Phuket Vice Governor Anupap Rodkwan Yodrabam chaired a meeting this week on control of motorbike rental outlets on the island. Hours later, emergency services responded to another death, that of a Russian tourist near Kathu Beach with a 64% rise in fatalities on the island’s roads this year.

 

by Carla Boonkong & Pranee O' Connor

77% of those who die on Thailand’s roads are still men with 79% of the fatalities occurring in motorbike accidents. Action being undertaken in Phuket comes as vehicle deaths have surged this year on the island. Nearly 25% of the dead have been foreigners.

Authorities in Phuket this week ordered a clampdown on lax regulations to do with the hire of motorcycles on the holiday island amid a 64% increase in deaths mainly from motorbike accidents. The meeting on Monday night came hours before a Russian tourist lost control of his bike near Kathu Beach in the west of the province becoming the 15th foreigner to die on Phuket’s deadly roads this year.

Early on Tuesday morning, rescue services in Phuket announced another fatal motorbike accident in the Karon subdistrict near Kathu on the west coast of the island.

 

Full story: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2023/05/13/phuket-to-enforce-motorbike-rental-controls-russian-tourst-road-death/

 

-- © Copyright Thai Examiner 2023-05-15

 

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3 hours ago, webfact said:

77% of those who die on Thailand’s roads are still men

I reckon of the 23% female deaths, the majority would have been female pillions with males riding 

This refers to 

https://aseannow.com/topic/1294500-phuket-officials-target-motorbike-rental-operators-to-improve-road-safety/

4 hours ago, webfact said:

The meeting on Monday night came hours before a Russian tourist lost control of his bike near Kathu Beach in the west of the province becoming the 15th foreigner to die on Phuket’s deadly roads this year.

Early on Tuesday morning, rescue services in Phuket announced another fatal motorbike accident in the Karon subdistrict near Kathu on the west coast of the island.

Easy, if you want to rent a motorcycle you have to provide a valid motorcycle licence?

No licence, no rent.

If Putrid doesn't get them Thai bikes will 

'Action being undertaken in Phuket'.

 

Bout right. 

We are going to enforce more weight on the brown envelopes...Anything less than 1kg of legal current currency weight will be heavily scrutinized and punished. 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Nearly 25% of the dead have been foreigners.

 

From recent articles I've read there's been quite a few foreigners involved in road rage incidents. 

 

I'd say a few of these deaths could be from this behavior. 

3 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Easy, if you want to rent a motorcycle you have to provide a valid motorcycle licence?

No licence, no rent.

sounds good till the renters find their no longer making any Baht 

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Easy, if you want to rent a motorcycle you have to provide a valid motorcycle licence?

No licence, no rent.

 

That's how it should be administered. But as almost no tourists will have a motor bike license in home country then then there would be almost no rental money to be made. Until government takes this seriously then nothing will be done.

4 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Easy, if you want to rent a motorcycle you have to provide a valid motorcycle licence?

No licence, no rent.

That's how it should be, but in a country where the baht rules and one can buy one's way out of just about any situation with a handful of currency, then that won't work, sadly.

 

In addition, many of the BIB can't read English or other languages and wouldn't really know what they were looking at; i.e. the licence could have expired years ago, but they wouldn't be able to read it anyway!

 

There has to be a better/more enforceable way.

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

From recent articles I've read there's been quite a few foreigners involved in road rage incidents. 

 

I'd say a few of these deaths could be from this behavior. 

Really! Wow what a jump of a conclusion!!! Because no Thai's die on the roads or are all their deaths because of road rage. If I'm reading the article and it's 15 dead tourists in phuket from motorbikes then that's serious scary as one dying every 9 days in Phuket. Stop renting motorbikes out unless a valid relevant licence is shown and shops have valid first class insurance on every bike.

2 minutes ago, BritScot said:

Stop renting motorbikes out unless a valid relevant licence is shown and shops have valid first class insurance on every bike.

Renting a motorbike is a good way to get around cheaply and for many have a better holiday.

 

When my friends and I were in our twenties we nearly all rented motorbikes. We all lived.

As have tens of thousands of others over the years.

 

Nobody is being forced to rent a motorbike. It is a freedom of choice.

People die in cars and vans also. Should we ban them to protect a minute minority?

 

These rental motorbikes are hardly high powered. About as dangerous as riding a push bike.

If you think they are excessively dangerous, then dont rent one. No need to concern yourself with people who do. Up to them.

 

2 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

From recent articles I've read there's been quite a few foreigners involved in road rage incidents. 

 

I'd say a few of these deaths could be from this behavior. 

the recent articles were less about road rage than gang-like thuggish behaviour on the roads.

 

renters requiring a valid international or Thai license seems a no-brainer, but it seems brains had no part in drafting regulations.

 

 

They may want to look into Russians who are fronting motorbike rentals businesses with locals as well, make sure their visas are in order etc...........

27 minutes ago, Goat said:

<snip>

These rental motorbikes are hardly high powered. About as dangerous as riding a push bike.

If you think they are excessively dangerous, then dont rent one. No need to concern yourself with people who do. Up to them.

