Why Do So Many Of Us Love To Risk Our Lives Every Day.

[larvidchr]

I came across following article in a new edition of a major motorbike mag, and it made me think, Why do we do it?? I have 3 bikes out of choise, I sold the car fed up with sitting in ques all the time not getting anywhere, but I admit it sometimes is hary, new potholes that was not there the day before, crossing Suhkumvit, dogs running out in front of you and humans to, drunk drivers that try to torpedo you, yes life on a bike is not for the faint hearted, so again why do we choose to do it anyway??

" This man is riding through the most hostile biking enviroment on earth, where a motorcyclist dies every 40 minutes":

"Welcome to Thailand. "

It is rush hour and I need to get across the Thai capital, Bangkok. The vast urban sprawl that spreads out around me is a blanket of concrete, smog and dense, chaotic traffic. Nothing seems to be moving as horns blare and the choking pollution thickens. Every sense is being battered - eyes itch, thooat stings head throbs. An oppressive heat coupled with steaming humidity coumpounds this discomfort, the stink of the city seems to be working itself into my very pores. How am I going to get out of here? Then some movement. A flash of metal, a blur against the static, endless parade of cars, trucks , buses, pick-ups and SUVs. The tiny missile gathers speed, grazing the bumpers and mirrors of the thronged mass of metal, dodging the blows like an adrenaline-soaked boxer. The missile is a step-thru 125cc Honda Dream, its rider one of Bangkoks army of motorcycle taxi drivers - the infamous motorsai.

The rider is clad in old jeans, sweat stained T-shirt and a bright orange zip-up high-vis vest. His helmet has all the strenght of a plastic salad bowl, his footwear nasty flip flops. The ensemble dosent amount to much on paper but this wide eyed road warrior is giving it some, pushing 50mph through the deadly traffic. His pillion, a fine-featured female, pencil skirt and suit-jacket, sits side-saddle, high heels hanging nonchalantly from her painted toes. She appears completely disinterested as the machine whirls its way at terrifying speeds, death an instant away.

The Honda step-thru is big business in Thailand. An incredible 7,5 million new Honda Dream and Wawes have been sold in the past seven years. Factor in the other makers - particularly Yamaha - and the figure is approaching 12 million in the same period for step-thrus alone. And these bikes are cheap - a new, state-of-art 4 stroke Honda Wawe is about 650 GBP. And a nimble step-thru is perfect for weaving through Bangkoks dense traffic.

With the interminable gridlock only getting worse, I watch dozens of motorsai. I witness incredible near misses, as fume-puking buses and trucks skim the knees of the advancing riders. Van and car drivers seem intent on breaking limbs and splitting flesh, lurching towards the motorcycle taxis. Thankfully, I dnt have to proof my manhood on this form of suicidal transport. I wait in line for the bus.

I,ve been a motorsai for almost 20 years, says the tiny old man sitting opposite me in a Bangkok noodle stall the next afternoon. I,m 66 years old and plan to carry on as long as I can. But arent you worried about having an accident? I have had more than 25 accidents but nothing too bad, he says, gazing at the thick scars on his arms and legs, and at the array of powerfull Buddhist amulets that hang down onto his chest. I always feel protected.

Divine intervention or not, Khun Was is one of Bangkoks unsong heroes. In a city that has been eaten alive by cars, the motorsai keep Bangkok moving. When I first started out in the 1980s everyone on my win (rank) had to pay 500bath a month to gangsters, says Was. It was a lot of money back then, but nobody needed a licence or insurance. Every win up until 2003 was run by the local mafia. If you dident pay your dues you could get bad problems. We where all quite scared of them, he adds. Now we just have to pay for our surwins (high-vis-vest).

But gangsters are far from the only peril facing Bangkoks motorsai. The most obvius and deadly threat is the traffic. Without doubt, Thailand has some of the most dangerous roads in the world - and particularly for motorcyclists. The Foreign Office website (www.fco.gov.uk) reveals that 38 motorcyclists die on Thailands roads every day - thats one every 40 minutes.

