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Video: "British" man mown down on Pattaya zebra crossing - multiple injuries, will report to police today


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6 hours ago, Blue Muton said:

If the British (and other) embassy here cared at all about the well-being of their citizens they would be calling the Thai government to account for this, with the message that tourists expect traffic to stop at marked crossings and that they must either be enforced or removed.

It has nothing at all to do with the government. It has everything to do with Thai culture, in which people 1 - believe that laws don't apply to them 2 - it is always Me First 3 - a culture in which no-one accepts responsibility for anything, ever 4 - the police are a thoroughly useless group who have no interest at all in doing the job they are paid for, as there are no consequences if they don't and they get paid anyway.

 

TAT forgets to mention any of this in their Come To Paradise literature. And the fact that we aliens write about it is a major reason we are only tolerated at best as long-term residents, rather than act like Thais who simply look the other way and bury their head in the sand. And that is why Thailand is decades, even centuries behind many other parts of the world.

Thai culture is nothing to be proud of, even though the country is the self-proclaimed greatest place on Earth.

 

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6 hours ago, Crossy said:

 

The black coming off was actually an issue with a batch of plates in the past, but this was years ago and all affected plates "should" have been replaced by now.

I certainly still see a lot of vehicles with plates illegible due to fading.

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6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

There is no mention in the OP that the lights were red. If you are familiar with that particular crossing, the lights are usually not even turned on. I live just around the corner, they are regularly turned off for months at a time.

There was a pedestrian crossing from the other side too...but I could not see lights on the video.....other vehicles had stopped for some reason. The OP VIDEO link above does not work for me.

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2 hours ago, mrmicbkktxl said:

Hmm this  guy must be a tourist first time in Thailand not an expat interpreter sure or just ignorant with death wish.The way he tried to cross the street without looking, with incoming cars is not the smart thing to do here in Thailand.Like another poster said thais never stop at a zebra crossing.Hope he gets better soon but he has to blame himself at least a bit for trying to cross the way he did.The driver was probably scared the car behind him will bump into him if he stops at the zebra crossing.Most thais I know don't even know a zebra crossing

Yes, silly him expecting traffic to stop at a crossing as they do in civilised countries where it's You First instead of Me First.

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6 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Wow. Didn't even attempt to slow down before the collision.

 

Either playing with his phone or deliberately struck the guy. 

 

I wonder if this will get the same media attention as the pretty Thai female doctor hit by the Ducati in Bangkok? That was a rhetorical question obviously....

Not a chance in hell!  But if it were a falang driver doing a hit and run and running a red light, we would be in prison already. The Land of Smiles, not!

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6 hours ago, nigelforbes said:

The problem here is is the increasing number of vehicle owners who spray paint their license plates white, in order to avoid detection by camera's. It's a prolific and obvious problem that nobody seems to care about, some of the abuse is so blatant with owners saying the black paint peeled off, not that the plate was painted white...horse poo..

I've seen police cars with no number plates...don't expect action anytime this century! This is the Wild West. 

Edited by DavisH
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2 hours ago, Hugh Jarse said:

In the uk, and perhaps other countries, the pedestrian has the right of way at ALL times. Maybe Thailand could consider adding this rule in their Highway Code and test.

There ARE rules, but Thais always ignore them because there are no consequences to them if they do. Basically, it's anarchy out there where everyone does whatever they want. This does, though, appeal to a certain segment of the expat population who have fled the PC world and welcome not having to try too hard to keep up civilised standards.

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11 minutes ago, tonypattaya said:

"there was an appeal for information to track down the driver as the plate was indistinct."

There are so many vehicles whose plates cannot be read. Some vehicles do not even have plates. A major crime in advanced countries; not so much in Thailand!

Well its not a "major crime" but certainly any car will be pulled over immediaately and the driver fined in most western countries. 

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2 hours ago, Hugh Jarse said:

In the uk, and perhaps other countries, the pedestrian has the right of way at ALL times. Maybe Thailand could consider adding this rule in their Highway Code and test.

I believe Thailand is similar to what I was told when driving petrified in Riyadh and asked 'Who has right of way',, and was told 'You do, always'

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My standard method of crossing a cross walk as I nearly got killing crossing the road on a green in CM 15 years ago.

Press button.
Wait for green light.
Look in the opposite direction of traffic for the moron who is driving the wrong way.
Then shift back to the oncoming traffic and gauge everyone's speed.
If someone isn't stopping?  Don't get in the way,  However slap the mirror and fall down - - or just slap the mirror - or just let it go.
Keep your eyes on the traffic until you get to the other side of the road.
DON'T ever assume that any driver is going to stop for you.

Personally if I was on a motorcycle or had a clear path around the downed guy, I would have gone after the truck to get a clear license number, then back off.  Go back and talk to the cops and give them then information. 

