Young Brit Dies In Phuket Motorbike Smash

[Samuian]

Booze and bikes are a dangerous combination. Riding without a helmet only compounds the danger. I used to do all of that when I was this kids age. I was lucky and survived but a number of friends were not.

Thailand could really benefit from a national motorcycle safety campaign. I know, wishful thinking...

Make it a general Traffic/Road awareness campaign and we're getting closer!

RIP!

[TGM]

dont drink and drive...police go anal during sonkran about this...why not throughout the whole year?

and yes...he may rest in peace!

[12DrinkMore]

Thailand could really benefit from a national motorcycle safety campaign. I know, wishful thinking...

They have these campaigns. Nobody listens.

In the last THREE months FOUR friends have decided to get drunk, not wear a helmet, shorts, T-shirts and ride home. Two delivered unconscious into hospital, another with broken arm, the fourth with severe bruising and scrapes. There were NO other vehicles involved. Luckily all survived, AND THEY STILL CARRY ON doing EXACTLY the same. Just a big laugh, they reckon.

It is total and utter STUPIDITY. But they are responsible for their own lives, and, being Farang, know EXACTLY how dangerous riding a bike is when pissed. There are enough campaigns and the penalties are very severe in Farangland. Just because they can do it here and get away with, THEY IGNORE the dangers.

BUT I have a GREAT sympathy for the paramedics, doctors, nurses, police and passers-by, who have to see and deal with the horrible messes of blood, bones, brains and guts spilled out onto the streets. Day after day.

IF YOU RIDE A BIKE DON'T DRINK AND ALWAYS WEAR PROTECTION.

[12DrinkMore]

Thai authorities don`t care about a few hundred killed in the traffic every year.They show this very clear.In the developed world there is a lot of rules made effective to protect life.In Thailand they don`t even consider any rules.A simple but effective rule is to always use lights when driving.The government would probably make a lot of money if they effected such a rule.A small fine for everybody driving without lights would bring in a shitload of money the first year.But they don`t care.

It's possibly a lot more than a few hundred. And they do care. They have campaigns, there are rules and there are laws already in place.

Every new motorcycle sold now has the lights permanently switched on, you cannot switch them off.

It is not a problem of the law, I don't even think it is an issue of policing, it is an issue of people not taking individual responsibility. And I believe that if that is how people think, then they should be allowed to kill themselves.

BUT for me the big issue is the innocent victims, and here I think that life sentences and even capital punishment should be dealt out to any drunk driver/rider who kills/maims another.

[Phuket_Brad]

SO YOUNG and yes RIP and sorry for his family and friends for sure!

I teacher is meant to SET EXAMPLES hope this is not his and other teachers examples.

Riding a motorcycle even without drinking and with helmet is a no win proposition!

Riding a motorcycle and drinking is a death plan!

SO SAD yet it happens so much in Phuket and Thailand.

Part of the human "It wont happen to me" psychic.

[BigSnake]

Sad, what a price to pay for a few of drinks, RIP

[robanywhere]

LivingLOS has a very good point though- if there was some reasonably priced public transport on the island this kind of tragedy wouldn't happen anywhere near as often. The tuk-tuk mafia have a lot to answer for.

Choosing to ride at night after a night on the town is really encouraged by the poor transportation in Phuket.

In comparison to Phuket, one of the great things about Cancun is that there are free shuttle buses (recycled RTD buses from LA) that run the whole 15 km length of the beach road.

In Phuket, the problem is that the public buses run between the beach towns and Phuket Town, NOT in between the beach towns, and they end early at night.

Even Pattaya has the songteows that run between Pattaya and Jomtien for about B20 pp, all night long... but I guess the tuktuk mafia doesn't want to let songtheows cut into their lucrative inter-beach routes...

Although I usually rent a car, what also gripes me is at Phuket Airport, where the private transportation stand charges 2X than walking 50m to the metered taxi queue booth. Another major ripoff by the Pearl of the Andaman....

