Motorcyclist Chases Down Foreign Hit-and-Run Driver in Phuket

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod, dash-cam below courtesy of Phuketinsta.

 

Phuket residents are praising a local good Samaritan who chased down a foreign motorist involved in a hit-and-run incident. The incident occurred on January 12, at 13:30 on Thepkrasattri Road, Thalang district.

 

Dash-cam  footage shared by Phuket Times captured the moment a white Hyundai Creta,  cut in front of a motorbike while attempting to turn into a PT petrol station. The car collided with the motorbike, causing it to topple over.

 

When the motorcyclist approached the car for accountability, the driver fled the scene, heading towards Thalang intersection and turning onto Don Chom Thao Road. The pursuit ended when local police from Cherng Talay Police Station intercepted the driver on Ban Don-Cherng Talay Road, where they detained him for further investigation at Thalang Police Station.

 

The pursuit was led by Mr. Teerawut, a local motorcyclist, who witnessed the incident while riding with a friend. “I saw the car swerve and hit the bike, which was in the left lane. After the crash, I honked and called out for the car to stop, but the driver ignored me,” he explained.

 

Deciding to take action, Teerawut and his friend chased the car for several kilometres. The driver even came close to hitting their motorcycle during the pursuit. “I knocked on the car window and shouted for him to stop, but he didn’t,” he added. The chase finally ended when the car became stuck in traffic, preventing further escape.

 

While following the suspect, Teerawut contacted the police, who promptly arrived and arrested the driver. No details of the driver have been disclosed by authorities.

 

After ensuring the driver was apprehended, Teerawut returned to check on the injured motorcyclist but found they had already gone to Thalang Hospital. Upon visiting the hospital, he learned the victim had either been discharged.

 

The story quickly went viral after being posted online, with many netizens commending Teerawut’s bravery and sense of justice. Comments included:

 

• “You’re a true hero! Wishing the motorcyclist a speedy recovery.”

• “Phuket has become chaotic since the visa exemptions began. Foreign drivers need to respect our rules.”

• “The authorities should crack down on reckless driving by foreigners and ensure stricter vehicle rental regulations.”

 

-- 2025-01-13

 

 

 

 

[watchcat]

42 minutes ago, Georgealbert said:

Comments included:

 

 

• “Phuket has become chaotic since the visa exemptions began. Foreign drivers need to respect our rules.”

 

I hope they included the Thai drivers. But the comment is fair enough.

[Briggsy]

Whilst the foreigner was definitely the major contributor to this accident and deserves to be prosecuted for careless driving, the motorcyclist who was knocked off was

 

i. undertaking

ii. riding on the hard shoulder (normal in Thailand but the foreigner may not have expected that)

iii. certainly riding too fast for traffic conditions, possibly over the speed limit

iv. was definitely slow in beginning braking showing he was not paying attention

v. seemed to brake rather gently with his foot out rather than an emergency stop which was what was required

 

The motorcyclist will justifiably claim it was the Hyundai driver's fault but it is clear to me that he can learn lessons here, particularly regarding undertaking, excessive speed and awareness of both turnings and the movement of other vehicles.

 

I am glad it looked like serious injury was avoided.

 

[Gottfrid]

2 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Whilst the foreigner was definitely the major contributor to this accident and deserves to be prosecuted for careless driving, the motorcyclist who was knocked off was

 

i. undertaking

ii. riding on the hard shoulder (normal in Thailand but the foreigner may not have expected that)

iii. certainly riding too fast for traffic conditions, possibly over the speed limit

iv. was definitely slow in beginning braking showing he was not paying attention

v. seemed to brake rather gently with his foot out rather than an emergency stop which was what was required

 

The motorcyclist will justifiably claim it was the Hyundai driver's fault but it is clear to me that he can learn lessons here, particularly regarding undertaking, excessive speed and awareness of both turnings and the movement of other vehicles.

 

I am glad it looked like serious injury was avoided.

