25 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

I see many scooters driving with 3 almost 90km a hour and they are looking backwarths to talk with eachother and no helmets....Speeding seems to be the norm here. Why not limit the speed of motorcycles to 50km ??? So easy to do

I’ve seen kids as young as 8 screaming down the road on a bike or kids coming out of the local Thai school racing each other with no disregard to others on the road . I’ve lost count how many scooters or bikes I have seen under a lorry with bodies strewn all over the road in my 17 years living on the islands. Yet it was only yesterday that I read of police fining up to 4,000 baht for not wearing a seatbelt it’s time they introduced the same punishment for those who refuse to wear a crash helmet or have more than two persons on the bike 

Thailand has the worst rate of motor bike accidents in the World 

We have seen 3 or more people on bikes not wearing safety helmets

Speeding and so on 

The traffic police are not doing their job of enforcing safety on the roads ???? 

When it involves a foreigner on a bike or in a car it hits the international news 

We will unfortunately be seeing more accidents happen here in Thailand

RIP to the young girls and wish the injured one in hospital a quick recovery

 

 

Alot of blame will be made, and the Aussie may be responsible. However, 3 on a bike is not safe. And the real question is whether or not this accident could have been avoided by either party, if more attention was being paid to the dangerous act of driving here. The parents of the girl will be upset. Can't blame them for that. However, they could be blamed for not making sure their daughter was properly trained to drive the bike well, and drive defensively. Or not drive it at all, at her age. 

In America, and yes, this isn't near western standards, the man would be mostly responsible for turning into straight moving traffic. The insurance would cover the accident and any medical, and no money would be exchanged, nor a jail sentence, unless the driver was intoxicated. The girls should have been driving slower, wearing helmets, and only had one passenger on the scooter, which would probably have saved their lives, along with the driver having a license, if she didn't have one. A lot of drivers here wouldn't be driving in that case. Very sad this happens daily here, and won't change until the laws are enforced by the police, and the government making sure they do.

1 hour ago, Stevemercer said:

Rest in peace. I wonder if wearing certified motorbike helmets would of made any difference to the outcomes.

Thai certified doesn't mean too much as you can buy them in the shops for 300 to 400 baht and they are cheap and nasty. The sudden impact at a high speed is the cause of death and no helmet would have helped them.

19 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Alot of blame will be made, and the Aussie may be responsible. However, 3 on a bike is not safe. And the real question is whether or not this accident could have been avoided by either party, if more attention was being paid to the dangerous act of driving here. The parents of the girl will be upset. Can't blame them for that. However, they could be blamed for not making sure their daughter was properly trained to drive the bike well, and drive defensively. Or not drive it at all, at her age. 

The truth of the matter is both parties bear some responsibility for the accident....And I would say the farang was more than 51% in the wrong....

 

All the  should-of dones don't matter now.....

 

This farang is now in a heck of a mess, along with the families...

 

Alls the guy can do now is hire a lawyer to start working on the big payout or be looking at a loooong time in jail.... 

53 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

My impression from the video is that the motorcycle - according to the report, and not a scooter - was going very, very fast. Other opinions may differ.

I won't contest that but most of the CCTV videos I see have vehicles seeming to travel at the speed of sound because of the low video frame rate. We can't know really.

3 hours ago, rwill said:

They were showing the video on Thai TV about 2 days ago now.   The driver waited for 2 motorcylces to clear and took off.  I guess he didn't see the third one.

 

(1) Watch | Facebook

 

They were also saying he drove over one of them again as he continued on.  Sort of looks like the vehicle was just sort of slowly rolling on after the impact.

 

I dont think I need to see this clip ???? 

39 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

Alot of blame will be made, and the Aussie may be responsible. However, 3 on a bike is not safe. And the real question is whether or not this accident could have been avoided by either party, if more attention was being paid to the dangerous act of driving here. The parents of the girl will be upset. Can't blame them for that. However, they could be blamed for not making sure their daughter was properly trained to drive the bike well, and drive defensively. Or not drive it at all, at her age. 