Phuket is really tourist unfriendly and a major ripoff when it comes to transportation.

Edited May 24, 2009 by robanywhere

[neryse]

as a close family friend of philips family and without stating the obvious this tragedy has left a hole that nothing can fill

so before posting hurtful comments please remember this is someones son brother uncle nephew grandson cousin and has many many

friends.

R I P

[Boater]

Now that is an excellent comment. Any responsible person /friend should have stopped him. Even the bar owner could have done this.

This young man not only got killed, he could have caused an accident involving innocent bystanders. His friends should be ashamed

all well and true, but how many people do you see drink and drive? ... it is all around you in thailand

[YaiJung]

Very sad and frightening to hear about all the people losing their lives on the road lately. The public transport situation in Phuket is truly shameful and goes to show that the local government doesn't give a rat's a$$ about anything other than money. Not only farang, but also Thais die on a daily basis on the island, yet the despicable tuktuk mafia is still allowed to control public transport.

Recently I found myself in a situation where I was without a car for several months and forced to ride a motorbike or walk....no way can I afford to pay several thousand baht per day in tuktuk fares, which is what it would cost me if i used them for transport. Walking is out as well since there are no sidewalks(where there are they are rented out to vendors selling stuff therefor making them unusable) and pedestrians are forced to walk on the side of the road(even more dangerous than riding a motorbike in my opinion). Also no way would I take a motorbike taxi since they are most likely high as kite on meth or drunk as a skunk on booze. So I used a motorbike and had near-death experiences every time I left the house. Honestly it wears on my nerves and makes Phuket a much less desirable place to live, IMHO. I would truly welcome a reasonable public transport and I know just about everyone on the island would as well, especially local Thais, who earn very little and have no hope of owning a car.

Truly pathetic for the "Pearl of the Andaman" to show such a disregard for human life. All it would take is a simple songthaew or baht bus situation like in Pattaya and many lives would be spared. Yeah, maybe the lowlife, useless, 'extra' male members of the family will actually have to work instead of gouging tourists, but such is life. The government officers in charge are complete scumbags who are greedy beyond comprehension.

SHame, Shame, Shame on the phuket police and government for allowing the lowlife tuktuks to have so much power. One day maybe they will grow some balls and put a stop to this insanity. Sadly, I have a feeling hel_l will freeze over first.

PLease don't drink and drive!! If you do, you are just adding to the problem and being just as selfish as the others who make life so dangerous on the island.

[robertob]

Unfortunately I read some comments with full of lack of knowledge. That Wednesday night I was at Roxy. After quiz night we played pool games together with Phil. His best friends were there as well. I left the bar around midnight and he was absolutely sober. After the accident happened whoever I talked which stayed with him until the bar closed, were just shocked. All of them said he wasn't seem drunk at all. Even bartendee said the same and she said that he drank 5 bottles of beer total. That night it was raining heavily. And none of us don't know what exactly happened. That's why before judge his friends or whatever just think a bit for god sake. You never know what's going to happen next in this town. It was only bad combination of a rainy night, late hours, tired body, alcohol and terrible traffic of Phuket. He doesn't need your expertise and judgmental comments. If you have something nice to say for him be my guest. But please keep your harmful, imaginary and hurtful comments to yourself.

We're deeply sorry to lose a great friend. He was an angel. He didn't hurt anybody, didn't even disturb anybody. I'm sorry for people who didn't have any chance to know such a nice guy like Phil. All of his friends went to Nai Harn beach which it was his favorite beach. We cried for him, prayed for him and remembered him with his beautiful smile on his face. We will never forget you Phil. Rest in peace mate.

Edited May 26, 2009 by robertob

[BusyBee123]

so he was sober and killed himself due to rain now that is tragic

[junki3korean]

rest in peace.....condolences to all who knew him sounds like a nice guy...and would be something very hard to get over...

**sighz** so sad....