Car accident situation

[TimBKK]

This is one of the more practical and useful threads I’ve read in some time.

[Harveyboy]

2 hours ago, brianthainess said:

Dash cam with a rear camera also, always!

perhaps you can help  i asked my wife to get a dashcam  insurance is lower plus security in case of accident..but she said yes if its turned on if not  at time of accident ...i would be held responsible insurance wouldn't pay...id never heard this ..any ideas on this tks 

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, Harveyboy said:

perhaps you can help  i asked my wife to get a dashcam  insurance is lower plus security in case of accident..but she said yes if its turned on if not  at time of accident ...i would be held responsible insurance wouldn't pay...id never heard this ..any ideas on this tks 

Tell your wife to stop listening to her mates who’ve made s£!t up... 

[sawadee1947]

The dash cam might Help, but....

In my case a bike ran into the side of my car. So the cam was useless.

To make a long story short it was not my fault. However, I was blamed and should pay 50.000 Baht for compensation.

After ONE year negociatiing I paid 200 Baht. So Police didn't lose face. 

[khunPer]

On 9/13/2021 at 6:43 AM, 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 is the best thing here but what if i dont have it? 

If you don't have a valid driver's license the insurance might not cover you; staying in Thailand for more than three month you need a Thai driver's license, driving in Thailand as foreigner you in principle need an international driver's permit; the latter might not be asked for.

 

I had two friends involved in car accidents to share experience from.

 

One had an accident in a fully insured rented car, not his fault, police was involved, and there was some minor person damage from collision with a motorbike. He called the car renter and within short time an insurance agent showed up and took care of everything. Shortly after another rental car arrived for him to continue in. There were no Dash Cam in the car.

 

Another friend had an accident in a borrowed car with only mandatory insurance, he made an u-turn and a motorbike collided with his car, the bike-driver suffers some scratches, and very immediately driven to a clinic by a friend that came by. The side of the car, a small Suzuki jeep, was heavily damaged. Police was involved. My friend stated that it was not his fault and the bike came fast round a corner and without headlight. However headlight was still working on the motorbike, and the corner was more than 100 meters away, so not much doubt about fault, even if the motorbike might have been coming fast. It ended up in a meeting next day on the police station - the bike driver came with 10-15 friends as witnesses, even that none of them had been present, but all had an opinion of what happened, and talked a lot - and the districts big chief of police were in lead of the "hearing". It was all down to agreeing a compensation for damage, which were a few hundred baht in expenses to repair the motorbike-driver plus one day's lost minimum wage, so 1,000 baht in compensation said the big boss, and the motorbike itself was moved to a bike repair-shop next to the policestation for a quote for repairing the damage. 3,500 baht was the price quote, which the big boss said was too much, so 3,000 baht was agreed, nobody argued against that. All together a 4,000 baht compensation to be paid in cash, the incident written in a big black book, sigened by both parties and the big boss - case closed...

 

I was there from immediately after the accident, and also bailed my friend out in the police station with the 4,000 baht cash - I don't know what would had happened, if he couldn't come up with the cash, which he didn't have, that's why you always need a "rainy day account" with instant cash accessable when staying in Thailand - the jeep costed 15,000 baht to repair, no insurance cover; unfortunately my friend had borrowed the jeep from me...????

 

Many minor traffic accidents in Thailand is a question of compensation, anything that can be settled with relative small money - "small" from a farang's point of view - is worth doing it that way, instead of through the court system; sometimes it's worth forgetting about who's on fault and just pay...????

 

I hate to think of what might happen in a major accident, and with a foreigner - or me - at fault, quite scary thoughts...????

[canthai55]

40 minutes ago, khunPer said:

the jeep costed 15,000 baht to repair, no insurance cover; unfortunately my friend had borrowed the jeep from me...????

Your fault for not having insurance other than the mandatory.

And your friend should never have borrowed a car with no insurance.

 

[richard_smith237]

50 minutes ago, khunPer said:

I hate to think of what might happen in a major accident, and with a foreigner - or me - at fault, quite scary thoughts...????

