Buy insurance: British tourist issues warning after moped crash

[KhaoYai]

1 hour ago, Enoon said:

I'll just make that a bit easier for you: Not licenced to ride a scooter in UK?........then you won't be covered to ride one in Thailand.

Whilst none of us know the facts, I very much doubt this woman actually held a proper bike licence - simply because its pretty rare for a girl.

 

However, you can ride a 50cc scooter (or other 2 wheeler up to 15kw) on a car licence in the UK and there's quite a few of them in Thailand.  My travel insurance covers me for up to £15 million for medical insurance and the clause on bikes simply says that I must hold a UK licence to ride a bike abroad and must be using it in accordance with the laws of the country I'm riding in - it does not say that I have to have passed my test. In Thailand the woman would not need to use 'L' plates, so she may well have been complying with the law and the requirements of her travel insurance but never ridden a bike before.

 

I'm pretty sure that a UK car licence will act as a provisional (at least) for a bike with a power output of up to 15kw. I hold a full bike/car licence so my licence doesn't tell me what it acts as a provisional for.

 

So, whilst you are right, we don't know the facts, it is quite possible that this woman has never ridden a bike before - much the same as the majority of scooter/bike riding tourists.

[Sig]

11 minutes ago, kingstonkid said:

OOPS worded it wrong.  Should have said there is a lot of explaining I agree it is not up to her but on the other hand it was not up to her to go to the media with this.

 

I just wish all media would tell the whole story of things not just n this case but in all neews.

I may have missed something. I didn't get the impression that she went to the media. Although, I did get the impression that she hoped others would take her case as an example of why they should be certain to take out insurance and ride safely (she mentioned to be sure to wear a helmet). If she indeed did go to the media, and not they to her, I think that is legitimate enough and hopefully it'll be seen by some who otherwise thought to forgo insurance and the scars on her face might even make some of them think twice about renting a scooter/motorcycle.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about how the media so often leaves out so much of a story that one feels like they know less about what happened than what really happened!

[Orinoco]

5 minutes ago, billd766 said:

K - 16    Mowing machines or other pedestrian-controlled vehicle

Is that a Vespa. 

[Salerno]

21 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

UK A1 licence, allowed to ride up to 125cc..... Why would it not be valid for insurance ?

 

Doubt this lady was concerned with and IDP and obtaining a Thai licence.

With a current CBT certificate and displaying L or D plates with a view to obtaining a full licence within two years (or rinse and repeat).

 

Without knowing what policy she had pretty pointless speculating. Bottom line is insurance paid out therefore, in the eyes of the insurance she had a valid licence.

[Orinoco]

2 minutes ago, Salerno said:

With a current CBT certificate and displaying L or D plates with a view to obtaining a full licence within two years (or rinse and repeat).

 

Without knowing what policy she had pretty pointless speculating. Bottom line is insurance paid out therefore, in the eyes of the insurance she had a valid licence.

Yes, good luck to her.

Surprised we don't  have any uk ex insurance guys here,  who could give us the 100% low down on the license question.

 

 

[SuperSilverHaze]

Better solution

 

 

Don't get on those things.

 

No insurance, no accident, no money oop, no injury!

[jesimps]

After having several motorbikes in my lifetime and having a full UK bike license, I came off a moped on Koh Chang. I'd only been here a short while, had a lady passenger and was tackling a switchback on a steep hill. Suddenly a pickup coming down cut the corner and I had to drop the bike. Fortunately, because we were going uphill and therefore slowly, neither of us had any bad injuries, but the bike had a few bent and scraped bits, the repair of which I had to pay for.

 

In my 16 years here, I've never ridden a bike on a road since, because it brought home to me that no matter how much riding experience you have, there are just too many idiots on the roads to risk it. If I travel, it's always by car with me driving.

[Orinoco]

8 minutes ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Better solution

Don't get on those things.

No insurance, no accident, no money oop, no injury!

23 years, cars, bikes, push bikes. i'm still here. 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Orinoco

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Why do we always have these experts who somehow think they know it all?

