They Keep Damaging My Walls

[jubby]

We live at the foot of a Hill in the Village. The local farmer traffic has increased dramatically in the last year due to a road improvement.

No problem there , unfortunately we keep loosing walls when they come home in the evening. We have had some dramatic incidents but to keep it short, suffice to say every single incident the driver was drunk and had no brakes. I'm talking about the Etans & etoks. They make an attempt at the Hill, stall and come rushing back down. one even came through the gate last week without its driver and plowed down a couple of teak trees.

Its never dull in our village but I'm really concerned about the Kids, Today I managed to get them to move away from the gate just in time.

We've spoken to the boss village 4 times already about different incidents and he has the 'This is Thailand attitude ' and doesn't seem concerned about the Kids at all. The traffic will only get worse for several reasons and therfore its going to keep happening.

Anyone got any Ideas about what I can do about it. I've been thinking about maybe, speed bumps, somesort of barrier etc.

I'm really concerned about the 'village boss's ' lack of concern especially when it comes to children. I've learn't a lot of lessons about thailand and thai's over the years but this one has got me stumped. I don't hold him in very high esteem ;-) I'm sure the feelings mutual.

Thinking about going to the local government office but doub't it'll do any good.

Any positive advice especially from any thais on the forum would be appreciated.

Its gone way past the mai pen rai stage

[gymshark]

If you can get other people in the moo bahn to support you he can be replaced. They just replaced the phuyaai in my wifes place for similar inactivity.

[Pez]

Thinking about going to the local government office but doub't it'll do any good.

Any positive advice especially from any thais on the forum would be appreciated.

Its gone way past the mai pen rai stage

Try having a chat with the nearest Tourist Policy - the saty issue may cause some interest.

Keep trying - don't give up

[jubby]

Half the village are related to him. His brother -in-law has just got the arbortor job also. Its a Lanna village and our family is Issan or Lao as they call us and therfore we don't have a Voice.

I've never had any real problems in the village before. Its a dilema , Its a farming village so I and they expect farming traffic, They can just as easily take a safer route around the village but they seem to like the challenge of the 'Hill' and the risk of financial loss it entails.

I recall they had speed ramps once before in a different place , installed by the goverment for safety reasons but the villagers took it on themselves to remove them. Safety doesn't enter anyones head around these parts. And they don't enforce any laws as far as I can see. Its a culture thing I suppose to put it poliltely ;-)

I don't expect them to stop drink driving or fix there breaks , just wish they could see sense and go round which actually could be shorter.

[sassienie]

Vertically stand a few concrete pipes outside in front of your wall. You can buy these at any hardware store or builder’s merchants. Very cheap, about 200 baht each.

Fill them with heavy stones, sand or soil, so they are not easy to move and will cause severe damage to any vehicle that impacts them.

Problem solved.

Edited August 26, 2008 by sassienie

[jubby]

I thought about the concrete pipes; they'll just disintegrate on impact unless I fill them with concrete. The 'seige mentality' is creaping in.

maybe I can leave a bit of soil in the tops and put some flowers in so they don't look too much like an eyesore. Whats the best concrete mix for such battlements.

[Spee]

I thought about the concrete pipes;

I would avoid getting confrontational with any one individual. Take some video of the situation(s) and present it to the elders for discussion. Emphasize how this isn't safe for anyone, including the children.

Here's what we did at my place when we put in the driveway and fence. It's more to have some decor and to keep the driveway above the street for rain run-off. We didn't have it put in for safety, but it conceivably could be used that way somewhere else.

Aside from the cast pieces, anything you're going to do with cement should also have rebar for added strength. In the event that someone crashes, at least you will be able to patch it back up. You could almost do something in the circular shape of a cast piece, or possibly square, but instead have it hand-made with rebar. If people are going to crash into it, then you want such a structure to "win" rather than fail.

Unfortunately, you may just be in a bad location with few other options. In my home town, there is a house on the opposite side of a "T" intersection. Even with street lights, I can remember probably 4 or 5 times as a kid where idiots went straight through the red light and crashed head-on into the living room of this house. Sometimes you're just stuck with a problem and all you can do is make the best of it.

Good luck.

[jubby]

My wife called them this morning as we couldn't get the car out of the gate. She insisted they fix it now. They are fixing it now.

I'm in two minds about the 'confrontation' thing here; I've heard it a thousand times. avoid conflict, don't make anyone lose face. I tend to get angry and shout in these situations especially when my kids are in danger, people have definately lost face before and will in the future, Im not proud of it, unfortunately its in my nature and upbringing I suppose. It didn't get nasty but it was close. If we had just smiled then nothing would have been done until after the rain season. Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself, respect or no respect.

