British martial arts champion fighting for his life after motorbike crash in Thailand

[timkeen08]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I see many Thai females on the front of a small scooter with a big heavy falang on the back...it  don't look safer to me! And that Thai lady will drive as a Thai, we just know that is going to be dangerous. 

My Mrs is OK in the truck, but I don't watch what is going on because it puts me on edge. 

That's why we have the largest SaLeng around our area, with a larger seat for me, that would fit her motorcycle.  It's so well balanced.  My wife is usually the slowest driver anyway.  No hurry like most here.  Both of us are always looking everywhere for possible danger as well as for the many potholes or road construction hazards.  I'll never ride a motorcycle or sit on the back of one here.  She always gives way to other traffic.  I'm still trying to get her to drive our pickup, she has the license.  So it goes, maybe some day she might get over her fears.

[Joseph98765]

2 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Nearly 10 years in Thailand, and I've always let the wife do the driving. She's been happy to. First on a motorcycle, now in our car. As a female they drive more cautiously than us blokes would, and as a Thai they're a lot more familiar with how their countrymen move around on the road, their sudden lane changes or pulling out from being stopped, that I wouldn't have caught. I remember a thread on here once about how "unmanly" it was to be seen riding pillion with a chick at the helm, heh well, I'm more a fan of staying in one piece.

Not really, most of the "death sentences" I had riding my bike were from an "old lady 50's" getting to the main road from a smaill soi and don't look at all who was already riding in the main road...like "i'm the only one in this world"

[IvorBiggun2]

2 minutes ago, timkeen08 said:

I'll never ride a motorcycle or sit on the back of one here.

Ditto.

[Poilu]

This from another news site: His sister Emmy says that if his insurance company covers the costs, all donations will be refunded.

[IvorBiggun2]

2 minutes ago, Poilu said:

This from another news site: His sister Emmy says that if his insurance company covers the costs, all donations will be refunded.

I would sincerely hope so. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yeah, you are right there. Can also be hard to find an insurance that actually covers motorcycle driving in Thailand at all.

All the big banks and insurance companies offer motorcycle insurance.

 

I have it for both the big bikes I ride occasionally. 

[flyingfox1]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

Christian Richardson was lucky to survive when his motorbike was crushed by a pick up truck as he left a coffee shop at the start of the country's New Year festival

total lack of facts in the story , was no one to blame? 

 

no point in speculation as pointless 

but hope he recovers without complications and resumes his lifestyle ..

 

in the money the family are trying to raise , this also includes flying him back but if he’s recovering here surly the stress of transporting him out is not in his best interest and also who says he wants to leave thailand ? 

 

Please editors put in more content into these stories. 

 

[Lacessit]

2 hours ago, jacko45k said:

I see many Thai females on the front of a small scooter with a big heavy falang on the back...it  don't look safer to me! And that Thai lady will drive as a Thai, we just know that is going to be dangerous. 

My Mrs is OK in the truck, but I don't watch what is going on because it puts me on edge. 

Fully agree, my Thai GF at 40 kg trying to control a scooter with 85 kg of me on the pillion is ludicrous. Much better centre of gravity and control with me doing the driving.

Mine is actually a reasonable driver, I've trained her to use her mirrors. The driving instructor she hired never did.

As I don't know all the circumstances surrounding the . injuries in the OP, I'll withhold judgment.

[SAFETY FIRST]

33 minutes ago, Andre0720 said:

Oh yes, Thailand is 100% to blame.

What I see everyday on the roads is very qualified drivers, very skilled drivers, driving in a country where anyone can drive at twice the speed limit, mobile phone in one hand, and a cigarette in the other, and so skilled that they make it home. Buddha is there for those people in Thailand making it home with such lack of discipline. Strangely, there are laws in Thailand, even if it does not appear to be the case. Lack of enforcement is allowed by Thailand, so Thailand is to blame for the result.

Not the people. Even tourists coming here on holidays generally leave their civility at home, and drive so dangerously. In their country, they would not think of doing that. So the difference is that at home, laws are enforced. Here in Thailand, they are not. So Thailand, yes Thailand and its culture is to blame.

You are confused. 

