"If the cable didn't snap I'd have been decapitated" - delivery guy bemoans hanging wires

[webfact]

Picture: Daily News

 

Daily News reported what happened to a motorcycle delivery guy who was on his way to work in Bang Bua Thong, Nonthaburi.

 

Wiwat, 26, didn't see some hanging cables until it was too late. 

 

He was strangled by the cables and came off his motorcycle sliding for 60 meters.

 

He suffered neck, arm and leg injuries. 

 

He said that had the cable not snapped he'd likely have been decapitated.

 

Picture: Daily News

 

Now he wants the authorities to take responsibility for what happened to him. 

 

He had no idea whose cables they were but did some pointing while wearing a cast on his arm.

 

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[Pilotman]

far, far too many of these hanging, often redundant, wires around.  They are a true menace. He was very lucky. 

[johng]

5 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

They are a true menace

Like the soi dogs,potholes,sand and diesel on the road not much if anything will be done about it. ????

[wprime]

Dragged for 60m on that tiny road? He was obviously speeding.

 

The government should fix the hanging wires though. They're usually pretty good at fixing things after someone gets injured on them.

[richard_smith237]

9 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

far, far too many of these hanging, often redundant, wires around.  They are a true menace. He was very lucky. 

 

I thought exactly the same thing after reading the main article...

 

....  I read of this issue way too frequently, I wonder how many times this goes unreported. 

 

Quite astonishing... 

[Pilotman]

Just now, johng said:

Like the soi dogs,potholes,sand and diesel on the road not much if anything will be done about it. ????

Pattaya has proved that given a will to do it, the hanging wires can be sorted out.  Good on the Pattaya Authorities that they have buried many of the cables and removed many of the dangerous ones. Still a lot to do admittedly.  As for Soi dogs, the recent drive to catch and sterilise many of them, albeit very limited in scope, shows that it can be done. Anything is possible given the will, the drive and the money. 

[bluesofa]

I've only seen such accident first-hand. It was thirty years ago on soi Ruam-Rudi in Bangkok.

A motorbike with a passenger rode over half-a-dozen telephone cables laying in the road. As they went past, the cables became tangled in the motorbike's rear wheel.

Suddenly the cables became taught, stopped the motorbike instantly.

Driver and passenger both flew over the top of the bike, hitting the road hard.

[OneMoreFarang]

And often these dangerous cables are like that for days or even longer. The locals obviously know it - and do often nothing.

[CALSinCM]

16 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

far, far too many of these hanging, often redundant, wires around.  They are a true menace. He was very lucky. 

And nobody is at fault. The reason this continues to happen is because there is no downside to those who are liable. The legal system doesn't seem to give a rip. That infrastructure belongs to someone, and whoever owns it should be culpable for damages.  If you went to that spot and started cutting wires you'd find out who owns them in a hurry.

[bluesofa]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

And often these dangerous cables are like that for days or even longer. The locals obviously know it - and do often nothing.

Why would they do anything? Once they're aware of it they'll avoid it.

[CALSinCM]

10 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I've only seen such accident first-hand. It was thirty years ago on soi Ruam-Rudi in Bangkok.

A motorbike with a passenger rode over half-a-dozen telephone cables laying in the road. As they went past, the cables became tangled in the motorbike's rear wheel.

Suddenly the cables became taught, stopped the motorbike instantly.

Driver and passenger both flew over the top of the bike, hitting the road hard.

I came on a crew who had cables running from a pole, hanging in the road and stretched into a house.  Nobody was around.
Had I had my older truck, I would have driven until the cable snagged and then floored the accelerator.

[Pilotman]

15 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

I've only seen such accident first-hand. It was thirty years ago on soi Ruam-Rudi in Bangkok.

A motorbike with a passenger rode over half-a-dozen telephone cables laying in the road. As they went past, the cables became tangled in the motorbike's rear wheel.

Suddenly the cables became taught, stopped the motorbike instantly.

Driver and passenger both flew over the top of the bike, hitting the road hard.

and I bet they were not wearing strong helmets? 

[bluesofa]

3 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

and I bet they were not wearing strong helmets? 

Thirty years ago I hardly saw anyone wearing a helmet. They all thought it was to keep their head dry during the rain.

 

[Liverpool Lou]

43 minutes ago, CALSinCM said:

I came on a crew who had cables running from a pole, hanging in the road and stretched into a house.  Nobody was around.
Had I had my older truck, I would have driven until the cable snagged and then floored the accelerator.

Why?

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, wprime said:

Dragged for 60m on that tiny road? He was obviously speeding.

I think you missed the point of the OP.   

 

He wasn't "obviously" speeding any more than the 60m may have been an exaggeration but your unfounded speculation about whether he was speeding or not is hardly relevant.

[Kasset Tak]

I had an experience that could have been the same if I would have worn an helmet... driving from work to home (500m) and the cable hit my glasses and the slid off my head. When I complained about the low hanging cable I got the answer "Cable no problem! You, tall farang is problem! See, Thai people no problem!" and they had a Thai drive under the cable... I guess that comparing 150cm Thai vs. 192cm farang made more sense to them than raise the cables?! 

[toofarnorth]

Fine bit of pointing , point of the year , white cast against a black sky.

Oh well back to covid bemoan.

[Purdey]

I am actually waiting to hear that the authorities are taking him to court to seek compensation for breaking their wires. 

[Gold Star]

My wife and I were riding our motorcycle at 80kmh on a divided highway in Southern Thailand, and a tall truck crossing in front of us hooked a low hanging cable pulling it tight in front of us across the road. It happened too fast to see or react, and the cable hit the bike's tall windscreen, pushing it up just enough to hit my helmet visor snapping my head backwards and smashing into my wife's helmet. We coasted to a stop on the side of the highway, and saw the driver of the truck unhook the cable and drive away. We were lucky to only have whiplash, but we kept our heads.

 

[Bangkok Barry]

5 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

The locals obviously know it - and do often nothing.

 

That's traditional Thai culture. Unless something concerns them directly they aren't interested. There's an interesting side to that though. Whereas we interest ourselves in affairs of the world and might get angry and upset about something, like the Israel/Palestine situation at the moment for example, the Thais just don't care. Mai Pen Rai. Maybe there's an advantage in being uninformed but happy. 

[brianthainess]

22 hours ago, Pilotman said:

far, far too many of these hanging, often redundant, wires around.  They are a true menace. He was very lucky. 

Also a TOT menace.

[brianthainess]

22 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Thirty years ago I hardly saw anyone wearing a helmet. They all thought it was to keep their head dry during the rain.

 

Nah that's what plastic bags are for.

[RocketDog]

22 hours ago, CALSinCM said:

And nobody is at fault. The reason this continues to happen is because there is no downside to those who are liable. The legal system doesn't seem to give a rip. That infrastructure belongs to someone, and whoever owns it should be culpable for damages.  If you went to that spot and started cutting wires you'd find out who owns them in a hurry.

At dusk one night on the road from Chaam to Huahin I came within inches of catching one under the neck. Wind swung it toward me and then back just as I saw it out of the corner of my eye. One second earlier and it would have gotten me. 

I told my GF I would go back and cut it. She persuaded me (wisely) not to. So I put a stone in a plastic bag and tied it to the wire. Now it is visually marked and doesn't blow as easily. A few weeks/eeks later it was repaired. 

 Now I don't ride motorcycles but still scrutize the roads; there's always something to fear on Thai roads. 

As far as reporting it, I've been here long enough to know better.