British biker, 83, is killed in a horror crash in Thailand after car pulls out in front of him

[dave moir]

7 hours ago, RandiRona said:

I would argue that for a 83 year old everything is a sudden or surprising event. Car is your best friend on Thai roads.

A car is never your best friend on Thai roads! They don't give a <deleted> about you if you ride a motorcycle ????️

[VocalNeal]

RIP Keith. But he would have known motorcycles are supposed to be in the inside lane (left lane for Mercans) not the outside or middle lane.

[Lemsta69]

30 minutes ago, xr399 said:

Would say most of the 'feral farangs' you mention are 2 week millionaires that have never ridden a motorcycle before and most likely have a few libations under their bare bellies.  All the ex-pats I associate with here are very cautious and also wear full protective riding gear while on their machines.

thanks, that's good to know. I've never seen that type of rider and I've obviously done the usual thaivisa thing of assuming that all (most) farang motosai riders are as useless as the knobheads in Pattaya. 

[shackleton]

How many times have we read of foreigners being killed or injured on Thailand roads riding motor bikes or Bicycles 

Usually pick ups or trucks involved ???? 

RIP 

[Excel]

Just now, shackleton said:

How many times have we read of foreigners being killed or injured on Thailand roads riding motor bikes or Bicycles 

Usually pick ups or trucks involved ???? 

RIP 

Several times but not as many times we read about Thais being killed or injured and at the end of the day we are all human beings.

[Lee4Life]

6 hours ago, carvets said:

I don't know for sure what the Thai law is for pulling out from a side street , but it was explained to me years ago that Thais believe if you are on the main road then it's your responsibility to avoid vehicles pulling out from side streets as you have a better view of what's happening . I don't know if this is true but it terrifies me to think it's possible . Very sad for the 83 yo involved . 

Not True, my wife's nephew was following me in a pickup, I pulled out onto a busy highway from a side street and expected him to wait for an opening in the traffic, he didn't wait and pulled right out in front of a fast moving pickup. He was T-boned and the other pickup turned over. He was ticketed by the police as the at fault driver and was responsible for the damages to both vehicles.  

[daveAustin]

5 hours ago, CartagenaWarlock said:

In the USA, if you read end a car you're always at fault even if the car put a sudden break in the middle of the road unless the front car has broken tail lights or the front driver driving drunk. 

Same in UK, but I bet no judge in the land would put the biker at fault since the driver of the car veered erratically into his lane, trumping the above default scenario.  

[swm59nj]

As a person ages their reaction time slows of course.  But if a vehicle just pulls out in front of you.  A person of any age might not be able to stop in time. 
May he RIP

[KhaoYai]

6 hours ago, carvets said:

I don't know for sure what the Thai law is for pulling out from a side street , but it was explained to me years ago that Thais believe if you are on the main road then it's your responsibility to avoid vehicles pulling out from side streets as you have a better view of what's happening . I don't know if this is true but it terrifies me to think it's possible . Very sad for the 83 yo involved . 

Also heard similar things and with the sort of parallel thinking often found in Thailand, I would not surprised at all if it was the law.

 

A few years ago I bumped into a group of Thai lawyers at Suvarnabhumi on their way to a convention.  I asked them if it was true that if a car and motorcycle are involved in an accident, the car is always at fault simply because its the bigger vehicle.  They said it was and strenuously defended that position.

 

Quite how someone trained in the law - and one would hope, reason, can think that way is beyond me but it is what it is - Thailand.

[DrMJA]

There but for the grace of God….

Rest In Peace,

Keith William McVeighty.

[Mansell]

There seems to be no damage to the front wheel, though the forks may be crunched. Unusual for a rear end. As for the guy who said in America the rear ender is at fault….not if somebody chops in front of you with no room left. As for all the comments on his age and reactions…..only he can know how good his reactions are. I’m still playing tennis doubles at 78 and have great reactions. Only the individual knows their limitations, if they have any.

[SunsetT]

7 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Survived  the Isle of Man's TT race, but taken out on

Thai roads, RIP Keith

regards worgeordie

5 killed this week at the Isle of Man TT. Oh the irony!

