me a good beating.

 

So good on the girl for taking a stand against the motorbikes on the footpath, you forgot one thing also in your comments, bylaw motorbikes are not permitted to travel on pedestrian walkways! 

 

It's the broken window theory, start small enforcing road safety and maybe..just maybe you can reduce the road toll in Thailand. 

 

BTW every few months the local BIB come and do a stint of catching and ticketing motorbikes using the footpath, surprise...surprise, never once have they ticketed a taxi motorbike rider, why? because they are nowhere to be seen, when the BIB are enforcing the footpath law, only the poor locals get caught in the dragnet, go figure!  

 

If the motorcycle riders behave like they own the footpath then they are obviously wrong. They shouldn't do that regularly. The footpath is supposed to be for pedestrians, correct.

But now "my" exception from the rule: Sometimes the traffic is so extreme bad that some motorcycles, and especially motorcycle taxi riders ride on the footpath. Why do they do that? To get faster from A to B and to transport their passengers faster. If all passengers would complain then the riders wouldn't do that. But imagine a rider would just stand for 10 minutes in the traffic with a passenger. Many passengers would not accept that. They would walk or they would ask the motorcycle rider to take the shortcut over the footpath.

What this Japanese woman does is that she deliberately blocks the footpath. She is not walking there, she is standing there and she blocks the riders. What's the point of that?

How many accidents actually happen with motorcycles on footpaths? It seems very few. And I guess one reason it that most of these riders are pretty good in what they are doing.

 

In a perfect world the streets would not be totally blocked by cars so that motorcycles could pass. But this world is not perfect.

In a perfect world car drivers would also care about motorcycles. But many car drivers don't do this. I.e. they block the road while they look at their smart phones and they don't look at the street and where they are going.

Are all those bad drivers fined a couple of thousand THB when they play with their phone? No. Why not? The traffic would flow a lot better without them playing with their phone.

If Thailand's cops and want to be cops (the Japanese woman) want to enforce the laws then please enforce all laws. It seems to be easy to complain about the mostly (relative) poor motorcycle riders. And at the same time people with big cars are allowed to do what they want...

[Pilotman]

1 hour ago, keith101 said:

There talking about 3,000 baht fine for continual breaches by the same person maybe 1,000 first offence , 2,000 second offence , 3,000 for third offence and 90 suspension after that which might just stop most of the habitual offenders in their tracks but TIT so certainly no guarantee .

Haha, good joke.  Well done in giving me my first laugh of the day.  It will never happen, unless it's a farang unlucky enough to be stopped. 

[Crusader]

Brave lady...lucky she wasn't knocked over.

A motorcyclist myself back in the U.K. - I also rode bikes here for about 15 years (car driver for the past 12 years).  Sometimes had to break rules on the motorbike...wrong lane and overtaking on the inside etc., but never had to go on a footpath.  My experiences and observations are most negative about the bike riders. As for motorcycle taxis - only used them 3 times in almost 30 years (emergencies) - the first two times they both got a slapping for trying to kill me...and the last time was so scary, when we got to my destination I gave him 1,000 bath and said, "I hope I never see you again".

The death toll on the roads here is terrible, but sad to say, the way most people drive - it should be a lot higher. 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, watcharacters said:

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how many of the people who complain about motorcycle drivers follow all the laws all the time.

 

Attempting to deflect this issue? 

Do you think some laws should be enforced more than other laws?

Do you think rich people with big luxury cars should be allowed to ignore traffic rules and poor people with motorcycles must follow the laws?

Fact is that streets are full of cars. If there would be i.e. 10% less cars then there would be a lot more space for motorcycles.

If cars wouldn't block junctions all the time the traffic would flow a lot better including motorcycles on the streets and not on the footpath.

No motorcycle rider would use the footpath if the road would be free. So now let's think about why all those roads are blocked...

[marin]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how many of the people who complain about motorcycle drivers follow all the laws all the time.

Do you ever use a mobile phone (not hands free) while you are driving?

Do you always make sure that you don't stop in the middle of a junction you want to drive through?

Do you always stop at zebra crossings?

Do you always strictly follow no parking laws?

How many people follow all the laws all the time? I bet very few people do that - especially in Thailand.

You seem to love seeing your name in print. You are on all the threads. Sometimes with good advice. Not this time, you are so off base its not even funny.   

 

1 hour ago, rkidlad said:

Because roads are for vehicles and sidewalks are for pedestrians. 

 

This is the only way to look at it. Why dont you ride naked down the sidewalk on the next super hot day?