 

Looks to me, that the foreign driver, was in the wrong lane for making the turn. Also, I can not see any blinkers on.

Please do not talk about that people are driving on the hard shoulder as something wrong. They do that in all Asia, and it is we, the foreigners, that must adjust our driving to theirs. Not the other way around. To add to the faults, the foreign driver also tries to flee.

Where did he drive too quick? Seems to me, he have time to stop and survive the crash without injuries. What paying attention??? You should not need to pay attention to someone who crosses over 2 lanes when turning.

[sammieuk1]

Hopeful some education was handed out with a clenched fist 🤔

[chickenslegs]

No excuses for the Hyundai driver. That sudden left turn from the outside lane was bound to end in tears.

 

My guess is that he drove off fearing an assault, when the motorcyclist started marching towards him.

[Briggsy]

15 minutes ago, Gottfrid said:

Looks to me, that the foreign driver, was in the wrong lane for making the turn. Also, I can not see any blinkers on.

Yes, I agree. That is why I said "Whilst the foreigner was definitely the major contributor to this accident and deserves to be prosecuted for careless driving"

 

If the motorcyclist had driven more defensively, which he should have been doing as he was going too fast and doing 2 illegal manouevres, he may have avoided the accident.

 

If you read what I wrote I talked about learning from the experience. As a motorcyclist you are very vulnerable and you need to be aware of other people doing unexpected dangerous things as this Hyundai driver did. Undertaking on the hard shoulder at considerable speed is inherently dangerous and is not defensive driving. If the motorcyclist thinks it is fine to blast along in a straight line on the hard shoulder, irrespective of the traffic conditions, he is taking a considerable risk.

 

The lessons he should take away are

 

i. You cannot be seen from the outside lane if you are riding on the hard shoulder.

ii. You cannot see the outer lanes well if you are riding on the hard shoulder.

iii. Undertaking and riding on the hard shoulder are illegal. If you want to do them, take extreme care.

iv. Consider speed differential. i.e. how much faster am I going than the traffic flow.

v. Look there is a major turnoff to a petrol station. What is going to happen, cars going in or out? I should slow down.

v. Putting all these together he needed to consider that every time he undertook a car, he was effectively popping out from a blind entrance at speed. He could not see and he could not be seen.

 

In summary, the blame for the accident lies with the car driver but to say the motorcyclist did not take significant risk shows a lack of awareness of how to safely ride a bike in heavy traffic.

 

I have ridden bikes daily for almost 40 years and am still here to tell the tale.

[schultzlivgthai]

Drive a little faster, anytime you’re flying down the shoulder overtaking others you get what you deserve 

[stevenl]

1 hour ago, Briggsy said:

Yes, I agree. That is why I said "Whilst the foreigner was definitely the major contributor to this accident and deserves to be prosecuted for careless driving"

 

If the motorcyclist had driven more defensively, which he should have been doing as he was going too fast and doing 2 illegal manouevres, he may have avoided the accident.

 

If you read what I wrote I talked about learning from the experience. As a motorcyclist you are very vulnerable and you need to be aware of other people doing unexpected dangerous things as this Hyundai driver did. Undertaking on the hard shoulder at considerable speed is inherently dangerous and is not defensive driving. If the motorcyclist thinks it is fine to blast along in a straight line on the hard shoulder, irrespective of the traffic conditions, he is taking a considerable risk.

 

The lessons he should take away are

 

i. You cannot be seen from the outside lane if you are riding on the hard shoulder.

ii. You cannot see the outer lanes well if you are riding on the hard shoulder.

iii. Undertaking and riding on the hard shoulder are illegal. If you want to do them, take extreme care.

iv. Consider speed differential. i.e. how much faster am I going than the traffic flow.

v. Look there is a major turnoff to a petrol station. What is going to happen, cars going in or out? I should slow down.

v. Putting all these together he needed to consider that every time he undertook a car, he was effectively popping out from a blind entrance at speed. He could not see and he could not be seen.

