Pattaya: British pensioner killed on motorcycle making U-turn

[mngmn]

18 hours ago, NanLaew said:

Why don't you post these fanciful statistics first instead of glibly saying they exist?

 

Simple demographics would suggest that the group of 20 to 60 year old drivers here is larger than the group of 60 to 80 year old drivers. It isn't rocket surgery that there's going to be more fatalities in the former compared with the latter but it has absolutely nothing to do with youthful testosterone and inexperience or some deep pool of driving experience and passing a 'proper' driving test in another country more than 50 years ago.

 

As for IQ, what's yours?

My IQ is the bar on the left but it must be quite ordinary compared to a "rocket surgeon" :0 

Edited November 29, 2019 by mngmn

[chickenslegs]

2 hours ago, Langkawee said:

Good life saving tip. Up north they stop and park before they turn left or right, to get a clear safe turn, no doubt saved thousands of lives over the year's.

Yes, the safest way for a scooter to make a U-turn across an 8-lane dual carriageway is to stop at the kerbside and wait for a gap in the traffic.

But, it might add 30-60 seconds to your journey.

[Stargeezr]

I am not sure of the reaction of most commenter on this forum, but at 68 I am starting to

slow down on lots of things. I do not drink as much, I do not stay out as late as I used

to. I do not date the young ladies as I did 30 years ago. I do not drive as fast as I used

to, especially on my 125cc Honda click. I do wear my helmet,  not like the Farangs who think 

that not wearing their helmet is, (Going local, not Stupid).

 

Geezer

[Kinnock]

Sounds likely he cut across the path of the car, so I guess breaking distance was short - but the Thai habit of flashing headlights rather than breaking may also be a factor?

[jacko45k]

On 11/29/2019 at 11:02 AM, Langkawee said:

Good life saving tip. Up north they stop and park before they turn left or right, to get a clear safe turn, no doubt saved thousands of lives over the year's.

Get their phones out and send a few emoticons and GIFs while horns honk behind them. 

[essox essox]

On 11/28/2019 at 1:30 PM, VYCM said:

74 yo. I see a lot of these elderly guys riding scooters, most of the time I see they just don't belong on the road. Too old to be riding here in Thailand, too many things to watch out for, it's very different on the roads here, your reflexes and decision making need to be spot on. 

 

Surprisingly I see a lot of elderly guys riding like the Thai guys, in and out of traffic, changing lanes erratically, very dangerous behaviour. 

so they are just like thai drivers "when in Rome" comes to mind.....

[overherebc]

40 minutes ago, essox essox said:

so they are just like thai drivers "when in Rome" comes to mind.....

I've heard from a couple of the older guys that 'it's not really a motorbike' it's just like a bicycle with a small engine.

I would not make a guess at how many have a Thai bike licence or even had a home licence for a bike. Plus, it's only 2 or 3 miles from the bar to home so after a few beers it's better than walking in the heat.

[Rimmer]

Troll post removed

[xylophone]

On 11/28/2019 at 3:17 PM, Scot123 said:

This is so sad but so very predictable. I used to shake my head and say idiots everytime I saw any foreigner riding a scooter wearing no helmet, vest, shorts and flip-flops (thongs for our oz cousins) down the road.

I have to agree with your comment, sadly though, because I cringe at the number of farangs, and many of them old enough to know much better, who ride around here (I'm not in Pattaya, but in Patong) just as you describe.

 

I would say that the number of farangs like this, especially wearing no helmet, would easily eclipse the number of Thais who don't wear a helmet.

 

And as regards another comment about age, well I'm 72 now and consider my driving skills to be good, having driven for 55 years without any accidents caused by me, so although age can be a factor, there are just as many younger people driving much more dangerously/recklessly, and some who look as if they have a death wish.

[Cricky]

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

I have to agree with your comment, sadly though, because I cringe at the number of farangs, and many of them old enough to know much better, who ride around here (I'm not in Pattaya, but in Patong) just as you describe.

 

I would say that the number of farangs like this, especially wearing no helmet, would easily eclipse the number of Thais who don't wear a helmet.

 

And as regards another comment about age, well I'm 72 now and consider my driving skills to be good, having driven for 55 years without any accidents caused by me, so although age can be a factor, there are just as many younger people driving much more dangerously/recklessly, and some who look as if they have a death wish.

Ride on dude, it's all about management. I do see reckless youth and as I said previously, incompetence causes most accidents. 

Hope I can do the same at that age. 