Did she have a motorcycle license? It was not mentioned.

Did she wear any helmet? It was not mentioned.

Did she drive like an idiot or was there maybe a reason that she got off the street? It was not mentioned.

 

Why don't we stick to the facts and don't speculate about what we don't know?

OK, fact- people ( or at least people with a functioning brain ) know that they should have insurance when traveling, yet they sometimes don't. I can't see that changing, no matter how many newspaper stories or go fund me begging occurs.

Up to me tourists would not be allowed into Thailand without full and proper insurance from a reputable company, or buy one on arrival. Certainly, any company renting m'bikes without a m'bike licence and insurance, should have to pay all costs incurred when it goes wrong. They should also have to provide a helmet if renter does not have their own.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 minutes ago, jesimps said:

In my 16 years here, I've never ridden a bike on a road since, because it brought home to me that no matter how much riding experience you have, there are just too many idiots on the roads to risk it. If I travel, it's always by car with me driving.

LOL. Even the car won't save you every time. I was going around a blind corner in the passing lane at 100 kph, big truck to my left, moron in another car comes round the corner in MY lane, overtaking. If I hadn't been able to just get in front of the truck in time ( by seconds ) it'd be game over for me, my wife and whoever was in the oncoming car. Airbags or not, deceleration from 100 kph to 0 in a millisecond is not survivable, IMO.

[In Full Agreement]

3 hours ago, Moti24 said:

The rental company should be made to pay her hospital bill.  After-all, it's through their all-too-common greed that she had the accident! 

 

Spot on,,,      I'm sure that'll be coming right up.

[smedly]

59 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

Yes, got it now.

Ho well, my bad.

Does beg the question, why she lost control then. if an experienced rider. ( having a uk bike license).

All sounds a little bit fishy to me.

But good  luck to her.

 

 

maybe she had a Thai license

[KhunLA]

1 minute ago, smedly said:

maybe she had a Thai license

Maybe she had no license or helmet, just really good insurance coverage ????

 

One thing she definitely had, was bad luck when she bounced off the scooter.

[PB172111]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

I'm pretty sure she wasn't wearing a full helmet here if the huge cut on the face probably wouldn't have happened.

 

No motorcycle license likely no insurance, unless she has a policy like mine - which she obviously doesn't.

Pure conjecture. 

[thaibeachlovers]

48 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

My Mrs has taken my truck up to Nakhon Nowhere so I used my motorcycle to go a bit further afield than the usual 7-11 trips. Surprising how quickly one can feel less than safe on a motorcycle if not having ridden for a spell. Bad road surface was my major issue and it has you all over the place. 

I used to ride a Click on the back road with the big trees from Lamphun to Chiang Mai all the time, and felt confident, EXCEPT for the potholes. So large, had I hit one I'd not be around to write this.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Maybe she had no license or helmet, just really good insurance coverage ????

 

One thing she definitely had, was bad luck when she bounced off the scooter.

I doubt any insurance company will cover no license or helmet. All my policies required both.

[digger70]

Buy insurance: British tourist issues warning after moped crash.

 

B,,,, Hell don't have to tell us ,We know.

She done very well getting her Insurance to pay. Everything must have been ok . 

[thaibeachlovers]

41 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

I was under the impression you can't when it comes to insurance companies with polices from the uk.

It would kind of make sense ,that a level of competence would be required to insure you. ( like a full license )

Does anyone know 100% on this. ?

 

I had U K Post Office travel insurance with m'bike insurance. Required license, helmet and max cc bike at ....... ( don't remember, but not a large bike ).

[PeeJayEm]

4 hours ago, ukrules said:

I'm pretty sure she wasn't wearing a full helmet here if the huge cut on the face probably wouldn't have happened.

 

No motorcycle license likely no insurance, unless she has a policy like mine - which she obviously doesn't.

She had medical emergency insurance - the article says so.

 

What other Insurance do you mean "she" should have had? (Bearing in mind that it is the bike, not the rider that has to have vehicle insurance!) 