 

In summary, the blame for the accident lies with the car driver but to say the motorcyclist did not take significant risk shows a lack of awareness of how to safely ride a bike in heavy traffic.

 

I have ridden bikes daily for almost 40 years and am still here to tell the tale.

Motorbike riders driving in the left lane will be forced off that lane onto the hard shoulder. That's where they're supposed to be driving.
The behaviour of the bike rider was very normal, he also didn't seem to be driving too fast.

"He could not see and he could not be seen." is nonsense. 

[Dr B]

1 hour ago, Briggsy said:

Yes, I agree. That is why I said "Whilst the foreigner was definitely the major contributor to this accident and deserves to be prosecuted for careless driving"

 

If the motorcyclist had driven more defensively, which he should have been doing as he was going too fast and doing 2 illegal manouevres, he may have avoided the accident.

 

If you read what I wrote I talked about learning from the experience. As a motorcyclist you are very vulnerable and you need to be aware of other people doing unexpected dangerous things as this Hyundai driver did. Undertaking on the hard shoulder at considerable speed is inherently dangerous and is not defensive driving. If the motorcyclist thinks it is fine to blast along in a straight line on the hard shoulder, irrespective of the traffic conditions, he is taking a considerable risk.

 

The lessons he should take away are

 

i. You cannot be seen from the outside lane if you are riding on the hard shoulder.

ii. You cannot see the outer lanes well if you are riding on the hard shoulder.

iii. Undertaking and riding on the hard shoulder are illegal. If you want to do them, take extreme care.

iv. Consider speed differential. i.e. how much faster am I going than the traffic flow.

v. Look there is a major turnoff to a petrol station. What is going to happen, cars going in or out? I should slow down.

v. Putting all these together he needed to consider that every time he undertook a car, he was effectively popping out from a blind entrance at speed. He could not see and he could not be seen.

 

In summary, the blame for the accident lies with the car driver but to say the motorcyclist did not take significant risk shows a lack of awareness of how to safely ride a bike in heavy traffic.

 

I have ridden bikes daily for almost 40 years and am still here to tell the tale.

I do not know the situation in Pattaya, as I live in the south, not far from Phuket, but here the space to the left of the while line is not classified as "hard shoulder" as used by used, but is generally intended for motorcycles, scooters and bicycles. There are many blue signs with white pictures along major roads indicating this. As a driver I find it irritating when mootorcyclists do not obey.

So, number 1, the motorcyclist was not breaking the law.

Secondly, judging by the fact that he stepped off the bike after the impact, I would suggest that there is no strong evidence that he was "blasting along".

Thirdly, and probably most importantly, the Hyundai driver was in the outside lane and made a sudden left turn across the inside lane and into the path of the motorcycle, despite the fact that there was another saloon car there. This meant that (i) the Hyundai could not see any motorcycles using their correct lane, because his line of sight was blocked, and (ii) the motorcyclist could not see what the Hyundai was doing as his line of sight was blocked by the saloon. If the Hyundai had been in the left hand lane he would have been able to see the motorcyclists in his wing mirror, and the motorcyclist would have been able to se his turning lights, if he had used them.

[Briggsy]

That sign references the law under which motorcycles need to remain in the left hand lane, not the hard shoulder. The sign does not instruct or allow motorcyclists to use the hard shoulder. That is not the law.

 

However, I am well aware it is the cultural norm for road users in Thailand to consider the hard shoulder as the de facto motorcycle lane. This is not the law though.

[Ralf001]

Scooter was in the wrong, I would not have stopped either.

[hotchilli]

He's in a lot of trouble now...

[black tabby12345]

Phuket residents are praising a local good Samaritan who chased down a foreign motorist involved in a hit-and-run incident. 

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

 

Local Hero VS Criminal Alien.

Salute to another gallant instant vigilante.

Unsung Hero of the day.

 

 

[black tabby12345]

4 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

He's in a lot of trouble now...

