Austrian man, 77, dies as motorbike collides head-on with van

[webfact]

Austrian man, 77, dies as motorbike collides head-on with van

By The Phuket News

 

The front of the van was heavily damaged by the impact. Photo: Jaobluecar 2299

 

PHUKET: A 77-year-old Austrian man has died after the motorbike he was riding collided head-on with a passenger van in Kata last night (Aug 18).

 

Capt Channarong Pakrongkeua of the Karon Police reported that police and rescue workers were called to the scene, in front of the Kata branch of the Thai Gold Shop on Patak Rd, at about 7:30pm.

 

Rescue workers and police arrived at the scene to find a Toyota commercial passenger van with yellow licence plates stopped in the left lane with very heavy damage to its front.

 

Full story: https://www.thephuketnews.com/austrian-man-77-dies-as-motorbike-collides-head-on-with-van-77052.php

 

-- © Copyright Phuket News 2020-08-19

 

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[yeahbutif]

Double yellow lines. Means no overtaking so how did this happen

[lom]

1 hour ago, yeahbutif said:

Double yellow lines. Means no overtaking so how did this happen

The old man fell back into right-side driving?

[mike787]

And again!  Deadliest roads in the world.  More evidence.  When will people learn?

[MoD1977]

2 hours ago, lom said:

The old man fell back into right-side driving?

If you had read the news article you had learned that the "old man" was on the back of the motorbike

Edited August 19, 2020 by MoD1977

[SteveK]

4 minutes ago, MoD1977 said:

If you had read the news article you had learned that the "old man" was on the back of the motorbike

No he wasn't. "the Austrian man was riding the motorbike from Karon towards Kata with Ms Kannika sitting on the back."

[stevenl]

3 hours ago, yeahbutif said:

Double yellow lines. Means no overtaking so how did this happen

Read the op.

[sebastion]

77 year olds really shouldnt be driving motorbikes

[SteveK]

Look at the state of the van, must have been one hell of an impact. Either a big bike or travelling very fast, probably both.

[UncleMhee]

7 minutes ago, sebastion said:

77 year olds really shouldnt be driving motorbikes

Plenty of 70-80 year olds still riding 850-1000 cc bikes back in Oz.....

[Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai]

1 hour ago, UncleMhee said:

Plenty of 70-80 year olds still riding 850-1000 cc bikes back in Oz.....

Many Australian Ulysses Club members are over 70.

[sebastion]

8 hours ago, Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai said:

Many Australian Ulysses Club members are over 70.

Lets establish this...this 77 year old Austrian:

 

1) Would not have been licensed

2) Would probably have had a few drinks in him

3) Was probably not wearing a helmet

4) Was doubling a bar girl on the bike, who probably had a few drinks too and you can guarantee the bargirl would have been screaming into her phone to her Thai boyfriend about the amazing 10 somtam meals she had over the last 5 hours, thus distracting the driver

[impulse]

13 hours ago, mike787 said:

And again!  Deadliest roads in the world.  More evidence.  When will people learn?

 

Had the guy been safely ensconced in a 4 wheel vehicle with seat belts and airbags, he'd probably be recovering from minor injuries- or just worried about paying for damage. 

 

Another tragic data point...  Scooters are 20-40 times as hazardous (per km driven) as a 4 wheel vehicle.

 

[WorriedNoodle]

26 minutes ago, sebastion said:

8 hours ago, Bruce Aussie Chiang Mai said:

Many Australian Ulysses Club members are over 70.

Lets establish this...this 77 year old Austrian:

Lets also establish that Austria and Australia are in no way connected nor have any relevance to this story.

[fredwiggy]

29 minutes ago, sebastion said:

Lets establish this...this 77 year old Austrian:

 

1) Would not have been licensed

2) Would probably have had a few drinks in him

3) Was probably not wearing a helmet

4) Was doubling a bar girl on the bike, who probably had a few drinks too and you can guarantee the bargirl would have been screaming into her phone to her Thai boyfriend about the amazing 10 somtam meals she had over the last 5 hours, thus distracting the driver

Lot of assumptions there with no evidence whatsoever. Maybe he did have a license, was sober, wearing a helmet and it was his girlfriend? That impact could kill wearing a helmet anyway. He may have just took the turn too fast and went into the next lane.