 

It's poor policing to blame, not Thailand.

The police aren't doing their job. 

 

It's not just traffic issues the police ignore all their tasks.

At least they're consistent. 

 

In your comment you've outlined the problem but fail to see who/what is causing the problem. 

 

 

 

[IvorBiggun2]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

The driving instructor she hired never did.

Do they have licensed driving instructors in Thailand? Just wondered.  

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, JayClay said:

3 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

As a female they drive more cautiously than us blokes would

You've been living here 10 years and you really believe that the average female Thai rider/driver drives more cautious than you?

 

Either you've lived a very sheltered existence in those last 10 years, or your personal road skills leave a lot to be desired.

I've never been the victim of a woman taxi driver in Bangkok anxious to prove their manhood by racing as if they are playing a video game. Same with a motocy taxi driver. Same for passenger van drivers where I am now in Issan. Given a choice I'd opt for a woman driver every time.

 

And I've been here 26 years, not 10.

[Lacessit]

1 minute ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

You are confused. 

 

It's poor policing to blame, not Thailand.

The police aren't doing their job. 

 

It's not just traffic issues the police ignore all their tasks.

At least they're consistent. 

 

In your comment you've outlined the problem but fail to see who/what is causing the problem. 

 

 

 

IMO it is also the low penalties and lack of decent instruction that contributes.

I was recently fined 500 baht for speeding. In Oz, it would have cost me 17,000 baht and a 3 month licence suspension.

[Gottfrid]

58 minutes ago, murraynz said:

Maybe... But how many insurance claims actually get paid... 

Very few, I suspect.. 

Much safer NOT riding motorcycles... Rent/buy a car.. 

Hell Yeah! Just stop with what you like to do, because it´s not safe enough. The fact is, that it´s as safe as you make it as a driver. Wear protection and gain experience. Then it´s not at all as dangerous as you wish to make it.

And then again, the statistics of how many car accident claims that actually gets paid, please. ???? 

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

Do they have licensed driving instructors in Thailand? Just wondered.  

So do I.

[bstafford214]

1 hour ago, XJPSX said:

Why is it when these people have injuries they cry to the public.

Do not come here unless you have insurance and if your insurance does not cover motorbike accidents (as mine doesn’t) then don’t get on one.

It’s called being accountable for yourself.

It is truly sad when these type of accidents occur and hope he recovers. Why is there no other information or details about the accident? Who was at fault causing this preventable accident, the driver of the truck or Christian? Were either of them drunk or had been drinking on this first day of the festivals? Was Christian wearing a helmet? I also agree that he should have had insurance for this type of thing. Did he have a motorcycle license? For myself, I would never get on a motorcycle here, it's too dangerous. I drive a car and fully insured and after driving for over 45 years, I have become a very defensive driver and my wife and myself always point out the idiots on the road. Too many drivers here don't have the proper training needed, nor the patience required to drive here.

[Gottfrid]

1 hour ago, spermwhale said:

Health insurance covers all injuries and illness regardless of cause. So it's not hard at all to find insurance that covers medical expenses after a motorcycle accident. The first step is buying the insurance

 

Wrong formulated by me. I was referring to travel insurances in that comment. In that case it can be hard to find one that covers driving a motorcycle in Thailand. Sorry for my poor focus in the comment.

[dave moir]

3 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yeah, you are right there. Can also be hard to find an insurance that actually covers motorcycle driving in Thailand at all.

If the bike has current tax it also has the government personal injury insurance so in theory he should be able to claim something off that!

[jacknorman]

why every time a foreigner involved insurance is not  question for the car owner, or is it not valid when hit a farang strange this?

[pedro01]

3 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Nearly 10 years in Thailand, and I've always let the wife do the driving. She's been happy to. First on a motorcycle, now in our car. As a female they drive more cautiously than us blokes would, and as a Thai they're a lot more familiar with how their countrymen move around on the road, their sudden lane changes or pulling out from being stopped, that I wouldn't have caught. I remember a thread on here once about how "unmanly" it was to be seen riding pillion with a chick at the helm, heh well, I'm more a fan of staying in one piece.

24 years here. Never been afraid to drive. 