Not a lot if you have 1st Class insurance, are fully licensed and not proven to be negligent, guilty of dangerous driving, or while drunk etc. 

 

 

 

[vinci]

an accident is an accident nobody is taking you to jail unless you are drunk, so don't worry about it, police will come to take report your side and their, if you don't have DL it will be all your fault no question ask even if the other side cause damage and not you, police job is only to make report of both side, who at fault will be settle in report, everybody go home, once that is done both party will deal with each other by insurance or pay cash on their own, if one refuse to cover damage you take each other to court, court will rule, if still refuse by then, police now can take you to jail

 

[taotoo]

26 minutes ago, canthai55 said:

Your fault for not having insurance other than the mandatory.

And your friend should never have borrowed a car with no insurance.

 

Wow, you've cracked the case!

[CH1961]

4 hours ago, Will B Good said:

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

Plus one on the left and right side. 

Do you even ride a motorbike here in Thailand? 

[The Fugitive]

6 hours 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.     

Thanks for this. Valuable information for others! I understood that hospital treatment for injuries arising from RTA's (Road Traffic Accidents) is billed to the patient as it should be covered by motor insurance/police order. Did you have sight of any such bill for the older man's treatment? Sounds as if your insurance rep wouldn't have agreed for it to be paid out of your policy. Possibly the Thai National Health Service footed the bill in the end?

[Kwasaki]

5 minutes ago, The Fugitive said:

Thanks for this. Valuable information for others! I understood that hospital treatment for injuries arising from RTA's (Road Traffic Accidents) is billed to the patient as it should be covered by motor insurance/police order. Did you have sight of any such bill for the older man's treatment? Sounds as if your insurance rep wouldn't have agreed for it to be paid out of your policy. Possibly the Thai National Health Service footed the bill in the end?

The insurance rep or company didn't pay because it wasn't his wife's fault. 

My guess is his wife decided of kind heart to give them something to shut them up. 

[canthai55]

47 minutes ago, taotoo said:

Wow, you've cracked the case!

I wonder how many Falang drive in their home countries without insurance ?

I know in mine the fine is steep - more than buying coverage.

Guess another case of BKK airport lobotomy on arrival

[1FinickyOne]

just make sure you have first class insurance - - then no worries... 

[Kwasaki]

32 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

just make sure you have first class insurance - - then no worries... 

As mentioned some cannot get 1st class insurance.

Can get 1st insurance on my truck but cannot get on my scoot or my bike because the insurance companies here are weird. 

[richard_smith237]

Just now, Kwasaki said:

As mentioned some cannot get 1st class insurance.

Can get 1st insurance on my truck but cannot get on my scoot or my bike because the insurance companies here are weird. 

The same for vehicles over 7 years old...  its difficult to get 1st class insurance.

 

I remember it being difficult to secure for a 7 year old car which was still valuable at the time. 

 

Motorbikes: I had 1st Class insurance on a bigger bike, but it was nearly the same cost as car insurance. 

I couldn’t get 1st class insurance on a scooter... insurance companies are not interested but will provide theft insurance. 

 

 

[ChaiyaTH]

3 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

The dash cam might Help, but....

In my case a bike ran into the side of my car. So the cam was useless.

To make a long story short it was not my fault. However, I was blamed and should pay 50.000 Baht for compensation.

After ONE year negociatiing I paid 200 Baht. So Police didn't lose face. 

Sounds like me after a car decided to cross while I was coming in, I was initially nearly framed in hospital and the driver went home right after. Then they kept our bike to seemingly bribe us, waited nearly 6 months and then picked the bike up myself. Convinced the driver to show up and I paid his 300 baht fine. Then the police asked if I did not want to cause him more trouble for damages, while they initially were trying to set up me.

[1FinickyOne]

8 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

As mentioned some cannot get 1st class insurance.

Can get 1st insurance on my truck but cannot get on my scoot or my bike because the insurance companies here are weird. 

That makes sense.. any company writing first class insurance on motorcycles here is probably out of business long ago... 

[ChaiyaTH]

3 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

That makes sense.. any company writing first class insurance on motorcycles here is probably out of business long ago... 