With few proper helmets and sometimes four people to a bike, its easy to see how this death rate is reached. Besides, after wiping out a family of four on a step-thru, the guilty truck/bus/pick-up/car driver seldom stops to face the music. In the worst cases, drivers are known to go back and reverse over their victims to make sure they are dead. The reason? Without survivors theres no invistigation and the drivers gets to keep their no-claims.

So how do you stay safe? Everyday when I go out I feel frightened. But I pray to the Lord Buddha for inner silence, so that I always have a quiet place inside me that helps me stay focused, says Was, and my amulets are very powerfull and help protect me. I have travelled many miles to find an amulet that has god powers. I also go to the temple once a month and ask the monks for protection. I like to leave the Buddha there a small gift.

For westeners, the Thais concept of death and accidents appears like a denial of reality. When we have a spill, rational thinking is immediately brought to bear on its causes. In Thailand, karma and the spirit world play a big part in a road death toll that unofficial estimates place at almost 30.000 a year.

The Thais are convinced that karma decides when it is your turn to die, says "Time out Bangkok" author Phill Cornwell-Smith. They have a strong belif in fatalism and would see any road accident as part of that. However, thats not to say they just give in to fate - they pragmatically couple that ftalism with talismans to maximise their luck.

This leads to a belief in a kind of fully comp spiritual road insurance policy. Wearing amulets, particularly honorific ones of Buudha, makes merit, wich increases karma, explains Cornwell-Smith. But many Thais have a back-up in the form of monk blessings or magic spells. When an amulet wearer suffers a crash its assumed hes broken a vow. If he escapes death, its assumed his lucky amulet saved hes life.

There is also a facination with death in Thai culture that most westeners would consider ghoulish. Every day, the front pages of the Thai tabloids are adorned with graphic photos of horrific road accidents (75% will involve motorcyclists) and mangled corpses.

Death, particularly a violent road accident death, is considered a powerful occurrence in the spirit world. The Thais belive that if they see or touch the cadavers resulting from souch an accidents, some of the dead persons potent spirit will rub off, making them more powerful. In Bangkok, the body collection squads (there are so many road deaths the thinly stretched ambulance service no longer collects the victims), eager to gain spirit power from a fresh kill, have been known to fight over the corpses.

Later that day, with the heat becoming unbearable and monsoon rain gathering, I head through the labyrinthine back streets to the Win where Was works. About 15 riders are lounging on a long wooden bench set against a wall. Others are sprawled over their step-thrus, shades on, mean and moody. The ambience is languid, the boiling temperature inducing a stupor that makes it difficult to stay upright, never mind concentrate.

At first glance the boys on the Win are a rough and ready crowd. While most Bangkokians will use motorcycle taxis to get around the gridlock, they do not consider motorsai as a reputable bunch. The hi-so (Thai slang for the wealthy elite of high - society) hate us, says Was. They drive their BMW or Mercedes very aggressively and even try to run us off the road.

But in some caces the motorsais reputation is deserved. Many of them are tough Bangkok street kids, machetes hidden ready for trouble, swigging bottles of ephedrine-laced Red-Bull type drinks. Several Wins are known for the use of yabba, a psychosis-inducing version of crysyal meth that sends most users to the mourge or the asylum. And the boys on the Win often have little time for foreigners. I never charge any foreigner extra, but I know that most motorsai charge double, says Was.

With darkness settling on the city, the moment of truth arrives - its my turn to ride with the motorsai. I have to get to Hualamphong, Bangkoks central railway station, And Was has made me an offer I cant refuse. Ill charge you the local price-40bath he says. Ahead of us is a two-mile ride talking in one of Bangkoks busiest. most vibrant areas - Chinatown.

I climb on the Honda, Was offers me one of the salad-bowl helmets and we set of into the heaving scrum of traffic. The first thing I notice is our vulnerability - the bike feels like a tiny speck in a maelstrom of hostile, moving metal. Then it becomes very clear that, two-up, Was ancient Honda is struggeling to make any real acceleration, the words, "sitting" and "duck" springs to mind.