 

Nor would I want to be tethered to a woman for my mobility.

[overherebc]

1 hour ago, mushroomdave said:

Yes and if he came 9 months ago, did he not "have to" have insurance then to enter using the Thailand Pass??

Maybe for 30 days.

[Iamfalang]

for the billionth..

 

motorbike...scooter...whatever........not IF but WHEN

 

never met a guy who didn't have an accident.

 

this guy got unlucky, his accident was bad.

 

I'll never understand why someone buys one.....it's a lose-lose.   running around in an active volcano.  

 

either buy a tank, even a bicycle is safer.   Grab times 10,000 could be way cheaper than one horrible accident.  life changing.  

 

 

[John Drake]

1 hour ago, XJPSX said:

Why is it when these people have injuries they cry to the public.

Do not come here unless you have insurance and if your insurance does not cover motorbike accidents (as mine doesn’t) then don’t get on one.

It’s called being accountable for yourself.

Harrumph!

[kwak250]

He was at koh samui and lets be honest you rent a bike for 150 baht a day how many of us have got insurance that will cover anything like the amount needed.

 

This is very unfortunate and really hope he recovers soon.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, CrunchWrapSupreme said:

Nearly 10 years in Thailand, and I've always let the wife do the driving. She's been happy to. First on a motorcycle, now in our car. As a female they drive more cautiously than us blokes would, and as a Thai they're a lot more familiar with how their countrymen move around on the road, their sudden lane changes or pulling out from being stopped, that I wouldn't have caught.

I'm the same. I'm nervous enough being a passenger, watching how so many others drive. In the last 18 months or so I won't even go out at night as there are so many brain-dead idiots riding bikes or motorcycles without lights on a dark road. Had one knocked off his bike last week just metres from our house by someone who didn't see him, a motorcyclist who pulled out from a shop forecourt probably without looking anyway. My sister-in-law recently killed someone who pulled out of a side road to cross the main road and thought it was a good idea to only look one way (verified by CCTV).

How my wife is such a good driver, even looking far, far ahead, baffles me, although she did take lessons when we lived in Bangkok.

[Rimmer]

Some troll posts and replies have been removed

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, Gottfrid said:

No, you are right. In this case he should have had a Thai insurance that covers it all. And of course there must be a drivers license and a helmet on the head. That, I just took as an unspoken rule. I know that is not the case in Thailand, but as foreigners we should know better.

He's been here long enough to pick up Thai driving habits. And was he hit by the pickup because he didn't look when he left the coffee shop? We don't know because of the very poor reporting, but that seems the most logical scenario, rather than the pickup veering off the road into him.

[sambum]

3 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Thailand is not to blame. 

 

It's the unqualified and unskilled users. 

 

Accountability.

 

Why make this pointless comment? 

 

 

 

Of course Thailand is to blame!

 

They are to blame for the unqualified and unskilled users on the roads due to the absolute farce of a driving test, and also the fact that there are so many people on the roads who have never had a licence in the first place.

 

Ridiculous as it sounds to us "dumb farangs", many newly qualified drivers acquire their driving licence  never having driven on a main road or "freeway" before.

 

Thailand could take a lesson from a country that is often ridiculed (wrongly!) as a place full of "dumb farangs" - Ireland.

 

Apart from having to sport red  "L" (Learner) plates on your vehicle while you are learning to drive. once you have passed your driving test, you have to sport green "N" (New/Novice) plates on your vehicle for 2 years after passing your test so that other road users can give you a bit more leeway in "awkward" situations.

 

I feel that if the above requirement was in place, it would have a significant impact on the number of road accidents/deaths - especially with a police force trained to enforce it! (????)  

 

[Itsreasonable]

5 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

family should pay and just take it out his inheritance

What a disgusting excuse for a human!

[Chris.B]

4 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yeah, you are right there. Can also be hard to find an insurance that actually covers motorcycle driving in Thailand at all.

Also, long term travel insurance would be hard to find,

 

[Liverpool Lou]

3 hours ago, jonclark said:

If he was hit by the pick up...doesn't the pick up have insurance? 

Depends on the circumstances, perhaps his riding caused the pickup to hit him.