True, three isn't safe but there's no conceivable way that the number of people on the bike contributed to this accident. Their total weight was no doubt less than the weight of 2 adult farangs on a scooter which is legal everywhere.

Very sad for all concerned. Three on a motorbike is clearly against the law however, having studied the circumstances of this accident, I feel the pick- up driver was not paying close attention. RIP young ones. 

6 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Very sad story, driving standards are very different to those in Australia. 

 

Doesn't matter if you are in the right

or what speed the bike was traveling

or how many passengers

or not wearing a helmet,

or whether it was roadworthy.

 

Any accident in Thailand, if a child is injured you are at fault and liable. 

The  law in this matter is exactly the same as the law in Australia. You must give way to ALL traffic on a public road when you are exiting private property. The SUV driver entered private property to do a u-turn therefore he MUST give way to ALL traffic on the public road, which he failed to do. No excuse the SUV failed to give way to All vehicles on the public road thus the driver of the SUV is guilty of causing the deaths of those 2 students

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Your reply is rediculous. 

 

It's the law, believe it or not. 

No it is not, why would you post rubbish like that?

A daily event in Thailand but suddenly headlines if a Farang is involved. If it wasn't for the double standards in this country there would be no standards at all.

6 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

When I was working in Songkla, driven this road many times, lovely area, baffles me how a fatality can happen on this road.

 

Motorbikes, so dangerous if not experienced in riding. 

These young girls, out and about, enjoying themselves, what a waste. 

Bloody parents, letting these young people ride motorbikes. ????

 

It seems to me that many foreigners (incl Aussies) seem to quickly take on a new/different set of driving behaviors/standards as soon as they behind the wheel in Thailand. 

 

The reality is that all Aussies are well aware, because of driver training standards and practice, police monitoring of drivers and quick to pull up and charge all drivers behaving even a little outside of the laws and regulations. And fines/cancellation of license is savage. Driving when their license is cancelled get very severe punishments even jail. Cancellation of license for life happens. Also they know how difficult it is to pass the practical (driving) tests. They are totally aware of the rules of the road, and what constitutes suitable/accepable and unacceptable driving behaviors.

 

But they come to Thailand and they instantly adopt a whole different appraoch and mindset. What a shame.  

4 minutes ago, scorecard said:

It seems to me that many foreigners (incl Aussies) seem to quickly take on a new/different set of driving behaviors/standards as soon as they behind the wheel in Thailand. 

 

The reality is that all Aussies are well aware, because of driver training standards and practice, police monitoring of drivers and quick to pull up and charge all drivers behaving even a little outside of the laws and regulations. And fines/cancellation of license is savage. Driving when their license is cancelled get very severe punishments even jail. Cancellation of license for life happens. Also they know how difficult it is to pass the practical (driving) tests. They are totally aware of the rules of the road, and what constitutes suitable/accepable and unacceptable driving behaviors.

 

But they come to Thailand and they instantly adopt a whole different appraoch and mindset. What a shame.  

I would put money down that more than half of all licenced Australian drivers couldn't pass a licence test if it was sprung on them. I was a driving instructor in a past life, I know ????

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The two students who died were identified as Ms. Pitchapa Boonrit, 16, and Ms. Anusara Chaowanasakul, 16, both fourth grade students, while Ms. Pattraporn Srisuwan, 16, was then undergoing an operation.

Just another day on Thai roads.

Haven’t seen any video, but how did they get hit by the right front of the suv? At some point he must have seen them coming before he hit them. If you are doing a U turn it’s usually done at pretty slow speed. Also that road doesn’t look very wide so a U turn in one go would be wishful thinking. Hopefully he has good insurance million baht plus. 

32 minutes ago, FunkyDunky58 said:

A daily event in Thailand but suddenly headlines if a Farang is involved. If it wasn't for the double standards in this country there would be no standards at all.

Try watching Thai TV/social media - the news shows horrible traffic accidents every day and very few involve foreigners.

1. 3 on a Motobike

2. Underaged Driver

3. No Helmet

Seems to be a Blueprint of the Situation on Thailands Roads!????

 

My condolences to the Familys of the Victimes!

