Car accident situation

[problemfarang]

Hi guys,

I was wondering what is going to happen to me if i involved into a car accident. I heard few really disturbing things from some of my farang friends here. Mostly they told me Dash Cam saved the day and even though had really difficult times to prove things. So let's make a situation:

 

Let's say i involved into a car accident a) not my fault b) my fault what's the regulation? Am i going to be in trouble because i am driving someone else's car (my wife, friend, etc.) Because you cannot drive other's car in my country, is it same in Thailand? Let's say a) have a thai driving license b) don't have

i know from my friends that the person you hit and the police comes to the scene will do their best to blame you and make it as if its your fault. Dash Cam is the best thing here but what if i dont have it? 

 

Well things like this... any info please.

 

thanks

[transam]

In Thailand the car is insured, but you can get reduced premiums if you state just 2 drivers.

First class insurance handles everything.

Dash cam helps and reduces insurance premiums.

Don't believe all barstool gossip..  

Edited September 13, 2021 by transam

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, problemfarang said:

Let's say i involved into a car accident a) not my fault

b) my fault what's the regulation? Am i going to be in trouble because i am driving someone else's car (my wife, friend, etc.) Because you cannot drive other's car in my country, is it same in Thailand? Let's say a) have a thai driving license b) don't have

i know from my friends that the person you hit and the police comes to the scene will do their best to blame you and make it as if its your fault. Dash Cam. 

Accident a) Not you fault call the Insurance.

b) You fault call the Insurance. 

a) Have a Thai DL no problem.

b) Not have a Thai DL you will be fined. 

Some voluntary insurance companies will not process your claim not having a Thai DL. 

You will still be covered by CTPL without a Thai DL. 

If the police come to scene wait for your insurance rep.

In an Accident dash cam more or less reveals all. 

 

[canthai55]

If you do NOT have First Class insurance do not be surprised if no company Rep comes to the scene.

Or bails you out of jail.

[poppysdad]

I had a minor accident a few months ago, the passenger in the other car immediately blamed it all on me and started ranting at me, it was a stupid accident with a 50/50 blame but eventually a traffic policeman arrived and listened to both parties, then a more important policeman arrived in a car at which point as he spoke excellent English i told him the lady passenger who simply could not have seen what happened and someone told me that she was trying to get damage fixed which had no part of this accident at all he simply smiled at me and said she has no chance. Then our insurance  man arrived and it appeared that they had the same company as me which simplified things and he told me that the driver wished to apologise to me for his mothers attitude to which we shook hands and went on our separate ways. So the police were honest, the other driver was honest but his passenger who turned out to be his mother was in my opinion was simply a crook.

[bbko]

Always get a dashcam, maybe even two and know how to play back the vids at a moment's notice. 

 

My wife was running errands in our truck when an older lady on a motorbike somehow hit our truck from the side rear while the truck was standing still at a stop light. The older lady tried to bully my wife yelling it was my wife's fault and there were going to be hospital bills to pay. Luckily we had dashcam, and even though it was recording only to the front of the truck it showed everyone (police/insurance/lady) the truck was not even moving at the time of the accident, all we saw was the truck stopped at the light and then my wife walking around the front of the car looking to down to the side rear where the lady was laying down.  Once the police watched the video the lady changed her tune and miraculously didn't need to go to the hospital anymore, paid my wife 500 baht for the scratch and that was the end of it.

 

Dashcams are not expensive, not having one is foolish.

Edited September 13, 2021 by bbko

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though. 

Friendly Thai Witness if possible. First Check for any Human Damage & Call Ambo if requested…..before Property Damage……

Vehicle Insurance: english / read / memorize/ carry policy summary & phone number sheet (insurance/ tourist police/ ambulance). vehicle not person covered, for any legal driver & all passengers.

 

Dont Move Vehicles without Police Permission (unless hazard).

ALL Insurance Levels cover Personal TP Liability / Bail Bond / Med. Bills.

1st class Comp. Insurance not available for Vehicles over seven years old.

 

DO carry Personal Accident Insurance here ( + Full Health Ins., ideally).

Be Principally Guided by Police & Insurance at scene.

 

 

 

[canthai55]

27 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though.

Not so - quick search listed 122 on amazon alone

 

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

interesting canthai….wonder why my lady has not installed one front and back….. like done for the car…..will ask her…..definite gap in our protective armour here…… but before when I caught her planning to not insure our car and bike,  beyond mandatory CPTL when inspected / taxed, she said “ never have accident”  …. and shes a graduate ….

[perconrad]

44 minutes ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though. 

Friendly Thai Witness if possible. First Check for any Human Damage & Call Ambo if requested…..before Property Damage……

Vehicle Insurance: english / read / memorize/ carry policy summary & phone number sheet (insurance/ tourist police/ ambulance). vehicle not person covered, for any legal driver & all passengers.

 

Dont Move Vehicles without Police Permission (unless hazard).

ALL Insurance Levels cover Personal TP Liability / Bail Bond / Med. Bills.

1st class Comp. Insurance not available for Vehicles over seven years old.