[meand]

50 minutes ago, emanphoto said:

Where

They

Belong

Where they belong or not is none of your business. Our emergency lanes are meant only for emergencies for example, but that is not the way things work here. Operative word being "here"... you're not back in Kansas yet Todo. Law enforcement takes care of this kind of thing the way they see fit. 

 

People seriously need to learn just because you are inconvenienced does not make you right (not to mention it biases you). This is not your country. So TM30 complaints or motorbikes, complain all you want, but you do not get to say how anything goes, or certainly where anything belongs. 

[Crusader]

Had an incident with a motorcycle taxi driver at the Asok junction in Bangkok four years ago...called over the guys in brown from their large police-box...they said just one word 'mafia' and walked away...did not go back that way for a while.

[Deli]

She is disobeying Thai culture. Back to Japan !

[silver sea]

2 hours ago, thaikahuna said:

God for her!

 One day, it will be, if the biker doesn’t stop!

[kwak250]

It all is fine until somchai gets his samuri out.

[bkkgriz]

A Japanese person who is a stickler for the rules? There is a reason there are far fewer road deaths in Japan. People actually obey the law. 

[SammyT]

Good on her, but sadly I suspect she'll be an internet sensation someday when a video emerges of her getting skittled by an angry moto driver set to the rap song "move bitch, get out the way". 

[patsfangr]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I wonder how many of the people who complain about motorcycle drivers follow all the laws all the time.

Do you ever use a mobile phone (not hands free) while you are driving?

Do you always make sure that you don't stop in the middle of a junction you want to drive through?

Do you always stop at zebra crossings?

Do you always strictly follow no parking laws?

How many people follow all the laws all the time? I bet very few people do that - especially in Thailand.

 

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What is so difficult about live and let live?

I understand if there is a small sidewalk which has only place for one person that the person won't go on the street because a motorcycle is on the sidewalk.

But this is not the case here. Her only purpose for standing there is to block motorcycles. Why? Does she feel better when she demands that other people do what she wants?

I drive motorcycle and often people, mostly tourist, walk in the middle of small sois even if those sois have a sidewalk. Do I run them over because the street is for vehicles and not for pedestrians? No. I drive around them. Problem solved.

I drive very seldom on a sidewalk but it happens, i.e. if I want to stop in front of an ATM for 5 minutes. If I do this I make sure I don't harass pedestrians. If there are pedestrians I make sure they can walk without problem. They can walk, I can drive on the sidewalk for a few meters, no problem for anybody.

Relax, take it easy!

You are "One More Farang" too many in Thailand. You clearly believe that laws should be obeyed only when it's convenient for you to do so. That's not the way a lawful society works. To answer your questions in the second post, YES, I obey all of the traffic laws you mentioned, and all others when I'm driving. Every one of those laws are there to protect both drivers and those around them, other drivers and pedestrians. Any single disobedience of any of those laws could result in injury or death. It's a shame that we can't remove from the roads every operator of any kind of motor vehicle who thinks and drives as you do. It's my bet that you treat all other laws in very much the same way. 

[OneMoreFarang]

12 minutes ago, marin said:

You seem to love seeing your name in print. You are on all the threads. Sometimes with good advice. Not this time, you are so off base its not even funny.

Maybe I am just working the whole day on my PC and sometimes I look at TVF. My name was never printed. ???? 

I don't write because I think other people will like my opinion.

Sometimes people agree with me and sometimes not.

And in this case it seems many users think different than me. And that is obviously perfectly ok.

What I find disturbing is that some users here and also in other forums want harsh penalties for people who are not like them. I.e. motorcycle riders must be punished. But the same users think it's ok to ignore certain laws because they and their friends behave like that so it can't really be so bad.

Sometimes I like to point out these double standards. But yes, I am also not immune to them from time to time.

[PETERTHEEATER]

No, she was using her phone to record the intrusions. She may be following the Department of Land Transport's recent instruction for citizens to report siewalk riders to a dedicated phone number and transmit a photo and location. If the info results in a successful prosecution the informant would get ThB 2000.

 

So, spend a little up front to get a flak jacket and body armour and get out there on a busy spot and start filming. You should recoup the initial outlay in days.

 

Good Luck with nailing the RTP riders.????‍♀️

[PETERTHEEATER]

31 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If the motorcycle riders behave like they own the footpath then they are obviously wrong. They shouldn't do that regularly. The footpath is supposed to be for pedestrians, correct.