[BobBKK]

Bad luck but no license? bike insurance?

[SuperSilverHaze]

33 minutes ago, Orinoco said:

23 years, cars, bikes, push bikes. i'm still here. 

 

 

Tens of Thousands of others cannot say the same. I have lost three aquaintences. Two people my wife knows since I've been living in Thailand.

 

Really stupid to be blunt.

[johncat1]

3 hours ago, Enoon said:

The fact that her insurance company paid the £20,000 (try reading the article) indicates that she had a licence to ride such a vehicle in the UK, because most policies issued in the UK stipulate that one must have a UK licence for the type of vehicle they are operating on holiday.

In the UK anyone over the age of 16 can get a motorcycle licence ( provisional )  and never take a test or even have ridden a motorcycle previously. It depends on if Thailand accepts provisional licences ( no test or experience required ) as a qualification to ride a motorcycle in Thailand.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, jacko45k said:

As  she was from the UK it is unlikely she would be thinking to drive on the right....quite perplexed why this irrelevance made up 60% of your post! 

It is relevant because there are many tourists on the streets of Samui. And many of them will drive on the "wrong side" back home. If someone like that came in her direction then maybe that was the reason she lost control. Or maybe not. The "wrong side of the road" is definitely a problem in Samui and other places. 

[toofarnorth]

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I hit a cow once.

Black cow, unlit road.

In 1964 at a crossroads I ran into a doctor , he was heavily fined and I was compensated enough ( although being only 17 yo the money was put in a fund ) to be able to buy a Morgan in '68.

I went over the top of the doctor and still bear the scars, and I remember him saying 'Give me some room , I am a doctor'.  He was a fair fair fair  kin  idiot.

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, The Old Bull said:

Never drive anywhere at night you haven't driven in the daytime. That way you will know where all the pot holes are.

Maybe if you ride on a 500m stretch of road. But do you remember every pothole on every street which is a couple of km long? I don't. And sometimes I am sure there is suddenly a hole which wasn't there last time.

Obviously we all should be prepared. But I remember I rode into a couple of those potholes over time. Luckily I did this mostly with a bigger bike with "wide" tires and good suspension. With a small bike that can be a real problem. 

[The Fugitive]

3 minutes ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Tens of Thousands of others cannot say the same. I have lost three aquaintences. Two people my wife knows since I've been living in Thailand.

 

Really stupid to be blunt.

 

8 minutes ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Tens of Thousands of others cannot say the same. I have lost three aquaintences. Two people my wife knows since I've been living in Thailand.

 

Really stupid to be blunt.

My Mrs won't walk anywhere. Not even literally 'round the corner. Every moto journey (especially with no helmet, T Shirt etc.) involves a risk. Only last week my nephew was 'broadsided' by another moto emerging from a minor road. Fortunately, both riders suffered only minor injuries. This morning he's meeting with the police and the other rider for the third time arguing about who has to pay for what!

[Ralf001]

11 minutes ago, johncat1 said:

In the UK anyone over the age of 16 can get a motorcycle licence ( provisional )  and never take a test or even have ridden a motorcycle previously. It depends on if Thailand accepts provisional licences ( no test or experience required ) as a qualification to ride a motorcycle in Thailand.

More so it depends on whether an IDP can be issued for the A1 up to 125cc license.

[Mangkhut]

An insurance will be void if one doesnt have the correct license. And probably also if one rides a motorbike without a helmet and in flipflops….

[Orinoco]

32 minutes ago, SuperSilverHaze said:

Tens of Thousands of others cannot say the same. I have lost three aquaintences. Two people my wife knows since I've been living in Thailand.

 

Really stupid to be blunt.

Yes life is dangerous.

If you chose to not live life to the full, that's your problem.

Two dead i knew.  but do i stop life , no.

 ( Really stupid ) are those who don't live life. 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Orinoco

[billd766]

1 hour ago, Orinoco said:

Is that a Vespa. 

I think that they mean the commercial grass cutter ride on machines.