We weawe our way, at speed, through a ludicrously busy junction, cars, buses and vans flowing at us from all directions. I feel my throat go dry as the fear rises. Was seems oblivious to what I consider reality as he changes lanes without even the slightest glance in his mirrors, causing vehicles to brake and swerve sharply behind us. But this is all part of the mad theatre - everybody on Bangkoks roads appears to be engaged in a giant game of chicken, cutting each other up, pulling out without indicating and crossing lanes without looking. Was negotiates the junction in one piece. Within seconds, a local bus, horns blaring, aggressively cuts straight over our path - missing us by millimetres, belching a thick chocke of fumes in its wake. Was seems unfazed, barely glancing up - my heart pounds in my chest.

Up ahead sits a long queue of traffic, narrow gaps on either side. We approach and Was accelerates. I wait for him to hit the brakes - I am mentally willing Was to slow - but he just keeps going, the Honda gaining momentum. We skim through the gap in the static traffic at about 50mph, my knees so close to the line of cars that they occasionally brush the paintwork. It is, not to put to fine a point on it, Terrifying. At this point i begin to twitch.

By the good grace of the divine and all that is holy, we soon reach Chinatown. Here the traffic reaches a feverish crescendo while gaudy street lights illuminates throngs of roadside food stalls, delicius smells cutting through the Bangkok smog. After dodging cars, buses and trucks a new obstacle is introduced - the aimless pedestrian. An endless flow of people, most of them engrossed in their recently purchased snacks, pick their way trough the traffic. Was somehow manage to miss them all.

With a serenity akin to a monk Was gets me to my final destination without incident. To be honest, I am almost moved to prayer and feel grateful that Im alive.

With blood-sugar levels chrashing from the brain-bursting fear, I sit down on a roadside stool hoping the palpitations will soon pass. I also realise that with traffic like this you probably need some kind of direct intervention from God/Allah/Buddah to stay in one piece.

I dig into my wallet for 40 bath and Was accepts it with a gracious smile and a small bow. I tell him to stay safe and be lucky. "Dont worry" this sweet, brave road warrior tells me before he rides of into the night, "Iam always protected".

Again why do we do it, riding around on our bikes, lets have your reasons why you choose the risk? and what do you think of this motorcycle mag. writers story?

[Skyline]

Great article there and pretty much sums up riding in BKK.

Why do we ride in BKK?Well its quick,exciting and convenient!

[pampal]

I believe more traffic leads to slower speeds and if the speeds are low, the chances of dying are reduced. So traffic is a good thing, most of the people dying are outside the big cities and the speeds involved are much higher.

[a2396]

I don't live in BKK and would not drive a motorcy there in any case. Where I live in KK, it is reasonable transportation. Traffic is much less of a hazard here than in my previous residence in USA. I wouldn't think of riding a motorcy back there. I also try to stay off high speed main roads and other rural roads where I might cover long distances. For short around town commuting, I think it's relatively safe & a lot cheaper than a car and easier to park & manuver through perpetual traffic tie-ups.

[pop_corn]

why? traffic jam is the answer for me..

[kankaroo]

Agree, often the best way to get around BKK. Had plenty of scares and a couple of minor scrapes.

Does anybody else get that "clenched butt cheeks" sensation when you got a crazy driver in control. I know I do !!

That also goes for taxi's too.

[pop_corn]

Agree, often the best way to get around BKK. Had plenty of scares and a couple of minor scrapes.

Does anybody else get that "clenched butt cheeks" sensation when you got a crazy driver in control. I know I do !!

That also goes for taxi's too.

hahaha, very often, but then again, is almost impossible for me to stop using them, oh well.. I like adrenalin!

[jeebusjones]

Sensationalism at it's worst. First, where did he get the statistic of 1 motorcyclist dying every 40 minutes? That's <deleted>. The official statistics:

According to official statistics (police), 12,858 people were killed in road crashes in 2005. However the real number might even be higher. According to documentation from the health sector, the real death toll could be 20,000 or more if victims who die after being removed from the crash scene are included.

