Think twice before riding a motorcycle in Thailand - Thai biker in wheelchair warns others

[marquis22]

They shut down the country to prevent the deaths from Covid, but not shut down roads to prevent the road deaths?? Mykachai.

[quake]

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

The taxi bikes are actually the most skillful riders around, probably less risk with them, except they have poor helmets

and mostly drunk, but yes i agree.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2020 by quake

[billd766]

46 minutes ago, Dap said:

 I actually enjoyed my Yamaha, Virago 500 - thanks for the smile on that one mate 

I had a couple of Honda CX 500 in the UK during the 1980s and they were great touring bikes also. It used to take me about 5 minutes in winter to get all my riding gear on and off and no matter how carefully I dressed the icy winds would always find a gap.

[digger70]

6 hours ago, KhunKenAP said:

If you drive a motorcycle in Thailand it is not a question of "Will I be in a motorcycle accident, it is when". 

It won't happen overnight but it Will happen. 

[time2093]

Another poor soul today who's life wont be the same again has become another statistic in Thailand's motorcycle accident cycle.

 

Foreign motorbike driver seriously injured after stray dog allegedly ran across road in Pattaya

 

 

https://pattayaone.news/foreign-motorbike-driver-seriously-injured-after/

Edited June 10, 2020 by time2093

[Blumpie]

It takes balls to come out and admit that you screwed up like this.  Balls lots of people don't have. 

Good for him for trying to help the problem.

[Peter Denis]

14 minutes ago, billd766 said:

I had a couple of Honda CX 500 in the UK during the 1980s and they were great touring bikes also. It used to take me about 5 minutes in winter to get all my riding gear on and off and no matter how carefully I dressed the icy winds would always find a gap.

Yes, the fly zippers on bike riding gear really suck...

[dpcjsr]

It's like being in a war. The smartest strongest best prepared are not the ones who survive. The lucky survive. Wrong place at wrong time and it is over. Given the terrible driving record in Thailand you are taking a big risk every time you mount your bike. Is it worth it? Only you can answer that. I still ride occasionally but not often any more. 

 

[Puchaiyank]

 

[JensenZ]

 

6 hours ago, holy cow cm said:

Big bikes and kids and most Thai is a disaster waiting to happen. I have way over 25yrs of riding bikes here and never a problem. It's all how you ride defensively and offensively with your eyes and brain open. Even just yesterday it was twice that if I did not see and use a defensive move the Thai in both of the cars would have hit me.. some days are worse than others, but now one of the biggest dangerous threats to the road are the Panda and Grab riders.

I hope yesterday was an exception for you, because if you have 2 close shaves every day, you're taking too many risks. I have close shaves too, but they are not frequent, or daily. 

[samtab]

No problem !

 

Foreigners, especially old men, are so gooooooooooood at driving that it will never happen to them !

 

I guess that is what has been posted on 5 pages that I didn't read ?

 

Ridiculous.

 

Apart from being too poor to own a car, I think only idiots drive a motorbike by choice in this country.

 

[The Farang]

It is extremely dangerous driving a motorbike in Thailand.   I myself was in a bad accident and left the hospital losing 400,000 baht in medical expenses.   Sometimes accidents are your fault,  but 90% of the times it's not your fault no matter how good you drive.  Reason being most people do not stay in between the lines on the road.  Taxi drivers always racing and crossing over the lines.  If you're driving a car you have to always have a 360* view around your car for motorbikes passing you on both sides.  It honestly is never a question of if you will get in an accident,  its when you will get in an accident. Whats worse, if you're a farang and you hit a Thai personal,  get your wallet ready.  You will have to pay the police for responding to your accident then the Thai person you hit. 

Edited June 10, 2020 by The Farang

[richard_smith237]

20 minutes ago, The Farang said:

It is extremely dangerous driving a motorbike in Thailand.   I myself was in a bad accident and left the hospital losing 400,000 baht in medical expenses.   Sometimes accidents are your fault,  but 90% of the times it's not your fault no matter how good you drive.  Reason being most people do not stay in between the lines on the road.  Taxi drivers always racing and crossing over the lines.  If you're driving a car you have to always have a 360* view around your car for motorbikes passing you on both sides.  It honestly is never a question of if you will get in an accident,  its when you will get in an accident.

 

Indeed, I have never felt comfortable being the first vehicle to stop at traffic lights in Thailand, especially when on a motorcycle - the risk of the tool driving the car behind not paying full attention and hitting me always felt elevated even when I do stop as far off to the side as possible (where possible).

 

ALWAYS have full medical insurance in Thailand, especially if riding a motorcycle.

 

20 minutes ago, The Farang said:

Whats worse, if you're a farang and you hit a Thai personal,  get your wallet ready.  You will have to pay the police for responding to your accident then the Thai person you hit. 

This is just a bar stool myth - absolute rubbish.