But now "my" exception from the rule: Sometimes the traffic is so extreme bad that some motorcycles, and especially motorcycle taxi riders ride on the footpath. Why do they do that? To get faster from A to B and to transport their passengers faster. If all passengers would complain then the riders wouldn't do that. But imagine a rider would just stand for 10 minutes in the traffic with a passenger. Many passengers would not accept that. They would walk or they would ask the motorcycle rider to take the shortcut over the footpath.

What this Japanese woman does is that she deliberately blocks the footpath. She is not walking there, she is standing there and she blocks the riders. What's the point of that?

How many accidents actually happen with motorcycles on footpaths? It seems very few. And I guess one reason it that most of these riders are pretty good in what they are doing.

 

In a perfect world the streets would not be totally blocked by cars so that motorcycles could pass. But this world is not perfect.

In a perfect world car drivers would also care about motorcycles. But many car drivers don't do this. I.e. they block the road while they look at their smart phones and they don't look at the street and where they are going.

Are all those bad drivers fined a couple of thousand THB when they play with their phone? No. Why not? The traffic would flow a lot better without them playing with their phone.

If Thailand's cops and want to be cops (the Japanese woman) want to enforce the laws then please enforce all laws. It seems to be easy to complain about the mostly (relative) poor motorcycle riders. And at the same time people with big cars are allowed to do what they want...

Did you notice that the Japanese lady in the photo is carrying a crutch in one hand. Maybe she has been hit on a sidewalk by one of these inconsiderate riders and is retaliating.

[jvs]

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What is so difficult about live and let live?

I understand if there is a small sidewalk which has only place for one person that the person won't go on the street because a motorcycle is on the sidewalk.

But this is not the case here. Her only purpose for standing there is to block motorcycles. Why? Does she feel better when she demands that other people do what she wants?

I drive motorcycle and often people, mostly tourist, walk in the middle of small sois even if those sois have a sidewalk. Do I run them over because the street is for vehicles and not for pedestrians? No. I drive around them. Problem solved.

I drive very seldom on a sidewalk but it happens, i.e. if I want to stop in front of an ATM for 5 minutes. If I do this I make sure I don't harass pedestrians. If there are pedestrians I make sure they can walk without problem. They can walk, I can drive on the sidewalk for a few meters, no problem for anybody.

Relax, take it easy!

You have been here too long if you know what i mean.Lets just fine the motorcycledrivers who actually hurt someone?Are you kidding?

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, patsfangr said:

YES, I obey all of the traffic laws you mentioned, and all others when I'm driving.

Wonderful!

Do you also obey all the time all other laws? Or are there certain exception which are ok for you?

 

Personally I do my best not to harm others in any way - with or without laws. In fact I don't know most laws. I just behave the way which I think makes sense and is fair for everybody. And I am pretty sure most of the time that is very similar to the laws.

[spidermike007]

Good on her. Thailand definitely needs more activism. It needs to evolve, change, grow and progress. Anytime someone resists the extremely conventional, chaotic, corrupt, and traditional status quo here, that is a good thing, and I would go so far as to call it an act of heroism. Motorbikes on the sidewalks are a real hazard. They hurt and kill people. I get why they do it. But, that should not mean it is allowed. 

 

Sometimes, we need to take things into our own hands. We cannot count on the incredibly incompetent and indifferent local police franchisees, to do the right thing. Hardly ever. 

[patsfangr]

41 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If the motorcycle riders behave like they own the footpath then they are obviously wrong. They shouldn't do that regularly. The footpath is supposed to be for pedestrians, correct.

But now "my" exception from the rule: Sometimes the traffic is so extreme bad that some motorcycles, and especially motorcycle taxi riders ride on the footpath. Why do they do that? To get faster from A to B and to transport their passengers faster. If all passengers would complain then the riders wouldn't do that. But imagine a rider would just stand for 10 minutes in the traffic with a passenger. Many passengers would not accept that. They would walk or they would ask the motorcycle rider to take the shortcut over the footpath.

What this Japanese woman does is that she deliberately blocks the footpath. She is not walking there, she is standing there and she blocks the riders. What's the point of that?

How many accidents actually happen with motorcycles on footpaths? It seems very few. And I guess one reason it that most of these riders are pretty good in what they are doing.

 

In a perfect world the streets would not be totally blocked by cars so that motorcycles could pass. But this world is not perfect.

In a perfect world car drivers would also care about motorcycles. But many car drivers don't do this. I.e. they block the road while they look at their smart phones and they don't look at the street and where they are going.