I'm thinking a deeper drainage ditch would be the answer rather than the concrete solution at the moment.

[Cuban]

I was thinking of a ditch too, wide enough to allow crashing cars etc to drop a bit before hitting 'your' side of the barrier. Putting in re-enforced sharpened spikes might feel good but probably not wise. (Note to self: Cancel order for the spikes.)

The only problem with a ditch would be the standing water and mosquitoes.

Is there space to install a wall constructed from used car tires?

Build a fundation (concrete) into the soil then build a wall maybe 5 tires high, fill the tires with soil (loose concrete - builder's waste) and plant with whatever grows well - there is a red flowered spiky plant I like for borders. (Tempted to bolt the tires together - use wide washers to spread the force between tires during impacts.)

The rubber will flex a little with impacting cars but the tires not be destroyed beyond reuse when repairing the barrier. (Concrete would need replacing each time - think Grand Prix. Sell the idea as a road safety solution.)

The other idea I had was to put in a spirit house or buddha icon - Thais would be less likely (I think) to crash into such an item. Not sure you want a large picture of someone from the royal family there - but that might work as well.

HTH.

[ I'd be tempted to put up a sign in Thai listing "Accidents this year" with a space to update the numbers of injuries and deaths. ]

Edited August 27, 2008 by Cuban

[jubby]

Thanks Cuban, I'd thought of most of your idea's , except the tyre solution which is interesting. have you also had issues ? ;-)

I'd thought about the spikes already, spirit houses, getting the place "haunted' , Celebrated Flags, A Gun Turret etc.. etc..

The walls about 300 metres long, 200 metres on the Hill. Too many spirit houses, too many tyres maybe.

There is an existing drainage channel that I can possibly make bigger, Much bigger ;-)

[goldfish]

[jubby]

Windsor ?

Goldfish , If only I had the resources ;-)

Then again I'd miss the hundreds of blank (vacant) stares each morning and evening from passing Farming traffic ;-)

[Cuban]

...I'd thought of most of your idea's , except the tyre solution which is interesting. have you also had issues ?

Not yet, but my property upcountry is on a 90^o corner on the road in/out of the village. Only one accident I know of, which was a friend of mine loosing grip on the rear wheel (motorbike) while taking the bend too fast - that resulted in a few days in hospital. I need to put in a gate near that corner to allow easy access for me - but I'm thinking about some form of earthworks (tire re-enforced) to protect me from other people's accident claims. As my land is above the road surface I am careful to have a small drainage ditch on my side to ensure 'my' mud does not spread to the road - resulting in dust and a slippery surface.

I have thought about a speed bump - but they &*@# me off too so I would not install one myself.

The more I think about tires, soil & plants the more I like the idea. Finding a plant that develops a strong root structure to bind the tires together. Look at any pictures of car vs tree accidents - the tree always wins.

[jubby]

Trees are good too but wouldn't survive the constant onslaught before they mature enough to be effective. I've got bourgainville or frankfa all along the wall as another deterent but needs a few more years.

he did reverse 200 metres down hill at speed, looked like something out of wacky racers, assuming he wasn't panicking , he probably picked my wall as the lesser of evils. there's a big tree to oneside of the incident and a electricity pole to the otherside. opposite he had a choice of reservour of large ditch to rice field. It amazes me how no one gets hurt.

anyway, thanks for the input folks, Its cheered me no end.

Tommorrows another day, Bring it on 'Khon Thai' ;-)

[alantheembalmer]

If you are thinking about a ditch, it might be worthwhile thinking about filling it with aggregate, so that it does not fill with water, and so would not be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, nor be a possible hazard to your children. The aggregate could be just below the rim of the ditch so that the vehicle would go down into the ditch, and the aggregate would take the energy out of the crashing vehicle. Good luck.

[torrenova]

As much as I hate to say it I think you're going to have to look at this problem from their side. If the fault is no brakes on one or two guy's vehicles then you could, if so inclined, offer to fix them. If it is just because the dozy buggers are pissed then you'll never win that one and will have to resort to some form of defence. I would be wary though of anything which they could claim has damaged their vehicle, even if crashing into the wall would have caused more damage !

Edited August 27, 2008 by torrenova

[roygsd]

We live at the foot of a Hill in the Village. The local farmer traffic has increased dramatically in the last year due to a road improvement.