 

Another Freshman at BKK Hilton.

[Rampant Rabbit]

2 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Please do not talk about that people are driving on the hard shoulder as something wrong.

im interested how you decide which laws to  follow and which to not  follow?

Like the one on major  roads where there is a service road and all the Thais drive on it as a 2  way road despite signs saying NO ENTRY making it one way only.

[EVENKEEL]

Car driver's fault. Plain and simple. No bit of rule would say otherwise  

[LivingNThailand]

7 minutes ago, EVENKEEL said:

Car driver's fault. Plain and simple. No bit of rule would say otherwise  

He should have stopped.   The payment to the motor bike guy would be a lot less than what he faces now.  Motor bike guy didn't seem to be injured too bad and the cost to fix up the bike not too costly.  Maybe the car driver had other illegal issues.   We will never know because there is never any followup story.   

[CallumWK]

7 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

. “I saw the car swerve and hit the bike, which was in the left lane.

 

The motorbike was not in the left lane, he was speeding on the hard shoulder. Motorbikes are not allowed to ride on the hard shoulder in Thailand

[Screaming]

Before moving to Thailand, I owned five motorcycles. I sold them all at my departure to Thailand. I used to really enjoy riding my bikes especially off-road. Now after living in Thailand for twenty years, I hate motorcycles with a passion. Maybe not the bikes, but the crazy people on the bikes who totally disregard the law and rules of the road.

[Ralf001]

41 minutes ago, Screaming said:

Before moving to Thailand, I owned five motorcycles. I sold them all at my departure to Thailand. I used to really enjoy riding my bikes especially off-road. Now after living in Thailand for twenty years, I hate motorcycles with a passion. Maybe not the bikes, but the crazy people on the bikes who totally disregard the law and rules of the road.

 

Thats a shame, I love em.

 

Flying down to Phuket at the end of the month to look at a Hayabusa that I might buy.

[Patong2021]

6 hours ago, Briggsy said:

Whilst the foreigner was definitely the major contributor to this accident and deserves to be prosecuted for careless driving, the motorcyclist who was knocked off was

 

i. undertaking

ii. riding on the hard shoulder (normal in Thailand but the foreigner may not have expected that)

iii. certainly riding too fast for traffic conditions, possibly over the speed limit

iv. was definitely slow in beginning braking showing he was not paying attention

v. seemed to brake rather gently with his foot out rather than an emergency stop which was what was required

 

The motorcyclist will justifiably claim it was the Hyundai driver's fault but it is clear to me that he can learn lessons here, particularly regarding undertaking, excessive speed and awareness of both turnings and the movement of other vehicles.

 

I am glad it looked like serious injury was avoided.

 

 

Although what you write is accurate, the fact remains that the  Hyundai driver was in the outer lane, and quickly crossed  to the inner lane and shoulder without slowing.  I did not see  the vehicle signal its lane change, nor its turn. into the petrol station.  Sure, the motorcyclist was partially responsible, but  the automobile driver sealed his or her fate with the runner.

 

I am going to speculate and say the driver has visa issues and is Russian.

 

 

[KhunBENQ]

Careless crazy maneuver by the car driver just to catch the petrol station.

Can't believe that this driver has much experience with driving in Thailand.

When driving in the center lane driver could still see that motorcycles are on the left shoulder (100% normal like it or not)

Carelessness can happen but trying to do a runner tells me that the driver is not only careless but has a criminal mind. Stupid to assume he can hide on the island.

 

[roo860]

45 minutes ago, Ralf001 said:

 

Thats a shame, I love em.

 

Flying down to Phuket at the end of the month to look at a Hayabusa that I might buy.

Nice!!🏍

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

Motorbike riders driving in the left lane will be forced off that lane onto the hard shoulder. That's where they're supposed to be driving.

 

No its not - that 'shoulder' is not actually part of the road - but, many motorcyclists here have 'adapted' and started using it as part of the road. 