Are all those bad drivers fined a couple of thousand THB when they play with their phone? No. Why not? The traffic would flow a lot better without them playing with their phone.

If Thailand's cops and want to be cops (the Japanese woman) want to enforce the laws then please enforce all laws. It seems to be easy to complain about the mostly (relative) poor motorcycle riders. And at the same time people with big cars are allowed to do what they want...

More examples of spurious reasoning, using the old "yeah, but they do it" line. The fact that some car drivers disobey laws does not justify motorcycle drivers doing the same thing. Everybody operating any motor vehicle should obey all laws that apply to them. Period! That means things like: Not driving a motorbike into an intersection without looking; Not driving your motorbike inside a car that is signalling to make a turn to that side; Not weaving in and out of moving traffic on a motorbike; Not driving your motorbike in the opposite lane to move up in traffic waiting for a light. My bet is that you do every one of those things, because it's convenient for you to do so despite the fact that they are all against the law. 

[Asquith Production]

41 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

No motorcycle rider would use the footpath if the road would be free. So now let's think about why all those roads are blocked...

Rubbish I have seen many Thais driving on the wrong side of an empty road and if the road is narrow then the pavement. Thais take the shortest route they are to lazy to go in the direction of travel and use the first U-turn.

 

[UTH001]

1 hour ago, Snackbar said:

Thai culture.....pffft. 

 

Call it what it is....anti social behavior.

 

Shame the locals haven’t the same backbone as this mature student.

Yip, like so many parking in handicapped parking spaces, and nobody worries one little bit. The other day I witnessed a woman in a pick-up, with her daughter and a pram on the pick-up, parking in handicapped parking, BECAUSE SHE SAID SHE HAS A BABY WITH HER. Unbelievable, just freakin' unbelievable!

[natway09]

Good on ya girl but I tried that once in Suk Soi 6 & 90,000 Bht later & 2 visits to the Rung Pia Baan I realized my mistake

[Jai Dee]

Several off-topic posts have been removed.

[Tropposurfer]

????????????????????????????????????

[Udon john]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What is so difficult about live and let live?

I understand if there is a small sidewalk which has only place for one person that the person won't go on the street because a motorcycle is on the sidewalk.

But this is not the case here. Her only purpose for standing there is to block motorcycles. Why? Does she feel better when she demands that other people do what she wants?

I drive motorcycle and often people, mostly tourist, walk in the middle of small sois even if those sois have a sidewalk. Do I run them over because the street is for vehicles and not for pedestrians? No. I drive around them. Problem solved.

I drive very seldom on a sidewalk but it happens, i.e. if I want to stop in front of an ATM for 5 minutes. If I do this I make sure I don't harass pedestrians. If there are pedestrians I make sure they can walk without problem. They can walk, I can drive on the sidewalk for a few meters, no problem for anybody.

Relax, take it easy!

Well said ????

[Curt1591]

2 hours ago, keith101 said:

There talking about 3,000 baht fine for continual breaches by the same person maybe 1,000 first offence , 2,000 second offence , 3,000 for third offence and 90 suspension after that which might just stop most of the habitual offenders in their tracks but TIT so certainly no guarantee .

In Bangkok, the fine is now 5,000 baht. And, if you video tape them, and turn them in, they are supposed to split the fine with you.

 

[atyclb]

2 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

What is so difficult about live and let live?

I understand if there is a small sidewalk which has only place for one person that the person won't go on the street because a motorcycle is on the sidewalk.

But this is not the case here. Her only purpose for standing there is to block motorcycles. Why? Does she feel better when she demands that other people do what she wants?

I drive motorcycle and often people, mostly tourist, walk in the middle of small sois even if those sois have a sidewalk. Do I run them over because the street is for vehicles and not for pedestrians? No. I drive around them. Problem solved.

I drive very seldom on a sidewalk but it happens, i.e. if I want to stop in front of an ATM for 5 minutes. If I do this I make sure I don't harass pedestrians. If there are pedestrians I make sure they can walk without problem. They can walk, I can drive on the sidewalk for a few meters, no problem for anybody.

Relax, take it easy!

 

i nominate thee as winner of the "twisted logic of year" award and on this forum that is no easy achievement.

[Paul Henry]

Keep death off the roads, drive on the footpath! Only Thailand.

[ThaiBunny]

2 minutes ago, Paul Henry said:

Keep death off the roads, drive on the footpath! Only Thailand.

If you drive - drink. How else can you face the traffic