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These light controlled crosswalks are causing more harm and danger than any good. Unsuspecting newbie pedestrians are trusting and expecting Thai drivers (worst, most unobservant, apathetic and oblivious drivers on earth) to STOP. They are fooled and not looking all ways before actually crossing. Many just blow through at speed. This is chronic everywhere in Thailand. Much safer to just wait for traffic to pass and safely cross while actually observing the conditions, instead of trusting ineffective lights, sound effects and these idiot drivers. 

 

Happens to Thais too...

https://www.thaipbsworld.com/cop-who-killed-doctor-on-zebra-crossing-gets-sentenced-to-just-over-one-year/

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1 hour ago, riverhigh said:

From the original article:

 

"the aforementioned pickup truck (showed) no sign of slowing down. Instead, he continued to drive away with his face blank. like nothing happened... "

 

If true, this guy is an outright sociopath and should have his driving lisence terminated immediately and be subsequently jailed. Don't blame this one on Thai culture or lack of driving laws. 5 months ago I went to a Thai "only" driving school for my motor cycle licence. I had to pass a Thai proficiency test orally and in writing before I was accepted. There were ample videos and exam questions regarding the importance of coming to a full stop at a red traffic light and giving way to pedestrians. 

..it's high time they started to re-test the Lifetime Licence holder's...IMO.

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There should be a warning when you enter Thailand, like those warnings on cigarette packs: “Traffic in Thailand is deadly!”

But wow, that idiot car driver didn’t even slow down one fraction. Hope they catch him and throw the book at him. 

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6 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

There is no mention in the OP that the lights were red. If you are familiar with that particular crossing, the lights are usually not even turned on. I live just around the corner, they are regularly turned off for months at a time.

When they installed a similar crossing joining Udorn General Hospital and the central road reservation, traffic didn't stop on a red light there either. The lights there are not working there now. One time when I stopped there (light at red) two or motor bikes just zoomed past me. There were only a couple of people walking across and the bikes swerved around them, but had the been more people crossing...

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If you've been in Thailand and read or watch the news you should know how dangerous the roads are.  Self Preservation should always be at top of your list if you like living.  Stop bringing your birth countries way of life to Thailand.   The Thai people I see use the crosswalk run when they see a car.  That should be a good indication on what to do.  The British guy may have been partially right, but he was partially wrong for he did Not confirm the driver was stopping.  You only have to be wrong or partially wrong one time here to be seriously injured or dead.

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7 hours ago, Dmaxdan said:

Thai people don't stop at zebra crossings.

So therefore any person crossing the road has to one hundred percent aware of this and be fully focused on what is going on around them until they reached the relative safety of the other side of the road.

You should never, ever rely upon others for your own safety when crossing the road!!!!!

Like it or not many Thai folks believe the laws about stopping at zebra crossings are wrong because it disrupts the flow of traffic.

 

Clearly there needs to be a very major long-term education campaign and bigger penalties, perhaps also new camras / relocation of cameras so that there's clear evidence and rego numbers are available. 

 

A job for big joke, he seems to be quite determined and effective. 

 

 

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Welcome to the land of <deleted> U and and get Stuffed i am Thai. if any of you have been to the LTO and done a drving test or multiple questions on the computer there is not one question on Cross walks ( Zebra Crossings) wearing seat belts or children traveling in cars.

I rest my case .

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1 hour ago, DavisH said:

I've seen police cars with no number plates...don't expect action anytime this century! This is the Wild West. 

Go to parts of the Philippines and you will see the wild wild west where there's either no police of the police cannot control that area/district, or a local powerful rich ruthless thug big wig controls the police.

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I keep trying to educate you people. ????

 

There are no red and white zebras.

 

Look at that picture.  Red with white lines.

 

Ever seen any Zebras that look like that?

 

It's called a "crosswalk", not a "zebra crossing".

 

Good grief.  You keep making the same mistake over and over again.

 

Just like stupid people. ????

 

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The Thai system of driving here is very simple. “Their rule is it’s your job to avoid me.” I figured that the first time I rode my Kawasaki here. I now drive a car on the outskirts of Pattaya, and many times a day Thais on motorbikes will drive across in front of me expecting me to avoid them, which of course I do by braking. Very stupid way to ride a motorbike. Sometimes I wish I had a Humvee with a heavy steel bumper…….and I wouldn’t slow down for these idiots, especially the ones in cars who are nearly as bad. 
When I was in Mongolia the same kind of driving. I had a meeting with the Minister of Transportation, or some such, and he explained to me until recently most of the drivers rode a horse, and then they went anywhere they wanted too. Thais don’t have the same excuse.

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8 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Are Thai embassies in the UK calling the UK government to account, every time someone runs a red light or a Thai person is injured in a car accident.

Does anyone need to tell them to do so?  Or is it done as part of the normal police response?

 

If the UK police didn't do anything about it like they do in Thailand, Thai embassies would be "calling the UK government to account".

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