 

3 accidents in Thailand (in 20 years) none my fault, 1 cost me (and the other guy) money (400b) for some charge to do with being involved in an accident - the others were small enough not to worry about the police and the insurance dealt with it all.

[scubascuba3]

3 hours ago, The Farang said:

It is extremely dangerous driving a motorbike in Thailand.   I myself was in a bad accident and left the hospital losing 400,000 baht in medical expenses.   Sometimes accidents are your fault,  but 90% of the times it's not your fault no matter how good you drive.  Reason being most people do not stay in between the lines on the road.  Taxi drivers always racing and crossing over the lines.  If you're driving a car you have to always have a 360* view around your car for motorbikes passing you on both sides.  It honestly is never a question of if you will get in an accident,  its when you will get in an accident. Whats worse, if you're a farang and you hit a Thai personal,  get your wallet ready.  You will have to pay the police for responding to your accident then the Thai person you hit. 

From the hundreds of bike crash videos I've seen it's nearer 90% are the riders fault, but have you noticed how no one admits fault?

[Mops59]

The main problem is no health insurance,  no social security, hardly any job available, no adapted houses, etc. Driving a bike in Thailand is madness. But with facilities in place less worse than the article suggests. And don't forget. These people still have 2 healthy hands. They can work. 

[Dart12]

If you ride a bike, you will get hurt =

if you learn to walk, you will fall down and get hurt

if you love, you will get hurt.

If you talk to others, you will get sick.


Best to quarantine yourself, stay in bed, stay away from people and live in a sanitized protected bubble,... 

Damn thing is...you'll still die one day.

Truth is, you don't have a clue how your end will happen.  So go LIVE instead of worrying about "IF" x y or z will kill you..

Edited June 11, 2020 by Dart12

[overherebc]

19 hours ago, curious297 said:

I've been riding a bike in Phuket and around Thailand for over 16 years and had only one accident. First days on the bike, I slipped on dirt at the side of the road while breaking. 

A few simple rules I follow to survive:

 

• Keep away from the dust and <deleted> in the left lane
• Drive with the traffic and not through traffic
• Mirror, signal and manoeuvre
• Stay behind at distance. Do not drive side by side to other vehicles
• Be vigilant of cars turning in and out of roads. They will pull out without warning
• Don't Jump traffic lights
• Don't drive in the rain. Car drivers rarely adjust their speed or breaking distance in rain.
• Don't drive with your whole family as passengers.
• Stop trying to impress yourself with your bike skills. No one cares
• Most important - Be safer than safe

 

 

You missed

Make sure you have had prior warning on details, vehicle type etc, on all the drunks who will be on the same stretch of road as you.

[terminatorchiangmai]

How old is the guy , what is his weight and what is the weight of the bike he drove and cc's?

Some experience and proper training could have saved him.

For someone his size i think a 300cc bike is more than enough.

I drive one myself here while in Europe i had a 1000cc bike.

[Peter Denis]

42 minutes ago, Dart12 said:

If you ride a bike, you will get hurt =
if you learn to walk, you will fall down and get hurt
if you love, you will get hurt.
If you talk to others, you will get sick.

Best to quarantine yourself, stay in bed, stay away from people and live in a sanitized protected bubble,... 
Damn thing is...you'll still die one day.
Truth is, you don't have a clue how your end will happen.  So go LIVE instead of worrying about "IF" x y or z will kill you..

Thanks for your post, and very true...

Except for the sentence I marked in red > If you talk to others, you will get sick.

But it nicely summarizes the whole social distancing fear-mongering bullsh#t.

 

[colinneil]

1 hour ago, Mops59 said:

The main problem is no health insurance,  no social security, hardly any job available, no adapted houses, etc. Driving a bike in Thailand is madness. But with facilities in place less worse than the article suggests. And don't forget. These people still have 2 healthy hands. They can work. 

Are you serious?

You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

These people still have 2 hands !! Yes i do, and the place i would like to put them is round your neck.

[jackdd]

14 minutes ago, terminatorchiangmai said:

How old is the guy , what is his weight and what is the weight of the bike he drove and cc's?

Some experience and proper training could have saved him.

For someone his size i think a 300cc bike is more than enough.

I drive one myself here while in Europe i had a 1000cc bike.

Considering that he was a professional motorbike rider, we can assume that he knows how to handle a bike.

[pineapple01]

1 hour ago, Mops59 said:

The main problem is no health insurance,  no social security, hardly any job available, no adapted houses, etc. Driving a bike in Thailand is madness. But with facilities in place less worse than the article suggests. And don't forget. These people still have 2 healthy hands. They can work. 

I recommend you visit a Hospital. Whats this Mumbo Jumbo have you posted, or is it me in need of a visit.? 