Just watched that vid that was on Thai TV, pretty conclusive I'd say, the SUV pulled out in front of oncoming traffic. Clearly in the wrong in any country. Sorry for the Aussie as he's in deep deep sh*t and it's going to take a serious pile of dosh to buy back his liberty. RIP to the girls on the mc. 

The loss of a human life in any circumstances is a traget. 

In this situation a lot of pain and loss on both sides would be felt. Parents; family and friends of the departed. A father; husband; friends and parents of the accused also.

If the clip of the video is accurate and not tampered with, the driver is / would be at fault.

Driving without due care and attention; failing to do this and that; driving a vehicle that is not this or that; and negligence causing death while driving; would be some of his charges.

His sentence, and he will be; most likely be manslaughter, and of cause a fine, plus payment of some value to the families of the kids.

I am not sure, but in most places manslaughter carries 3-10 years maximum sentence.

However that said, I am sure I read that the cop that killed the Doctor girl in Bangkok on the crosswalk got (1) year sentence, I stand corrected if wrong, and the family sue him and the RTP for $72mil THB.

I would add, these kids were teenagers and as such still under the care of their parents, and who knows; no motorcycle license, motorcycle not registered at DoT for the year, carrying more than allowed on a motorcycle, driving above the speed limit, and the list can go on. Shouldn't the parents bear some of this responsibility, since these kids were underage. 

Then again, if this were even to be raised in a Thai court, it would not be looked upon nicely.

RIP little ones.

 

 

 

Really vomit inducing 'victim blaming' happening in this thread.

Not saying this was the cause of this accident, but all car drivers have to be aware that the thick A pillars in modern cars create a blind spot. While riding my bicycle I was once hit by a car turning across my path, and on another occasion almost hit. Both drivers apologised profusely, saying that I was in their blind spot. Case of passive safety (strong A pillar protecting occupants in a rollover) compromising active safety (being able to see everything in front of you). 

 

As both a cyclist and car driver, I appreciate both sides.

...Such Headlines Foment Hatred Towards Foreigners...Don't You Think....(?)

 

...There Was A Collision....A Crash...People Died...(?)

 

...Do You Think It Was Intentional....(?)

 

...If Not.....Then It Is Unacceptable 'Journalism'...

7 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

When I was working in Songkla, driven this road many times, lovely area, baffles me how a fatality can happen on this road.

 

Motorbikes, so dangerous if not experienced in riding. 

These young girls, out and about, enjoying themselves, what a waste. 

Bloody parents, letting these young people ride motorbikes. ????

 

That's very harsh. By looks of the video footage, the car driver failed to give way.

8 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Very sad story, driving standards are very different to those in Australia. 

 

Doesn't matter if you are in the right

or what speed the bike was traveling

or how many passengers

or not wearing a helmet,

or whether it was roadworthy.

 

Any accident in Thailand, if a child is injured you are at fault and liable. 

You are making an assumption that the vehicle driver was not to blame. That is a big assumption considering the full details are not presented.

RIP ............. What a tragic waste of two young lives. I hope the other girl recovers. This man will have this on his conscience for the rest of his days ????????

9 hours ago, webfact said:

The two students who died were identified as Ms. Pitchapa Boonrit, 16, and Ms. Anusara Chaowanasakul, 16, both fourth grade students, while Ms. Pattraporn Srisuwan, 16, was then undergoing an operation.

The age limit for driving a motorbike in thailand is 15years old, and 18 for car. 

 

However, if the girls lack driver's license they were driving illegally, which could drastically reduce the fine/sentence for the Aussie man. 

 

Sad to read that they were 3 on a single bike, which is not uncommon in Thailand but also reckless. I wonder how many of them were wearing a helmet as well. Assuming none.

 

We haven't heard the story yet from the Aussie man, maybe they were driving very fast. Did the girls consume Alcohol? etc.

 

EDIT: watched the video, and obviously the Aussie man is at fault here. In a crash like this, a helmet wouldn't be much of a big help.

 

This is beyond tragic.

 

 

9 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Any accident in Thailand, if a child is injured you are at fault and liable.

Where did you get that nonsense from?

Here is the video.