Motorbikes: Let's Get Honest With Phuket Tourists

[george]

MOTORBIKES: Let's get honest with tourists

If bike rental companies were more honest with this

man, he'd have a better chance of leaving Phuket alive.

PHUKET: -- Apart from the obvious need to fit all taxis and tuk-tuks on the island with meters, another pressing topic emerged during this month’s meeting between Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and Phuket’s 16 honorary consuls: the need to give foreign tourists a better chance of returning home alive should they insist on renting a motorbike.

Casualty figures alone justify the need to keep inexperienced, unlicensed and often inebriated bikers off Phuket's roads. In a single day last week, six people perished in motorbike accidents on the island, most of them still in their youth. [see front page story, current issue of the Gazette. Digital subscribers click here.] http://www.phuketgazette.net/digitalgazett...urrentissue.asp

According to police statistics for January, 18 people died in Phuket in 362 accidents, 219 of them involving motorbikes. There were also 321 people injured and property damages estimated at over 2.1 million baht.

Nurses in the West refer to the two-wheeled conveyances not as motorcycles but as ‘donorcycles’ because so many of the dead are young, healthy people killed instantly from head trauma, making them perfect candidates for organ donation.

As in so many other areas regarding tourist safety in Phuket, an instant improvement could be realized by simply enforcing existing laws. Anyone operating a motorbike in Thailand is legally required to hold a valid Thai motorcycle license. Yet this law is seldom enforced – and when it is, the riders simply pay a 'fine' before driving off.

Scores of motorbike rental companies in Phuket rent out bikes to anyone foolish enough to turn over his or her passport as surety. Most of these outfits, including some run by policemen, fail to mention to tourists the requirement for a Thai license. Some, when asked, deny outright that such a requirement exists. Imagine, then, the disgust of a tourist stopped at a checkpoint and having neither the license nor the requisite passport.

Things get considerably worse for foreign visitors caught up in an accident, the blame for which is more often than not attributed to them.

The rental companies are also happy to rent out motorbikes to Thais, provided they hand over a Thai ID card. At as little as 150 baht a day, rental bikes are the vehicles of choice among criminals, who use them to carry out a range of crimes from murder to snatch-and-run operations.

As it is unlikely that the police will ever crack down on companies that hold riders’ passports or rent out bikes to people without Thai licenses, perhaps the law should be changed to allow foreign motorbike riders to ride legally in Thailand on foreign motorcycle licenses. This might at least afford some increase in the odds of the driver having the ability to operate a motorbike and basic knowledge of the risks.

An even better approach to keeping foreign tourists off motorbikes would be to provide them with the kind of safe, reasonably priced transport options so abundant in Thailand’s 75 other provinces.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-02-28

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[katabeachbum]

Foreign motorcycle riders can already ride legally in Thailand on foreign MC drivers lisence, so I find this article odd.

It helps driving on the left side of the road as most people in Thaialnd do, and remain sober to stay alive. Helmets can prevent head injuries.

I live in Kata, and see these suicide guys every day. The lack of MC drivers lisence is not a major problem, lack of common sense is.

I guess its called holdiday moode. Just like jumping out from a tower with an elastic around your foot.

ok, steem blown off

[Valentine]

Foreign motorcycle riders can already ride legally in Thailand on foreign MC drivers lisence, so I find this article odd.

It helps driving on the left side of the road as most people in Thaialnd do, and remain sober to stay alive. Helmets can prevent head injuries.

I live in Kata, and see these suicide guys every day. The lack of MC drivers lisence is not a major problem, lack of common sense is.

I guess its called holdiday moode. Just like jumping out from a tower with an elastic around your foot.

ok, steem blown off

To the proportion of people who get killed on motorbikes to the proportion that die while bungy jumping, I would venture to suggest bungy jumping is a far safer alternative.

I definitely agree that common sense is seriously lacking from many motorbike riders but so it is to those in 4 wheel vehicles who constantly speed & drive dangerously but never seem to be booked for it. I was once pulled over on the bypass road by the highway police for being over the double yellow line when overtaking. I was in the wrong but can say the outside of the car was just slightly over the line. They let me off with a warning. I have only been booked for speeding once which was on the highway past Sara Buri on the way to Korat & paid an "on the spot fine".

In recent times I constantly urge myself to drive slower & even more so after black Monday. The guy who was involved in the accident on Chao Fa West last week, in which a young male died, even if not his fault will have to live with that for the rest of his life plus the ongoing financial & legal hurdles.

[LivinginKata]

Foreign motorcycle riders can already ride legally in Thailand on foreign MC drivers lisence, so I find this article odd.

I would say that the problem is that many tourists who rent m/c DO NOT have full driving licence for a m/c in their home country, and therefore drive illegally when in Thailand.