[CLW]

That is my worst horror, too. Cruising on a main road with adequate speed and some moron decides to enter the road without looking.

No chance for a motorcycle to stop. Result is death in most cases.

[mrfill]

6 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

An 83 year old doesn't have the quickest of reflexes no matter what you have done before when younger. So you need to adjust to the current reflexes.

Isle of Man riders are a different breed.... 

https://www.yorkpress.co.uk/news/8204716.82-year-old-grandfather-ted-fenwick-wins-opening-race-of-the-isle-of-man-tt-fortnight/

[G Rex]

The car driver scarcely slowed down as she approached the corner, and had to 'turn wide' because she was going too fast. The motorcycle rider ( RIP Kieth) had insufficient warning and nowhere to go.  Very sad.

The CCTV is shocking to watch - it shows how quickly our world can be shattered.

[Ramdas]

It is indeed another avoidable and sad death, may you race in heaven Keith ????????
I’m sure some of you may have ridden or driven on the Bang Na- Trat road going to Pattaya from Bkk at some point..

I tend to commute on this dangerous and frightening road and I so much dread it. I notice all sort of near misses whether among trucks, cars, <deleted> ups and scooters.

Apart from not giving the adequate distance to each other they all ride up close to your rear end ! I try no to get boxed in with the trucks and I always look for an exit an escape route ( To find some slow car, scooter or whatever in front ????  ) It is like being at seas here the big fish  eats the smaller, this is their logic. It’s not about having any traffic rules or regulations, respect and observe who else is on the roads or common sense for that matter.

I often see vehicles of any size and shapes pulling in onto these 3 - 4 lanes highways cutting right across the lanes in front of you not thinking or even caring who else is there ????????‍♂️
I’m not quite sure what the Thai logic is ( Providing they’ve got any ) I believe that these people have a death wish or they’re just kamikaze since anyone who has a functional mind could and should think and look several times before changing lanes. There’s not a proper training given at the DLT with regards to driving safely according to highways rules and regs hence all the young generations just follow what other do not matter how dangerous it is !

As for me, I’ve never been so frighten to ride a motorcycle (700cc ) As I’m in this country, I have to be super alert and riding defensively at all times but what scares me the most is how close to you they drive/ride.. They give themselves little or not room for breaking distance reaction time, everyone is in hurry and literally hardly anyone looks out for dangers or who else is on the roads. I reckon they just expect people to slow down for them whether they pull out of a Soi or pulling in onto bigger roads cutting across the lanes, what kind of mindset is that ?! You’ve got to look hard and long enough plus give the right of the way to the oncoming traffic not against it ????????‍♂️

[NorthernRyland]

35 minutes ago, KhaoYai said:

A few years ago I bumped into a group of Thai lawyers at Suvarnabhumi on their way to a convention.  I asked them if it was true that if a car and motorcycle are involved in an accident, the car is always at fault simply because its the bigger vehicle.  They said it was and strenuously defended that position.

 

So reckless retards driving motor bikes at high speeds can terrorize everyone on the road. Great law guys.

[NorthernRyland]

5 minutes ago, G Rex said:

The CCTV is shocking to watch - it shows how quickly our world can be shattered.

where's the link? For educational purposes.

[Bobydog]

8 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

RIP Keith.. Nice guy with decades of ride experience.. 

Theres a certain level of basic road user ignorance that no amount of defensive driving can avoid. 

So true, I have been riding big bikes for 30 years in Australia but on holiday on Koh Samui I was paused on the centre of the road, indicator flashing right to call in to a 7/11, I was just starting to move when when here comes this local idiot, flying up from behind me on the wrong side of the road, NO HELMET... if I had moved 2 feet I could well have been a statistic.

[Andycoops]

Another senseless death by a senseless moron. RiP.

[jaiyenyen]

1 hour ago, Harveyboy said:

did i miss something here it said motorbike on motorway.? i thought bikes were not allowed on motorways.  

I think this was just a bad translation. The road looks to be a dual carriagway.