Well could be tailored insurance with proper premiums. I mean the average bike is quite cheap to fix up, body plates for a 125CC start from 350B. The latter is a huge money maker for rental shops I learned now.

 

I did most body plates, a mirror, new seat and more for like under 5-6K and at the Yamaha dealer.

Edited September 14, 2021 by ChaiyaTH

[Will B Good]

1 hour ago, CH1961 said:

Plus one on the left and right side. 

Do you even ride a motorbike here in Thailand? 

Never been on a motorbike in my life and all four kids are banned from ever riding on one.

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, canthai55 said:

Your fault for not having insurance other than the mandatory.

And your friend should never have borrowed a car with no insurance.

It was a rental car with me as renter as both names as drivers on the contract, many older rental cars unfortunately came without proper insurance some years ago, just like the small cheap rental motorbikes...????

[khunPer]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Not a lot if you have 1st Class insurance, are fully licensed and not proven to be negligent, guilty of dangerous driving, or while drunk etc. 

Have you ever noticed how much, or rather little, a 1st class insurance actually covers in for example hospitalization costs and maximum damage..?

[Kwasaki]

57 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

The same for vehicles over 7 years old...  its difficult to get 1st class insurance.

 

I remember it being difficult to secure for a 7 year old car which was still valuable at the time. 

 

Motorbikes: I had 1st Class insurance on a bigger bike, but it was nearly the same cost as car insurance. 

I couldn’t get 1st class insurance on a scooter... insurance companies are not interested but will provide theft insurance. 

 

Yeah as I've said I don't understand insurance companies here,  my eldest son in UK has his 20 year old 1200 Bandit insured full comp. 

[Kwasaki]

55 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

That makes sense.. any company writing first class insurance on motorcycles here is probably out of business long ago... 

Fair call but should be available to those who are prepared to pay for it.

I cannot even get a 3rd class policies for my big bike from a Thai insurance company, makes no sense. 

[1FinickyOne]

59 minutes ago, ChaiyaTH said:

Well could be tailored insurance with proper premiums. I mean the average bike is quite cheap to fix up, body plates for a 125CC start from 350B. The latter is a huge money maker for rental shops I learned now.

 

I did most body plates, a mirror, new seat and more for like under 5-6K and at the Yamaha dealer.

yea, read it again - it was a joke - see the laugh emoji I got?

[canthai55]

50 minutes ago, khunPer said:

Have you ever noticed how much, or rather little, a 1st class insurance actually covers in for example hospitalization costs and maximum damage..?

Our cheap car - 500,000 THB per person 10,000,000 THB per accident

And that is only Second Class Plus

Edited September 14, 2021 by canthai55

[canthai55]

5 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Fair call but should be available to those who are prepared to pay for it.

I cannot even get a 3rd class policies for my big bike from a Thai insurance company, makes no sense. 

Contact AA - I use Pattaya. Insured my second hand 7 year old Forza I bought last year First Class

[Pdavies99]

On 9/13/2021 at 7:02 AM, 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. 

 

Fair advice....but do not sign anything.....do not go to Police station without Car Insurance Rep, do not give up (keep a firm hold of) driving licence, do not give up Passport, admit nothing....offer no money, take photographs.   Very useful if you have a Lawyer tel number or business card.

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by Pdavies99

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, canthai55 said:

Contact AA - I use Pattaya. Insured my second hand 7 year old Forza I bought last year First Class

Thanks buddy but no-one in Thailand will insure my  Blade which is perfectly road legal for even theft only because it's 28 years old. 

An insurance company in UK would insure full comp.

 

[Kwasaki]

41 minutes ago, Pdavies99 said:

Fair advice....but do not sign anything.....do not go to Police station without Car Insurance Rep, do not give up (keep a firm hold of) driving licence, do not give up Passport, admit nothing....offer no money, take photographs.   Very useful if you have a Lawyer tel number or business card.

 

Fair call for falangies living in some corrupt places in Thailand, personally having had some accidents here they have never been a problem, I have my Rottweiler my Thai Mrs. ????