And:

32% of the vehicles involved in crashes are motorcycles and 28% are cars

http://www.grsproadsafety.org/?pageid=28

That guy pulled statistics from thin air just to write a shocking article.

I rode motorcycle taxis in Bangkok for my first two years here. At first I thought it was dangerous, than I got used to it. About 6 months ago, I bought a Honda Wave and started riding myself. Now I know that the motorsai taxis are by far the worst, craziest drivers on the road. I feel much safer riding myself than riding with them. I can't believe I ever did it in the first place.

If you keep your head and look everywhere, all the time, I think riding is not that dangerous. Being a passenger with a motorsai taxi is.

[Fred Sanford]

I came to thailand to relieve stress. I dont ride motos or drive cars here and never will.

[larvidchr]

Sensationalism at it's worst. First, where did he get the statistic of 1 motorcyclist dying every 40 minutes? That's <deleted>. The official statistics:

According to official statistics (police), 12,858 people were killed in road crashes in 2005. However the real number might even be higher. According to documentation from the health sector, the real death toll could be 20,000 or more if victims who die after being removed from the crash scene are included.

And:

32% of the vehicles involved in crashes are motorcycles and 28% are cars

http://www.grsproadsafety.org/?pageid=28

That guy pulled statistics from thin air just to write a shocking article.

I rode motorcycle taxis in Bangkok for my first two years here. At first I thought it was dangerous, than I got used to it. About 6 months ago, I bought a Honda Wave and started riding myself. Now I know that the motorsai taxis are by far the worst, craziest drivers on the road. I feel much safer riding myself than riding with them. I can't believe I ever did it in the first place.

If you keep your head and look everywhere, all the time, I think riding is not that dangerous. Being a passenger with a motorsai taxi is.

He has got the information from the commonwealth foreign office web site he refers to in the artikel. I had a look in the travel advise section, and there it is.

And as to the dangers, well I dont know, I se a lot more farangs and Thais in the daily news having accidents on their motorbikes than i se motorbike taxis involved in accidents.

"Anywho" you will have to take the <deleted> thing up with the commonwealth

Kind regards

[jeebusjones]

Actually, after I wrote that I did take a look at the fco page to try and find it. And yes, the 38 motorcycle deaths per day is there. A bit shockin really, but you still have to ask where they got the statistics. Officials stats don't come anywhere near that.

Here's another bit from the grsp website:

32% of the vehicles involved in crashes are motorcycles and 28% are cars

44% of the total number of road crash injuries in Thailand occur in Bangkok compared with only 6%of the country's fatalities

And an interesting bit about Khon Kaen:

In Khon Kaen Province (Northern Thailand) 81% of total injured patients admitted to hospitals in 2002 were motorcycle injury victims. It is believe that this is likely to reflect the situation in other provinces too.

Edited June 2, 2007 by jeebusjones

[larvidchr]

Actually, after I wrote that I did take a look at the fco page to try and find it. And yes, the 38 motorcycle deaths per day is there. A bit shockin really, but you still have to ask where they got the statistics. Officials stats don't come anywhere near that.

Here's another bit from the grsp website:

32% of the vehicles involved in crashes are motorcycles and 28% are cars

44% of the total number of road crash injuries in Thailand occur in Bangkok compared with only 6%of the country's fatalities

And an interesting bit about Khon Kaen:

In Khon Kaen Province (Northern Thailand) 81% of total injured patients admitted to hospitals in 2002 were motorcycle injury victims. It is believe that this is likely to reflect the situation in other provinces too.

Could it be that what he ment was, chrashes that involve deaths is 75% related to motorbike accidents, poor language but you know what I mean

Kind regards

[Thaifan2]

Have ridden bikes for many years ,so find no problem riding one in Thailand .Am scared on the back of a motorsai though ,so don't use them .