 

 Have you ever rented one of these 125 or 150cc bikes.  Push bike maybe 40 kph. M bike 90 + kph. I consider that high pwered.

33 minutes ago, tgw said:

the recent articles were less about road rage than gang-like thuggish behaviour on the roads.

 

renters requiring a valid international or Thai license seems a no-brainer, but it seems brains had no part in drafting regulations.

 

 

Oh, OK. 

 

Looks like you're reading different articles to those that I've been reading. 

 

3 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

From recent articles I've read there's been quite a few foreigners involved in road rage incidents. 

 

I'd say a few of these deaths could be from this behavior. 

You think foriegners ride under trucks or into streetlights in a fit of road rage?

1 hour ago, xylophone said:

...

In addition, many of the BIB can't read English or other languages and wouldn't really know what they were looking at; i.e. the licence could have expired years ago, but they wouldn't be able to read it anyway!

...

Totally off-topic, but about 45 years ago when travelling by train into communist Czechoslovakia I was asked by the Czech border official for an entry document that I did not possess.  In an example of how 'bare-faced-cheek' was to become my motto in later life, I searched through the documents in my bag and presented the border official with a gas bill for my apartment in London.  This was duly accepted and I was allowed to enter the country!! ????

3 hours ago, zzzzz said:

sounds good till the renters find their no longer making any Baht 

Tough.

6 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Easy, if you want to rent a motorcycle you have to provide a valid motorcycle licence?

No licence, no rent.

This is correct, but the problem here is that its now down to the rental shop staff to determine if a license is valid for motorbikes.

Potentially upwards of 50 different format licenses, with different rules / clauses

e.g. a UK licence is valid for bikes upto 125cc (Actually the rider must also complete the compulsory basic training and display 'L' plates) so having that displayed on their license may look like they have a bike endorsement, but in reality they may have never ridden a bike.

18 minutes ago, Sigma6 said:

You think foriegners ride under trucks or into streetlights in a fit of road rage?

Oh, is that what I said.! 

 

If English is not your first language, best you use Google translate. 

 

47 minutes ago, simon43 said:

Totally off-topic, but about 45 years ago when travelling by train into communist Czechoslovakia I was asked by the Czech border official for an entry document that I did not possess.  In an example of how 'bare-faced-cheek' was to become my motto in later life, I searched through the documents in my bag and presented the border official with a gas bill for my apartment in London.  This was duly accepted and I was allowed to enter the country!! ????

Yes, and that's my point about licenses here and I loved your "barefaced cheek" quip.

 

Actually something similar happened here when I first arrived and I brought with me from NZ an International Driving Permit (I think that's what they were called) and put it under the seat of my motorbike and forgot all about it!

 

About three years later I was stopped at a police checkpoint at the end of Nanai Road and asked to present my license, and there was another farang guy in front of me being dealt with by a second BIB who was asked the same thing. I got my Driving Permit out and realised that it had expired a couple of years earlier and I was a little worried about this until the policeman took it from me and walked over to the other guy and in fairly good English said, "this is what you should have".

 

He didn't look at the date or anything, or perhaps he didn't understand it, however he gave it back to me and sent me on my way!

 

For the record I did eventually get a Thai driving licence for both motorbike and car.

 

PS. Forgot to add that I thought giving the Border Official your gas bill was "genious".

10 out of the 15 killed were Russians. 3 from Myanmar, 1 each from the US and France.

24 minutes ago, xylophone said:

Yes, and that's my point about licenses here and I loved your "barefaced cheek" quip.

...

I learnt from a young age that if you 'lie' with confidence than most people will not challenge you. I used to drive a LHD Grand Jeep Cherokee in the UK that I bought from the US military.  It was registered in the Principality of Andorra with impressive-looking registration plates.  I used to tell traffic wardens who wanted to ticket me for illegal parking that I was a diplomat.....  (Harmless Walter Mitty fun, perhaps I could have used my bare-faced cheek to defraud a bank of millions, but I never did!).

Ban bike rentals and have good and cheap public transport to all/most parts of the island. Bike should only be rented to those with bike licences from their home country. Even that may not save some of them, though, given the driving style of the locals. 

3 hours ago, Sigma6 said:

This is correct, but the problem here is that its now down to the rental shop staff to determine if a license is valid for motorbikes.

Potentially upwards of 50 different format licenses, with different rules / clauses

e.g. a UK licence is valid for bikes upto 125cc (Actually the rider must also complete the compulsory basic training and display 'L' plates) so having that displayed on their license may look like they have a bike endorsement, but in reality they may have never ridden a bike.

That's why there is an IDP, easily understandable and looks nearly the same in any country.

The way I look at it, you can kid the lessor (fine if nothing goes wrong) but you can't kid an insurance company (big problem if something goes wrong). 

1 hour ago, FriendlyFarang said:

That's why there is an IDP, easily understandable and looks nearly the same in any country.

But as I said few tourists we be covered to drive a bike with and IDP without passing bike test in home country. Which very few have passed. 

2 minutes ago, LivinginKata said:

But as I said few tourists we be covered to drive a bike with and IDP without passing bike test in home country. Which very few have passed. 

Yes, if they enforce being in possession of a driving license probably 90% of motorcycle renting shops will close.