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Video: Australian pensioner kicked over after he hit Thai man's car that failed to stop at zebra crossing


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1 hour ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

If a pedestrian is on a crossing it is illegal for a motor vehicle to cross.

This like 98.8% of problems expats have driving in Thailand, expectation. Drop all you imported expectations and life/driving will be fine.

 

As for zebra crossings, I believe the instructions from my youth said step onto the crossing and wait for the traffic to stop before crossing. This is also dangerous here. The first car that stops is driven by an expat/tourist, following cars may not.

Edited by VocalNeal
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48 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Vaguely on-topic anecdote.

 

When I lived in Seoul in the mid 90's I used to wait for a taxi to work just down stream of a large junction with multiple zebras.

 

In the morning these zebras were controlled by a couple of old ladies equipped with long sticks with red flags, on the end of the sticks were plastic balls very similar to the plastic floats found in water tanks. 

 

These ladies were the school crossing patrol. Once a suitable number of kids were waiting the ladies would thrust the flags out into the traffic which would duly stop allowing the kids to cross.

 

One morning a driver wasn't quite attentive enough and failed to stop in time. Thwack, thwack, thwack went the plastic ball on the bonnet of his car leaving neat little golf-ball sized dings. Lesson learned!

 

 do the same here with my umbrella.  whack whack.  they get the message.

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7 minutes ago, clivebaxter said:

Mrs was amazed in NZ where cars would stop as she approached zebra crossings. Here she does not stop at them claiming the car behind might hit her if she does ????

The problem is that if someone does stop, the car/bike behind goes around them and straight into pedestrian. 

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I went to stay at my sister's in Melbourne and hit a car that nearly hit me - he went through a red light turning left. He stopped and was most upset and if I weren't 6'4", he might have had a go. 

Important to learn the laws of the land when travelling abroad. 

 

Thailand is no place for single 80 year old foreigners. 

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35 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Pressing charges opens up a whole new world of grief.

 

The right thing to do, but I can understand why he wouldn't bother.

I understand, but with the video evidence it’s a pretty clear case. Personally I would go the whole way for that kid to learn something.

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2 hours ago, xylophone said:

I have mentioned this before, because I don't believe that a lot of Thais know the significance of the zebra crossing (as we call it) and that they are supposed to slow down and stop when someone is on it.
 

Zebra crossing as who call it? ???? It, along with "bonnet," are foreign words to most Americans. We can guess the meanings in their contexts but they are called "cross walk" and "hood." Cheers. (We don't say that either but I've picked it up here.) ????

Edited by worldexpress
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2 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

This works for most things, in any foreign countries. 

 

How would you react if in , say, Vancouver BC standing right on the kerb on a normal street and a car stopped because they thought you wanted to cross?

Happened to me many times in Spain.

 

Having been conditioned to the ignorance of traffic rules by drivers here in Thailand, every time I approached a zebra crossing in Spain I slowed down to look both ways and wait for cars to pass through before attempting to cross.

 

But it was all the cars that slowed down and stopped.

 

These were zebra crossings without any red / amber / green traffic light system (called Pelican Crossings), only Belisha Beacons.

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2 hours ago, robblok said:

Same in the Netherlands and most civilized countries. Its to protect the most at risk and those are pedestrians. Seems like you come from a country that is a lot less civilized. Most countries see zebra crossings as sacred. 

This (among many other things) is something the government should address in order to gain more tourists to Thailand!

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Well, there's no argument that the young Thai man assaulted the elderly Aussie.

 

But, since we don't see the incident itself, it's not possible to determine if the Aussie also also acted in such a way to provoke the driver, and the story, as told here, doesn't make complete sense. All we are told is, "A security guard at the scene said that he saw the foreigner - from Australia - hit the bonnet of a car that failed to stop at a zebra crossing." I don't speak Thai well enough to decipher what was said in the video, so maybe someone who witnessed the incident described it in more detail.

 

Here's some questions I'd have:

- Was there anyone in or about to enter the zebra crossing when the car "failed to stop"?

- Was the Aussie in the crossing?

- Did the Aussie damage the car when he hit it?

- Did the Aussie do anything else, like yell something insulting?

 

In other words, the incident we see in the video is inexcusable, even if damage was done to the car, but the action of the Aussie which reportedly started the confrontation was not excusable either.

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21 minutes ago, khunpa said:

I understand, but with the video evidence it’s a pretty clear case. Personally I would go the whole way for that kid to learn something.

Again I would agree, however, the kid, holding a grudge, finds your address and a whole new world of pain awaits

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10 minutes ago, Captor said:

That should not be accepted. It will never stop if it is easy as that to come clean. Jail!

Happened and was accepted for a recent murder. Even the Swiss ambassadress happily joined the groupie pic.

 

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4 hours ago, Will B Good said:

True to a degree. I regularly cross at Nana, soi 4 and you have to be bold and step out because they will not stop just because the pedestrian crossing is on green.

It's not the Thai way to obey traffic rules. Either the education system or culture is flawed or both. 

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4 hours ago, Clydesdale said:

What action will the police take against the car failing to stop at a zebra crossing when there is a pedestrian on it ?

None, neither will they do anything for running up on the blind side to nail an old man.

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