 

IMO - the shoulder is the most dangerous place to be, and I'll never ride in that 'shoulder' with all the debris, sand and grit etc, foot carts, other vehicles nosing out etc..   

The correct place to ride is on the main part of the road, travelling at the same speed as other traffic (within the speed limit of course).

 

 

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

The behaviour of the bike rider was very normal, he also didn't seem to be driving too fast.

"He could not see and he could not be seen." is nonsense. 

 

Agree...  nothing wrong about the 'riders riding' even when predicting the worst idiocy the roads can throw at you, something like this can still happen - perhaps the rider could have been more observant and braked harder... 

 

But - this was extreme recklessness from the Hyundai driver - he nearly caused multiple accidents... one has to wonder what was going on in their mind to make such a manouvre.

[gomangosteen]

3 hours ago, Briggsy said:

That sign references the law under which motorcycles need to remain in the left hand lane, not the hard shoulder. The sign does not instruct or allow motorcyclists to use the hard shoulder. That is not the law.

 

However, I am well aware it is the cultural norm for road users in Thailand to consider the hard shoulder as the de facto motorcycle lane. This is not the law though.

Mixed messages in different provinces, there's a lack of consistency in what passes as 'rules'

 

Plenty of examples in Chanthaburi of the hard shoulder being designated for use by motorcycles and cycles, or cycles only (but used by motorcycles anyway)

 

 

 

 

 

[SS1]

2 hours ago, CallumWK said:

 

The motorbike was not in the left lane, he was speeding on the hard shoulder. Motorbikes are not allowed to ride on the hard shoulder in Thailand

 

Despite what you or the official law says, motorcyclists have been consistently taught to ride on the hard shoulder and even fined for not doing so. I have been personally fined in Bangkok at a police checkpoint for "correctly" overtaking a row of trailer trucks. According to the cop, I should have undertaken the trucks on the curbside instead. Only a suicidal person would do that. 

[Moonlover]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

Motorbike riders driving in the left lane will be forced off that lane onto the hard shoulder. That's where they're supposed to be driving.
The behaviour of the bike rider was very normal, he also didn't seem to be driving too fast.

"He could not see and he could not be seen." is nonsense. 

I presume you are not a motorcyclist. First up the 'hard shoulder is NOT where we are supposed to be  riding and it's a very dangerous place to be doing so. One has no 'wiggle room' at all when things get dodgy as they often do.

 

The safest way to ride on a road such as this is in the middle of the left hand lane and travelling at the same speed as the traffic around you. That way you have a chance of either braking or manoeuvring out trouble. I've been riding here for 10 years now and I have never been 'forced off' the road as you suggest happens.

 

Whilst I agree that the fault was primarily car driver in this accident, the motorcyclist put himself in harms way by his foolish and unfortunately all too common riding habit. 

[richard_smith237]

6 minutes ago, SS1 said:

Despite what you or the official law says, motorcyclists have been consistently taught to ride on the hard shoulder and even fined for not doing so. I have been personally fined in Bangkok at a police checkpoint for "correctly" overtaking a row of trailer trucks. According to the cop, I should have undertaken the trucks on the curbside instead. Only a suicidal person would do that. 

 

You were treated unfairly - this is one of those 'legacy' rules where low level policemen are taught regulations passed down by their peers which the then enforce...

 

Yours is a perfect example of the 'officious' stupidity that presents itself on Thai roads.

 

 

 

 

[SS1]

5 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

You were treated unfairly - this is one of those 'legacy' rules where low level policemen are taught regulations passed down by their peers which the then enforce...

 

Yours is a perfect example of the 'officious' stupidity that presents itself on Thai roads.

Yeah I certainly don't agree with it. But it does make sense on e.g. highways where helmetless locals are riding less than 1/3 of the speed limit; simply to keep the road clear. Also in heavy traffic situations, sometimes there is no other viable choice than passing on the left to keep moving forward.