No problem there , unfortunately we keep loosing walls when they come home in the evening. We have had some dramatic incidents but to keep it short, suffice to say every single incident the driver was drunk and had no brakes. I'm talking about the Etans & etoks. They make an attempt at the Hill, stall and come rushing back down. one even came through the gate last week without its driver and plowed down a couple of teak trees.

Its never dull in our village but I'm really concerned about the Kids, Today I managed to get them to move away from the gate just in time.

We've spoken to the boss village 4 times already about different incidents and he has the 'This is Thailand attitude ' and doesn't seem concerned about the Kids at all. The traffic will only get worse for several reasons and therfore its going to keep happening.

Anyone got any Ideas about what I can do about it. I've been thinking about maybe, speed bumps, somesort of barrier etc.

I'm really concerned about the 'village boss's ' lack of concern especially when it comes to children. I've learn't a lot of lessons about thailand and thai's over the years but this one has got me stumped. I don't hold him in very high esteem ;-) I'm sure the feelings mutual.

Thinking about going to the local government office but doub't it'll do any good.

Any positive advice especially from any thais on the forum would be appreciated.

Its gone way past the mai pen rai stage

Have a large mural of the king painted on the wall.........

roy gsd

[jubby]

Torranova, look at it from there side ! ?

It would take a lifetime to fix all the dodgy brakes, I suspect most of them did work when new.

[jubby]

I've now gone off the 'big ditch' solution. A large Truck which they use as a low-loader (thats interesting to see also ) has just parked at a 45 degree angle in part of an existing ditch I have further down the wall. Its obviously (to me anyway) got stuck and I will be very impressed if they can recover it without damage. Is it genetic ? something in the water ?. Too much 'Care in the Community' schemes ?

One strange thing that has also happened is that where I saw an Adult yesterday, I only see Children today. pretty weird experience. Help.

[Scott]

It sounds like you are talking about a traffic related problem and I think you need to go with the concrete barricades. No matter what you do, or where you live, there is always the odd brake failure and drunk driver. You want to protect your property and family from this and since no one else will, it's up to you.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

[jubby]

A Guy arrived in a blacked out 4x4, blocked my gate and had a look around. Gave a bullshit smile which I returned with a frown, he then attempted to stare me out. I walked towards him to ask him if I could help him as he was on my (wifes) property. he walked away, drove further up the street and parked up. A Caterpilar, not the furry variety with lots of legs, the Huge Tractor type thing arrived and recovered the truck in an interesting way. No damage done, he then attempted to fill the holes made by the bogged down tyres with the bucket, not a bad attempt but a little bit heavy handed. So far so good. I know, I should avoid confrontation. Got away with it this time. Positive result.

I just hope I can get the solution - concrete posts , pedestrianised with old tyres , in , before anymore problems or my lucks going to run out and I'll get shot whilst weilding the axe which I keep under my bed as my last line of defence. ;-)

[toptuan]

If the problem is to be solved it will be solved by you alone, so I think you're on the right track. Getting cooperation in such cases is quite difficult in a Thai context. To quote another TV member, "It's as if they've had the risk factor computer chip removed from their brains."

[dingdongrb]

I suggest adding some rebar to your existing wall. Add it where it points out horizontally towards the oncoming vehicles at about 4 feet or so in height. So that when they come crashing they will be sure to have some come through their windshields and spear them. I’m sure when the word gets out about the sudden and tragic deaths traffic will be minimal.

[bendejo]

I like the moat idea, but don't like the mosquitoes. If you do decide to widen the ditch, have an Asian-quality bullshit story ready for why you're doing it, nearly anything other than the real reason will do.

I like the idea of a strong barricade bearing some sort of religious icon.

Someone once told me that in a town where he lived in Texas, there was a family that lived in a corner house and would regularly get people having accidents crashing into their property. The owner wanted to put up a wall, but walled property was not permitted in this town. The fellow put up a goodly-sized shrine to the Virgin Mary, the core of which was steel beams, but you couldn't see them, as the shrine was brick. The BVM has been protecting the house ever since, and if anyone has anything to say about it, then it becomes a religious issue. Pretty smooth planning IMO.

I don't know how much respect spirit houses get, as I've seen them dumped in garbage heaps; I would have thought that out of respect they would be burned when de-commissioned. Come up with something that, if one were to destroy it it, it would bring bad luck upon them and theirs. I would think that would get their attention.