 

DO carry Personal Accident Insurance here ( + Full Health Ins., ideally).

Be Principally Guided by Police & Insurance at scene.

 

 

 

My former Fortuner I had from new for more than 14 years had 1. class comp. insurance all the time. The first year I had the free insurance and after that I had another insurance company. After 8 years I had to accept that I had to pay the first THB 5,000 if an accident happened.

[canthai55]

2 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

interesting canthai….wonder why my lady has not installed one front and back….. like done for the car…..will ask her…..definite gap in our protective armour here…… but before when I caught her planning to not insure our car and bike,  beyond mandatory CPTL when inspected / taxed, she said “ never have accident”  …. and shes a graduate ….

My hiway car has a Pioneer Android touch screen head unit.

Accepts front and rear cameras.

Besides the insurance discount others have mentioned, peace of mind counts for a lot.

You will never be in an accident - until you are. Like wearing a helmet.

Forza I bought last year - 2014 model - even got First Class on that. Took a while to find a broker but it is doable - care not for the deductible, want the third party injury and property damage.

[Asquith Production]

16 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though. 

After a very near miss whilst riding my motorbike I bought a body cam, which I also wear on mu pedal bike This takes a few seconds to mount and operate. The battery lasts about 4 hours and is on a continuous record loop

[JimHuaHin]

May I suggest at least a dash cam, and maybe a rear cam also.  I was involved in an accident a few years ago at a U-turn.  I arrived at the U-turn first, turn as far as I could and waited for oncoming traffic to clear.  A mini van pulled up BESIDE me!!  As the traffic cleared, I watched the mini van, it did not move, so I began to  turn, took my eyes off the van for a second, and then bang, it crashed into the side of my car.  The insurance reps came, I explained whhat had happend, the van driver told a different story - the result?  The insurance reps belived the van driver, not me, my insurance company had to pay for both vehicles, my insurance premium went up.

[tonray]

You can't be afraid of the vagaries of living in Thailand. Things are different here...if you are so worried about it...there is always GRAB

[andygrr]

17 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though. 

Friendly Thai Witness if possible. First Check for any Human Damage & Call Ambo if requested…..before Property Damage……

Vehicle Insurance: english / read / memorize/ carry policy summary & phone number sheet (insurance/ tourist police/ ambulance). vehicle not person covered, for any legal driver & all passengers.

 

Dont Move Vehicles without Police Permission (unless hazard).

ALL Insurance Levels cover Personal TP Liability / Bail Bond / Med. Bills.

1st class Comp. Insurance not available for Vehicles over seven years old.

 

DO carry Personal Accident Insurance here ( + Full Health Ins., ideally).

Be Principally Guided by Police & Insurance at scene.

 

 

 

My car is 12 years old and I have first class insurance and can get it until the car is 15 years old. 7 years is for MOT.

[hotchilli]

19 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Accident a) Not you fault call the Insurance.

b) You fault call the Insurance. 

a) Have a Thai DL no problem.

b) Not have a Thai DL you will be fined. 

Some voluntary insurance companies will not process your claim not having a Thai DL. 

You will still be covered by CTPL without a Thai DL. 

If the police come to scene wait for your insurance rep.

In an Accident dash cam more or less reveals all. 

 

None of the above.... run forest run.

[dlclark97]

Things are different here.  My wife was in an accident when taking our daughter to school.  She was slowly passing through an intersection that had stop signs for the left and right side roads at the intersection.  Motorcycles were stopped at the right waiting for here to pass.  One motorcycle with an older man and his wife passed the two that were stopped and went at speed right into the rear passenger door of her truck.  He was seriously injured and his wife also but less seriously.  Both went for to a hospital medical treatment.  The man remained in a coma for several weeks.  Both the police and our insurance rep said my wife had no fault and the man was totally to blame.  He had no driving license, no insurance, no current road tax, no helmet, and had failed to stop at the intersection.  My wife's truck was impounded by the police (normal here for vehicles in an accident) she paid 1000 thb for it to be released.  The police also kept her driving license to be held until all was resolved.  They did provide a letter that allowed her to drive.  For quite some time my wife was hounded by phone calls from the man's family wanting 300,000 thb compensation.  Police finally were able to stop this harassment.  There were numerous meetings with the police, our insurance rep and the man's family over the compensation issue.  Insurance rep refused to pay as the accident was totally the man's fault.  After many weeks in the hospital the man was to be released the following day and the family called insisting my wife meet them at the hospital the next day with 300,000 thb.  She did not go.  The family refused to sign any document admitting the man's responsibility thereby releasing my wife from having to pay compensation and allow her to get her license back.  Police said we could go to court and were all but guaranteed to win the case.  But, that would have dragged the issue out many more months and she would have incurred many legal fees.  In the end, she settled the claim with a 25,000 thb compensation payment just to get it over with.  It was not right but that's the way it works here.     