[jeebusjones]

[Could it be that what he ment was, chrashes that involve deaths is 75% related to motorbike accidents, poor language but you know what I mean

Kind regards

I suppose that's possible, but still that statistic of 38 motorcycle fatalities per day just doesn't seem accurate. 38 per day would mean 13,870 deaths per year. That figure alone is higher than the official statistics for all road fatalities.

Now, obviously the official statistics can't really be relied on to be 100% accurate. But the upper reach of educated estimates place that figure at 20,000 annually. So by his figure, a range of 65% - 100% of road fatalities in Thailand are motorcyclists. Is this really accurate?

Here's another article which places the number of road fatalities at 13,116:

http://www.adb.org/Documents/News/2004/nr2004155.asp

Edited June 2, 2007 by jeebusjones

[ray23]

Well the majority of vehicles in Thailand still are motorcycles that would make them a bigger percentage of accidents. Generally speaking in most western countries they are recreatiomnal vehicles not the family everyday transportation. I ride hee and have for five years one accident to date. Proper safety equipment my pasenger and myself with somn me scrapes ect, we were hit be broad side by a pickup. The passenegers helmet had huge scrape right on top, had she not been wearing it she would have been a statistic.

I live in Udon it can have it's moment s here but nothing like Bangkok, have no desire to drive io or ride there.

Why do I use them they are convient easy to park I can do my shopping and not spend my day trying to find a place to park. Most importantly I enjoy the freedom I have with them. We ride with a group of big bikes, with our wives and have great social times, while touring the country.

I also respect what I'm dong and try to ride within my limits with the proper equipment, most Thai's don't bother and there are a lot of deaths

[qualtrough]

I don't know if the stat is accurate, but whatever the actual figure it is quite high. If you doubt that, just drive around Bangkok and count the number of sprayed outlines of bikes and riders on the roads. I see new ones all the time. I almost added two the other day. Unlike back home, I am in the habit of always checking my truck side mirrors whenever turning, and I mean whenever. I was in the outer of two u-turn lanes turning right when a bike with a girl on the bike came whizzing by at about 100 kms per hour on the inside. If I hadn't slammed on my brakes he never would have made it. As it was they came so close I expected to find some threads from his shirt on my fender. Hardly a day goes by when some motorcyclist doesn't put his life entirely in my hands.

I used to ride bikes, but I think you are living in a fool's paradise if you think riding a bike here is anywhere near safe. I don't care how cautious you ride, you are riding amid driver's who tailgate bikes within inches, brake for lights and stopped vehicles at the absolute last minute, and to add to that care very little if they happen to run you off the road.

P.S. Did I mention all the drunk drivers?

[2long]

Taxis; fine, if you don't pay too much attention to what they're doing. I find it's chance to see what's around, which is something I don't have the chance to do when I'm riding.

Riding; the faster you go, the less chance you have of being hit. It's a fact. A fast moving target is harder to strike and you get to your destination quicker, spending less 'danger' time on the road. Ok, you have to be able to ride properly, but it works.

Motorcycles are everything in this city. They dtress me out and destress me each and every day. Imagine life without them, go on!

[jetjock]

Regardless of the statistics, I think everyone knows that riding motorcycles in an environment where there are cars is extremely dangerous. It is not only the probability of losing your life in an accident but also of losing limbs or paralysis. Everyone should be free to choose how they do not want to die. I stopped riding motorcycles when I was young after a few close calls as my choice is not wind up as road kill. I do extreme flying and diving because if I have to make a choice of a place to die, I would prefer in an airplane or with a scuba tank on. My friends tell me I lead a dangerous life--but I tell them that motorcyclist are the ones that lead a risky life and what I lead is what I consider merely an interesting life. Best of luck to all you real daredevils on motorcyles out there.

Edited June 2, 2007 by jetjock

[ray23]

Personally I think that any of you who don't want to ride shouldn't and you certainly don't have to justify it to me. But wasn't the question why we choose to ride?

[larvidchr]

Personally I think that any of you who don't want to ride shouldn't and you certainly don't have to justify it to me. But wasn't the question why we choose to ride?