[jastheace]

road markings seem to indicate this lane (where the car has stopped) is a feeder lane for the U-turn. not to be used as a fast lane for traffic going straight on. however, as a driver and /or rider, one must assume everyone else on the road is an *****, and will ignore not just road markings but signs and rules.

sorry to hear another fatality due to ignorance.

[happy chappie]

On 11/28/2019 at 3:54 PM, Ventenio said:

It's ridiculous to say there isn't any ageism.  Do you see professional athletes over the age of 50????  maybe 1 in a zillion.  football players in their 40's more agile than a young kid?  maybe 1 in a zillion.  more people in their 40's forget if the light was on, wondering where they put their keys, and they forget a lot more than when they were younger.  This is scientifically proven.   Sure, I've seen the old guys going 11 kph on their scooter in the middle of the road without a helmet, likely thinking they are speed racer; oblivious to the 1 million cars honking at them.   If you have money for a car, buy one.  even a bicycle is safer than a scooter, since you have more options and cars generally don't treat them as vehicles (exceptions, sure).  just go play some sports with young kids and you'll soon realize your body is slower, weaker, and your brain just not as sharp.    Ageism is a huge thing.  

Ageism doesn't come into it when your a silly old fool that still kids himself he's as sharp as Valentino Rossi.

[kingofthemountain]

On 11/28/2019 at 9:14 PM, Jane Dough said:

I've driven half a million kilometers in Thailand without more than a scrape. It can't all be my skill....The majority of Thais are perfectly reasonable drivers driving safely, defensively and with tolerance for driver error. They are generally not selfish. Life is not cheap. The roads are not the most dangerous in the world. There is an extremely low chance of being a victim. Apart from that your post is spot on. 

 

Rooster

You have just been lucky

obviously you have no idea of the number of Thais driving when drunk

or driving while typing\reading messages on the iphone.

I meet at least 10 or 15 of them everyday on the Pattaya roads

you can recognize them easily, they have an erratic driving 

[kingofthemountain]

On 11/29/2019 at 1:30 PM, chickenslegs said:

Yes, the safest way for a scooter to make a U-turn across an 8-lane dual carriageway is to stop at the kerbside and wait for a gap in the traffic.

But, it might add 30-60 seconds to your journey.

A gap in the traffic?

Obviously you don't know Sukkhumvit road

particularly at the peak hours, wait i fix it for you

''But. it might add 30-60 minutes to your journey''

[chickenslegs]

14 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

A gap in the traffic?

Obviously you don't know Sukkhumvit road

particularly at the peak hours, wait i fix it for you

''But. it might add 30-60 minutes to your journey''

I do understand the point you are making - and I am very familiar with Sukhumvit Road, and the U-turn in question.

Maybe 30-60 seconds is a little ambitious but, there are gaps in traffic every couple of minutes, due to the traffic light sequence at Suk/Theprasit.

In any case I was suggesting that this would be the safest way for a scooter to make that U-turn - not the quickest way.

The poor old chap is dead. I'm sure he would rather be alive and a few minutes late to get to where he was going.

[kingofthemountain]

11 minutes ago, chickenslegs said:

I do understand the point you are making - and I am very familiar with Sukhumvit Road, and the U-turn in question.

Maybe 30-60 seconds is a little ambitious but, there are gaps in traffic every couple of minutes, due to the traffic light sequence at Suk/Theprasit.

In any case I was suggesting that this would be the safest way for a scooter to make that U-turn - not the quickest way.

The poor old chap is dead. I'm sure he would rather be alive and a few minutes late to get to where he was going.

I understand

i am not familiar with this portion

where i live unfortunely the U turn it's some hundreds meter after the Pattaya Klang bypass

so at the peak hours you never have a gap in the traffic and it's a daily challenge for me

[jacko45k]

4 hours ago, kingofthemountain said:

I understand

i am not familiar with this portion

where i live unfortunely the U turn it's some hundreds meter after the Pattaya Klang bypass

so at the peak hours you never have a gap in the traffic and it's a daily challenge for me

There are U-Turns both ways on Sukhumvit at Klang itself. 

[kingofthemountain]

4 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

There are U-Turns both ways on Sukhumvit at Klang itself. 

True

but i am 200 meters after this one

on the opposite side of King Power and Rubberland

[jacko45k]

5 minutes ago, kingofthemountain said:

True

but i am 200 meters after this one

on the opposite side of King Power and Rubberland

The tunnel gets in the way, but there is one I used to use during the construction, then would cut through by the boxing place. It was a bit dodgy but keeping right to get up to speed worked. 

I much prefer to go out of my way a bit to get to a safer point... Thais don't like to do that. 

Edited December 1, 2019 by jacko45k