[Kwasaki]

12 minutes ago, dlclark97 said:

Things are different here.  My wife was in an accident when taking our daughter to school.  She was slowly passing through an intersection that had stop signs for the left and right side roads at the intersection.  Motorcycles were stopped at the right waiting for here to pass.  One motorcycle with an older man and his wife passed the two that were stopped and went at speed right into the rear passenger door of her truck.  He was seriously injured and his wife also but less seriously.  Both went for to a hospital medical treatment.  The man remained in a coma for several weeks.  Both the police and our insurance rep said my wife had no fault and the man was totally to blame.  He had no driving license, no insurance, no current road tax, no helmet, and had failed to stop at the intersection.  My wife's truck was impounded by the police (normal here for vehicles in an accident) she paid 1000 thb for it to be released.  The police also kept her driving license to be held until all was resolved.  They did provide a letter that allowed her to drive.  For quite some time my wife was hounded by phone calls from the man's family wanting 300,000 thb compensation.  Police finally were able to stop this harassment.  There were numerous meetings with the police, our insurance rep and the man's family over the compensation issue.  Insurance rep refused to pay as the accident was totally the man's fault.  After many weeks in the hospital the man was to be released the following day and the family called insisting my wife meet them at the hospital the next day with 300,000 thb.  She did not go.  The family refused to sign any document admitting the man's responsibility thereby releasing my wife from having to pay compensation and allow her to get her license back.  Police said we could go to court and were all but guaranteed to win the case.  But, that would have dragged the issue out many more months and she would have incurred many legal fees.  In the end, she settled the claim with a 25,000 thb compensation payment just to get it over with.  It was not right but that's the way it works here.     

I'm sorry no way, my wife would pay them nowt and just ignored the demands when much same happened to her. 

As my wife would say there Thai and just think because I have a Falangie husband they can get money so they can dream on. 

[WhiteBuffaloATM]

Correction: it’s my Motorbike thats now seven years old where first class insurance not now available, according to my excellent insurance broker.

My Car was bought five years ago when 15 years old and could never get first class insurance, I suppose because over 15 years old as stated by other posts here. thanks for ever increasing inderstanding here !

[brianthainess]

Dash cam with a rear camera also, always!

[Will B Good]

19 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though. 

Go Pro front and back of helmet (if a helmet is worn of course).

[vlietje]

as long as you wear a mask and an amulet you'll be fine is the general opinion here....

[richard_smith237]

19 hours ago, canthai55 said:

 

19 hours ago, WhiteBuffaloATM said:

Dash Cam great …..impractical for Motorbikes though.

Not so - quick search listed 122 on amazon alone

 

I have the INNOVV K2 dash-cam on my bike (forward & rear facing).

 

The only issue I have is that if I’m hit hard enough no one else will know how to access the footage. 
 

I also have a dash-cam in the Car (Xiaomi Mai A800 - fwd & rear).

 

All excellent answers so far on this thread. 

 

If polite, firm & have evidence the police are fair. 20+ years driving. Never any issues. 

 

 

[rwill]

I was on Koh Chang last year.  A kid on a motorcycle lost control coming into a curve and hit our truck coming in the opposite direction.  Lucky for him I saw what was happening and stopped before he hit us.  His helmet still cracked.  But other than a few scrapes he was ok.  Never once was any of the blame put on me or any money asked for from me.

The next day we met with him, his parents, our insurance agent and the police.  No problem for us.  Our insurance guy told the parents they had to pay for the repairs to our truck.  They seemed to think Pa Ra Ba would pay for it but that is only medical.  Last I ever heard of it.  Had our truck repaired when we got back home.

Edited September 14, 2021 by rwill

[richard_smith237]

All good replies so far… 

… none of the usual ‘Farang always pays’…

 

… I guess it’s still too early for the ‘barstoolers’ to be up…  

[The Theory]

I'm planing to buy a truck sometime in future. I already planed for 5 dash cams (2 front, 2 sides and rear). 
At this moment I have 2 dash cam on my motorcycle (front and rear). Some people think I'm crazy, I hope I'm am. You need to have proof (farang or no farang). My gf had to pay if her car had no dash cam.   Besides that you can make it clear that you were not at fault at the beginning before they try to plan you. 

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by The Theory

[richard_smith237]

7 minutes ago, The Theory said:

I'm planing to buy a truck sometime in future. I already planed for 5 dash cams (2 front, 2 sides and rear). 
At this moment I have 2 dash cam on my motorcycle (front and rear). Some people think I'm crazy, I hope I'm am. 
you need to have proof as a farang otherwise things can turn against you. 
Becides that you can make it clear that you were not at fault at the beginning before they try to plan you. 

Can’t be too safe, eh ??

[The Theory]

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

Can’t be too safe, eh ??

Yes of course if you were at fault ????????????

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, The Theory said:

Yes of course if you were at fault ????????????

Indeed… Dash-cam evidence could be used against you !! 
 

There are situations where the micro SD card can disappear !!

[wprime]

Don't worry too much. It's very relaxed here. Get a dash cam front and back installed. They're very cheap and make it much easier to explain what happened especially if you don't speak Thai well. If you cause an accident with injuries or significant property damage, take responsibility for everything (either directly, through your insurance, or both) and there will rarely be any repercussions.