Edited August 20, 2020 by fredwiggy

[Snackbar]

Something fishy about those pictures.

 

Why is the van on the outside of the curve, not the apex?

 

Why does it look like the van came to an immediately stop?
 

High impact damage to the front of the van and minimal damage to the front of the bike looks odd.

 

A sad waste.

[BritManToo]

A sad end, at least it was quick ............

But sudden death age 77 while having a hot young bargirl on the back of your bike isn't the worst way to go. 

Edited August 20, 2020 by BritManToo

[stouricks]

25 minutes ago, Snackbar said:

Something fishy about those pictures.

 

Why is the van on the outside of the curve, not the apex?

 

Why does it look like the van came to an immediately stop?
 

High impact damage to the front of the van and minimal damage to the front of the bike looks odd.

 

A sad waste.

The van looks like it was on it's own side of the double yellows.

 

If a motorbike hits you head on, you would come to an immediate stop.

 

How can you see 'minimal damage' to the bike. It is not in the photo, and was four metres away according to the news report.

[sebastion]

44 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Lot of assumptions there with no evidence whatsoever. Maybe he did have a license, was sober, wearing a helmet and it was his girlfriend? That impact could kill wearing a helmet anyway. He may have just took the turn too fast and went into the next lane.

Maybe the 29 year old woman was his daughter and he was just taking her to piano lessons in Kata at 730pm at night?

[phantomfiddler]

14 hours ago, lom said:

The old man fell back into right-side driving?

But don,t they drive on the left in Australia ? Same as UK and same as here ?

[actonion]

11 hours ago, sebastion said:

77 year olds really shouldnt be driving motorbikes

Neither should 12 year olds  but T.I.T

[giddyup]

11 hours ago, sebastion said:

77 year olds really shouldnt be driving motorbikes

Neither should some 17 year olds.

[actonion]

2 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

But don,t they drive on the left in Australia ? Same as UK and same as here ?

Austria

[sebastion]

8 minutes ago, actonion said:

Austria

Australians drive on the normal side of the road. Same as Thailand

[Crusader]

Seen it so many times before...too many 'oldies' think they are either invincible, or riding on a country road at home.

[WorriedNoodle]

53 minutes ago, phantomfiddler said:

But don,t they drive on the left in Australia ? Same as UK and same as here ?

I think the bike rider would have said 'Guten Tag, Kumpel' instead of 'Good Day Mate' prior impact?

[Sundown]

I think that's the road that goes from Kata to Karon. That road is extremely dangerous at night yet some people drive like idiots. Good that he didn't kill someone else.

[rott]

2 hours ago, WorriedNoodle said:

Lets also establish that Austria and Australia are in no way connected nor have any relevance to this story.

But the similarity in their names confuses many on here and they must be indicative of the general population. Perhaps it would help if the names were changed and one became "Next to Germany" and the other "Next to New Zealand". 

[Roel]

1 hour ago, stouricks said:

The van looks like it was on it's own side of the double yellows.

 

If a motorbike hits you head on, you would come to an immediate stop.

 

How can you see 'minimal damage' to the bike. It is not in the photo, and was four metres away according to the news report.

Actually the bike is in photo number 6. I was also wondering. Minimal damage to the front of the bike compared to the van. Looks more like the van hit him from the side, not head-on.

[Catoni]

14 hours ago, UncleMhee said:

Plenty of 70-80 year olds still riding 850-1000 cc bikes back in Oz.....

Why would anyone Thailand or Cambodia need more than maybe a nice 120 cc underbone.  

  In a huge country like Oz or Canada or the U.S. maybe I could understand a much bigger bike. 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Catoni
Addition