Maby that is my fault, I should have added that question to, so here goes:

If you dont want to ride motorbikes, why not? maby your answers will make some of us kamikazes think twice

Anyway i think the writer of the artikel is funny, I clearly remember my first time on the back of a motorbike taxi, I repetedly asked him to slow down, but it was like he couldent hear me, at a point I contemplated the survival chances of breaking his neck and taking the tumble against just closing my eyes and let him kill us both, but then we where at my destination and I promised myself never to go on the back of a motorbike taxi again

Now I would not do without my motorbikes, it is so much easyer, I rode when I was young and knew I could not die, now Im older, I know I can die, so Im a little bit more carefull.

Kind regards

[keebone]

Once you take out of the equation all the Thais, the pissed up Farangs and the Farangs who only ride bikes on holiday the odds are not so bad.

Why do I do it - cos it's great fun !

[richard10365]

Great story! I wonder what the writer could do with the experience of going to the bathroom at a Thai gas station.

It was late at night when the creaky old bus pulled into the small country gas station. A multitude of exotic insects swirlled around a dimly lit light outside an old moldy building next to a rice field. Wild animal sounds echoed through the hot moist tropical air as I took my first few steps to relieve the pressure that built up in my bladder for the last 30 kilometers of my trip. Each step sank slightly in to the murky muddy path that led to the Thai outhouse. 10 meters away, the pugnent stintch of urine began to reach my nose as did the other smells associated gas station bathrooms in Thailand........

It's amazing what some people will write.

[LoveDaBlues]

Great story! I wonder what the writer could do with the experience of going to the bathroom at a Thai gas station.

It was late at night when the creaky old bus pulled into the small country gas station. A multitude of exotic insects swirlled around a dimly lit light outside an old moldy building next to a rice field. Wild animal sounds echoed through the hot moist tropical air as I took my first few steps to relieve the pressure that built up in my bladder for the last 30 kilometers of my trip. Each step sank slightly in to the murky muddy path that led to the Thai outhouse. 10 meters away, the pugnent stintch of urine began to reach my nose as did the other smells associated gas station bathrooms in Thailand........

It's amazing what some people will write.

[Jimjim]

It's amazing what some people will write.

Ya because riding motorbike taxis is so safe.

[kmart]

The two-stroke motorcycle seems to be an unemployment solution here.

[LICANTROPUS]

I´m having second thoughts about to ride my SuperBike 500cc in Thailand.

[harrycallahan]

Not a bad read but too much focus on Buddhism.

Example,

In Bangkok, the body collection squads (there are so many road deaths the thinly stretched ambulance service no longer collects the victims), eager to gain spirit power from a fresh kill, have been known to fight over the corpses.

Yeah, they fight for the spirit power, not for the $$$.

From my experience the religious devotion doesn't go far past symbolism for many thais with actions being driven more by economics, but that where's the romanticism in that.

[Briggsy]

Excellent article and I completely believe the stats. When you look at the number of people whizzing round with no lid, or with lid with strap undone or an ineffective piece of plastic on their head, it is obvious the vast majority of traffic deaths in Thailand will stem from motorcyclists. Look at all those kids jammed on.

I like the point about traffic speed. That reduces the risk somewhat in the inner city area. My only crash was on an empty road in Nakorn Pathom when I was hit by a pick-up truck coming through a red light and then fleeing.

I don't use motorcycle taxis if I can avoid it. And now I try to keep my mileage down.

[LoveDaBlues]

I'd like to know what percentage of riders killed were NOT wearing a proper-fitting, strapped on, decent helmet.

I'd guess over 70%. Get away from the cities and roughly only 1 in 20 wear a helmet from what I've seen.

My wife's brother had his head banged up (no helmet) when he hit a dog and crashed. After he healed.....still doesn't wear a helmet.

[Etrigan]

Jeebusjones has hit the nail on the head. After using motorbike taxis, you are safer on your own bike. No ifs nor buts nor refutes, it's crstal clear.