If you put up a strong rampart and someone rams into it and gets severely injured or killed, the locals may blame you for the misfortune. If that rampant was a large, stone Buddha, for example, then the accident would be god's will.

Ah, religion!

[jubby]

Had a few more incidents, but no damage. Traffic seems to be getting heavier. Two days ago one etan mushrooming with corn and about ten people sat on top stalled at the top of the hill. One jumped off quite calmly and the others just sat there . He put a chock under one wheel which didn't hold , so down it came, they all jumped off except for the driver, it came snaking down the hill from curb to curb it managed to come to rest in a large tree. That was the final straw , I had to do something.

I'm in the process of widening the existing drainage ditch and also laid some concrete water pipes vertically (9 inch diameter, by 1 metre), they are filled with re-inforced concrete and I've had 100 used tyres delivered this afternoon to make them more pedestrian freindly, 5 baht each, 10 baht with the delivery. Doesn't look pretty but should keep most vehicles at bay.

Thanks for all your advice ;-)

[apetley]

Had a few more incidents, but no damage. Traffic seems to be getting heavier. Two days ago one etan mushrooming with corn and about ten people sat on top stalled at the top of the hill. One jumped off quite calmly and the others just sat there . He put a chock under one wheel which didn't hold , so down it came, they all jumped off except for the driver, it came snaking down the hill from curb to curb it managed to come to rest in a large tree. That was the final straw , I had to do something.

I'm in the process of widening the existing drainage ditch and also laid some concrete water pipes vertically (9 inch diameter, by 1 metre), they are filled with re-inforced concrete and I've had 100 used tyres delivered this afternoon to make them more pedestrian freindly, 5 baht each, 10 baht with the delivery. Doesn't look pretty but should keep most vehicles at bay.

Thanks for all your advice ;-)

Couple of pics would be good.

[roygsd]

I suggest adding some rebar to your existing wall. Add it where it points out horizontally towards the oncoming vehicles at about 4 feet or so in height. So that when they come crashing they will be sure to have some come through their windshields and spear them. I’m sure when the word gets out about the sudden and tragic deaths traffic will be minimal.

Ding Dong,

Your comments above confirm it is appropriate for you to be known henceforth as Ting-Tong

roy gsd

[Chang_paarp]

Every time it happens take a bunch of photos of the damage and as many of the drivers/passengers that hang around. See what happens.

Next step is to send a copy of the photos and an invoice for the repairs to the Oh Bor Tor as it is their road that is causing the problem. Ask them to politely to recover the money from the owners if they wish, but their changing of the road has caused you some financial problems.

It cannot be the fault of the vehicle drivers as they are just poor farmers, who would not use the road if the Oh Bor Tor (sub district office) had not altered the road condition. Remember it is the fault of the road not any individual, however as the owner of the road it is up to the Oh Bor Tor fix the problems the road causes, a little like the stray kwai that gets out of the paddock and runs into a car or truck damaging it.

When they stop laughing try the same thing at the district office.

[jubby]

We went to the 'or bor tor' last week. Just a few office girls hanging around doing sweet F.A. My wife stood in the Hall talking to them, until I insisted we sit down in an office. Nice Huge new building, no officers around. I was thinking maybe they were at home or having a masssage or something other than what they are supposed to be doing. It did look like they had recently had a party. Later found out that they weren't sure who the 'or bor tor' was because the recent election of said person had been flawed ;-) I won't mention the C word. but I guess your as surprised as I (NOT !) ;-)

The Village has two newly elected 'or bor tor' helper types also, they didn't seem to know when they start and they are related by marriage to our village Headman. Decided we were wasting our time.

We Spent the money we would normally have spent on various village sponsorship requests on the wall defences instead.

I'm learning....

As for Photo's , I'll take some when its finished. I've got lots of Video of crashed farm vehicles but wasn't quick enough to get any real action footage. The Video is spoilt by some Farang shouting and swearing in frustration. ;-)

[Cuban]

....great thread, good writing.

I was sitting on the upcountry 'estate' last weekend, watching the dogs play in our and neighouring rice fields contemplating the setting sun and the path the village road takes past the entrance to the plot, this thread was partly in mind when a motorbike alone on the road appeared to weave, stumble and then slide off the road into a futher rice field at speed. The driver banged his head a little (some blood) but felt not a thing as he was pissed having spent the day drinking with a relative in the village.

He was lucky to choose to crash on that side of the road rather than go through the barbed wire on the other side.

I think a video camera over looking the area of interest to me might earn some money from the various TV programmes that screen such clips.