You just have to look at the way some folks drive on the m/c, wobbling about, more looking at the bike controls than the road ahead. Then their is the 'pack' mentality where a group of tourist cluster up, often side by side, then when one sees something of interest, just stops or turns right, and they all follow the example. Also problems with those drivers used to the right side of the road driving. The young 'continental' drivers (I guess Italians) think they are the best m/c drivers in then world, and do their best to display their talents (speeding & wheelies).

It's no surprise to me that their are accidents. I'm surprised the figures are not higher.

[5yrsinth]

How about trying something odd like this...The companies that rent motos to tourists are held responsible for checking the tourists to make sure they have a moto license, like they would check if they were renting a auto. I would venture a guess that over 75% or more of toursits that rent motos, do not have a moto license. The operators of these rental agencies must be made to check for proper moto license, not an auto license for a moto?? Just walk around in Patong or Centrel and see how many foreingers have white bandages on their elbows and knees. Is this such a radical concept, maybe to advanced?

Edited March 2, 2010 by 5yrsinth

[shawndoc]

Just don't crack down on the motorbikes until there's an alternative to the Tuk Tuks.

[katabeachbum]

How about trying something odd like this...The companies that rent motos to tourists are held responsible for checking the tourists to make sure they have a moto license, like they would check if they were renting a auto. I would venture a guess that over 75% or more of toursits that rent motos, do not have a moto license. The operators of these rental agencies must be made to check for proper moto license, not an auto license for a moto?? Just walk around in Patong or Centrel and see how many foreingers have white bandages on their elbows and knees. Is this such a radical concept, maybe to advanced?

why not rather keep the foreigners responsible for their own actions?

they have accidents because they cant ride a bike or are too drunk to do so. My 3 kids all have MC lisence from Europe. Doesnt make them good riders in this traffic in holiday moode.

I am a 30+ year biker. My first week in Phuket I did not want to ride a bike. Thats more than 7 years ago. Covered more than 100.000 km on bikes after that, and ride a bike every single day. No accidents.

[petercallen]

If you had to show a genuine motorcycle license to rent a bike in Phuket there would be almost no rental bikes on the road ridden by tourists etc.

[LadyinRed]

HELMETS! HELMETS! HELMETS! The law must enforce all riders to wear good quality helmets - it's not just to prevent police for stopping you for a 'fine'.

[katabeachbum]

HELMETS! HELMETS! HELMETS! The law must enforce all riders to wear good quality helmets - it's not just to prevent police for stopping you for a 'fine'.

prefere bikers with brain and no helmet, over brainless tourists wearing helmet riding bike.

not wearing a helmet only damage yourself.

riding careless cause accidents to other people

[bangkokrick]

It's all down to lack of law enforcement, which is the norm in Thailand. If the Police enforced the laws as they should be there would be a significant reduction in motorcycle deaths. The problem is that it is not in their interest to do so because it's a good earner for them to stop, fine and let go the offenders, so that they can re offend.

Could you imagine someone riding without a helmet or doing a wheelie on a major road in the UK of US for example. They would be severely punished by law and probably banned for a lengthy period of time.

Cheers, Rick

[petercallen]

It's all down to lack of law enforcement, which is the norm in Thailand. If the Police enforced the laws as they should be there would be a significant reduction in motorcycle deaths. The problem is that it is not in their interest to do so because it's a good earner for them to stop, fine and let go the offenders, so that they can re offend.

Could you imagine someone riding without a helmet or doing a wheelie on a major road in the UK of US for example. They would be severely punished by law and probably banned for a lengthy period of time.

Cheers, Rick

Yes Rick i agree, not wearing a helmet in Australia you where fined 4500 baht and that was several years ago its probably more now, doing wheelies you are heavily fined and can have your vehicle confiscated for a period on time and if you keep doing it the police will confiscate it permanently. you have to be young and stupid to drive dangerously where i come from.

[bangkokrick]

Yes Rick i agree, not wearing a helmet in Australia you where fined 4500 baht and that was several years ago its probably more now, doing wheelies you are heavily fined and can have your vehicle confiscated for a period on time and if you keep doing it the police will confiscate it permanently. you have to be young and stupid to drive dangerously where i come from.

Yes and I know that the laws are equally enforced in OZ because you have nothing like the number of road deaths than that of Thailand. Can you imagine a Western country and I will include OZ in the list if you don't mind, allowing 800/900 deaths in 4 days of the New Year (Songkran). Most of which are road traffic accidents and are avoidable?

We just see the same carnage year after year here in Thailand. It kinda takes the edge of it for me.

Cheers, Rick

[KTD]

Is there any consequences at all for the scooter rental shop owner if a tourist dies on one of his bikes? just wondering.

In all the news headlines about bike deaths it is the same story almost every time. No helmet, to fast, driving at night. I would think there has to be

some way to educate these people coming here a little so they know how easy it is to end up going home in a bag, maybe through shop owners.

and I agree a bike license from your home country should be at least the minimum.