[theonetrueaussie]

i remember being in the right lane to turn right and a big dirt truck in the middle lane going straight....until he decided to do a u-turn right in front of me...beeped my horn like crazy but he still hit me, luckily was not going fast and i could jump off before he ran me over...luckily not too much damage to my bike but still......thai drivers have absolutely no common sense or driving skills!

[pineapple01]

As an nutter of Yesteryear, who got away with it, i note a sneaky way some posters try to boast their undoubted skill. No doubt as i would have done once.. but let me tell You Mr Taxi, Mrs Shopper, Mr 18 Wheeler, Mr Bus, Mr Express Deliver and Me dont give a Rats Bum about your skills and eventually your Ego will be your downfall.

[bamboozled]

One problem driving at night is the tinted windows in cars. I have a very light tint on mine, put on by the previous owner, but it def makes my vision worse at night. I have rented cars that have darker tints and it is REALLY very hard to see well. No, scratch that, you CAN'T see well, you can't even see ok. It's a <deleted> shoot driving at night with the tinted windows. You can mostly make out the edges of the road and that's about it. I would rather not have any tint but....man, the daytime sun is a killer without it. So, I guess, one really shouldn't drive at night, neither car nor bike. And so very many of the motorbikes I see have no rear lights.

[pineapple01]

2 minutes ago, bamboozled said:

One problem driving at night is the tinted windows in cars. I have a very light tint on mine, put on by the previous owner, but it def makes my vision worse at night. I have rented cars that have darker tints and it is REALLY very hard to see well. No, scratch that, you CAN'T see well, you can't even see ok. It's a <deleted> shoot driving at night with the tinted windows. You can mostly make out the edges of the road and that's about it. I would rather not have any tint but....man, the daytime sun is a killer without it. So, I guess, one really shouldn't drive at night, neither car nor bike. And so very many of the motorbikes I see have no rear lights.

I fell for that keeps heat out rubbish it cuts UV rays only and looks cool to some. Nice Post anyway.

[scubascuba3]

40 minutes ago, jackdd said:

Considering that he was a professional motorbike rider, we can assume that he knows how to handle a bike.

I bet 10 baht he was going too fast, over confident perhaps. A pity he didn't describe what happened for the benefit of others. I see groups of boy racers on big bikes racing on Sukhumvit, an accident waiting to happen whilst trying to show off

[inwardglee]

I have been riding motorbikes in Thailand since 37 years. And 35 years ago I had an extreme crash with another bike, one leg was cut through by the other bike, driven by a "farang" then on a sand road in Phuket (who did hit-and-run) and the hospital wanted to amputate my leg, but I made it back to Europe where the leg was saved. It is rather okay now, and I do not even limp, but the leg  has only got the inner part of flesh and might create problems into age. - I had a shock for some years, but then started again, and have been driving all the time, yet never feeling secure even with the best expertise to ride in Thailand. I have survived all the years, and I am fully aware it is not only by my driving style that I survived but also by sheer luck. - Still three bikes in the garage, large ones like a cruiser Honda CTX or a Yamaha XMax for the city, a tiny PCX for visitors. - All road trips had been done on them, but finally got to the conclusion I would not wish to tempt God any longer and got a car. Car driving is safer and yet also just hell, if being on some motorways, drove Ayutthaya-Pattaya last week, and I constantly see much madness that can also cost lives in a car crash. - If wanting to survive, need to be very awake and fresh in the head, very alert, in fact I have come to conclusion that only if being in the best state of mind I can hit the road also in a car. - I recommend to any foreign motorbike driver in Thailand to have doubts whether he wants it. If she or he is okay being dead or a cripple prematurely, they can do it, but please see that even small cars can be bought and they are still safer. The slaughter on the roads is immense, I believe it is between 30 to 60 people killed daily, and many more injured and crippled. - Thailand isn't the calm country anymore, it resembles China now, a country of full racing roads everywhere, and the time is gone for riding motorbikes except you live in the most remote corner, and even there there is the madness. - Please buy a car fitting your budget, and drive it with utmost care with no exception, if you don't like death nor being crippled. If not being able to give away the bikes, use them for small trips only, and then be aware at each moment that death can hit, be always aware of that even before the shortest ride. 

[actonion]

They dont have the know how......if like a Thai lady i once knew  who repeatedly fell off her motorbike, after investigation as to  why she came off so much, she didnt know that one of the pedals down by her feet was the foot brake & not a foot rest as she's been told by the motorbike shop when she bought  it  ....she was using only the front brake..

Edited June 11, 2020 by actonion

[NoshowJones]

19 hours ago, Laza 45 said:

I have a friend in the hospital right now with horrendous injuries...  She was a very careful rider.. she was hit by an ice truck.. not her fault .. it is very dangerous out there even if you take care.  There are too many out there that do not care.

I think that in most cases, it is not so much that they don't care, it is mostly third world mentality in a third world country. Most of them just have no common sense whatsoever.