[orang37]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

... if god loved you you'll get out of it lightly, otherwise...

I shudder to think of which god that is.

 

~o:37;

[Stevemercer]

 

 

https://www.newsflare.com/video/498646/british-pensioner-83-killed-in-horror-motorbike-crash-in-thailand

 

[Red Forever]

7 hours ago, ezzra said:

As a long time rider, i can only say that motorcycle is a very good transport solution, that is, until you get into a crash be it your fault or not, seasoned rider or a beginner, if god loved you you'll get out of it lightly, otherwise...

Please spare me the religious drivel. Your god certainly didn't help this poor old chap.

[ChrisKC]

Given that the report states and CCTV footage shows - but wouldn't a bike or a car collide into the SIDE of a vehicle coming out from a side road? If hitting the car in the back, this would give more time for the biker to stop as the other vehicle would still be turning from side on before going forward.

 

That the car went to the outside lane, this gave even more time for the biker to stop. I do not intend to infer that the biker is at fault, only that all things being equal these are points I just make about the scenario. Whether he was just going too fast to brake in time, lost concentration, we don't know!

 

In any event, the report isn't clear that the CCTV footage includes a car "suddenly" coming out of a side road or how far away the biker was at that point!

 

The "full story" doesn't clarify anything more about the accident. 

 

As I see it, therefore, I cannot judge who was really at fault. 

 

RIP to that unfortunate man!

[transam]

7 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

 

 

https://www.newsflare.com/video/498646/british-pensioner-83-killed-in-horror-motorbike-crash-in-thailand

 

That looks like he was going a bit fast coming up to a junction, but did have time to do something about missing the SUV. ????

[NorthernRyland]

6 minutes ago, Stevemercer said:

 

 

https://www.newsflare.com/video/498646/british-pensioner-83-killed-in-horror-motorbike-crash-in-thailand

 

This is a classic and something we can all learn from. It's a daily occurrence that a car pulls out in the road and expects the cars behind them to see and slow down. 

 

The big problem I see here is that there is not enough understanding of drivers of what kind of road you're driving on. If it's a small soi with lots of traffic its not always possible to have enough gap to enter and you need to pull out in to traffic a little, which other drivers can understand because of the congestion and they will slow down and yield.

 

What happens is that cars often drive like they're motor bikes on little sois even when they're on highways. It blows my mind people do this but it happens daily. That's what happened in this video. The driver saw a gap, rushed in to fill it and then considered her job done because she wasn't hit. Problem as usual is Thai people don't consider those around them. Every. Single. Time.

 

The lesson learned is that there's never an open road in Thailand. You can never put your guard down if there's any side streets or possibility of dogs even.

[aussienam]

I've been riding since my mid 20s right up to my current age in my 50s.  I've 'come a gutsa' (got thrown off) in my 20s that put me in hospital in Oz.  I've also lay my bike down here in Thailand in my 40s after a dumb fool of a female rider pulled out of a side lane at speed into my path and then stopped looking at me like a stunned mullet.

I could have killed her but instead I ended up worse off (thanks for riding off too you lovely woman).

Point being ... any age when riding is a risk and we all accept it as a trade-off for the 'freedom', ease of travel and fun that it offers. 

Life is extremely random and whereby one average rider can get through life no dramas, a great rider can just be damned unlucky. Lottery of life. 

An 80 year old, still riding is a subjective judgement call, if he was still 'compos mentis' (got all his marbles working up top) and rides according to his abilities then I don't see a problem.  An 80 year old can get into a nasty car accident too, just like. 20, 30, 40 ... yr old can and do.  

[Aussieroaming]

RIP old chap, I hope you ride well in the afterlife. Sounds like you lived your dream up until the end. 

[NorthernRyland]

10 minutes ago, transam said:

That looks like he was going a bit fast coming up to a junction, but did have time to do something about missing the SUV. ????

Yes too fast for that road I believe.

 

Another question though, why did the driver pull into the right most lane? That's the other big f-up here. The right lane should always be kept open for faster traffic and if that happened here he would have been ok.