Lao Girl Cut In Half By Fleeing Stolen Porsche: Thai Police

[naiharn]

The sad thing about all of this is, Thailand is no worse on this front that the so-called enlightened 'west'.

Last week an Afgan refugee to Melbourne (in Australia for the geographically challenged) was mowed down a young 20-something year old hoon who was drag racing along an outer eastern suburbs thoroughfare.

The most he has been charged for is culpable driving.

http://www.heraldsun...x-1226023492407

One of the drivers nicked off for a few days before turning himself in and was released on bail a few days later.

For the death of a person, he most likely will be given a relative slap on the wrist when all is said and done. Is it fair to the victims family? Of course not, but it strikes me as when all is said and done, for whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

So you are basing your proof that the 'enlightened west' gets these matters just as wrong as Thailand, on the basis of an incident that hasn't been decided yet? Interesting logic!

How about comparing a real incident that has been through the courts and decided in Australia, one not completely dissimilar to the Porsche speedster:

Sydney, Australia: 2 street-racing hoons kill 2 people. Both received jail sentences. At least one was denied bail:

http://www.carkb.com...tective-custody

http://newnation.tv/...ad.php?t=137297

One of these hoons was sentenced to a minimum period of 6 years in jail, with a a maximum of 9 years.

Thanks for the links.

I think you make my point however.

I don't see how I made your point at all!

You quoted a case, that hasn't been tried in any court in Australia, that may or may not result in a jail sentence, and use that to argue that countries in the West are no different to Thailand where hi-so people can get away with, sometimes literally, with murder!

I mentioned that whatever happens, in both places, there will be a 'relative slap on the wrist'. That is all I was trying to say.

In both countries, the outcomes, to my judgement, will be/have been, woefully inadequate.

Your post, to me anyway, just re-enforces it. This Thai kid may or may not have to serve some time. If he does, it will be minimal.

The Australian cases you provide - well to me 6 to 9 years for basically causing TWO deaths (and I'd call it an intentional death if you are hooning) is getting off light. For me, you might as well go out in the street and randomly fire a gun. You'll eventually hit someone, a bit like hooning will 'eventually' cause someones death.

If you think that 9 years in prison is a 'slap on the wrist' than I don't see how I can engage in constructive discussion with you.

I'm sure I could come up with other cases of culpable drivers, who were not outright hooning, in Australia receiving custodial sentences, but I fear it would be a waste of time delivering facts and logic to you.

[samran]

If you think that 9 years in prison is a 'slap on the wrist' than I don't see how I can engage in constructive discussion with you.

I actually do understand your points - I might be comparing apples with oranges, so we'll just wait and see how this (yet to be tried) case pans out.

The rest of it, is just comes down to our own subjective opinions on what is an adequate sentence. I'm very familiar with studies which show that peoples perspective of what is deemed 'reasonable' regarding sentences changes when they actually become familiar with the case and circumstances surrounding those cases.

Having said that - A custodial sentence of 3 to 4 years per life taken? Come on - is that all a persons life is worth? Seriously? It might as well be nothing (as this Thai speedracer is likely to get).

[Phil Conners]

I bet many of the people who are making vitroilic comments about this are happy to be able to pay off the coppers 200baht for traffic infringements, they themselves do not particularly adhere to speed limits and consider themselves 'safe drivers' when they do speed cause for some magic reason their overseas license means they are 'better trained'.

Actually it is not magic when an overseas license means they are better trained. In my country (Europe) you minimally have to sit in for 26 theory lessons (about 2 hours each), 8 driving lessons on a driving track as well as 16 driving lessons on the road, followed by very difficult theoretic and pratical tests. Even with all that training many people fail their first tests.

I did the tests here as well. No training required. A quick multi choice questionnaire that I got wrong first, and was helped to complete by the supervisor followed by 10 minutes around a closed track with the examiner busy chatting with his friends back at the starting line.

[naiharn]

If you think that 9 years in prison is a 'slap on the wrist' than I don't see how I can engage in constructive discussion with you.

I actually do understand your points - I might be comparing apples with oranges, so we'll just wait and see how this (yet to be tried) case pans out.

The rest of it, is just comes down to our own subjective opinions on what is an adequate sentence. I'm very familiar with studies which show that peoples perspective of what is deemed 'reasonable' regarding sentences changes when they actually become familiar with the case and circumstances surrounding those cases.

Having said that - A custodial sentence of 3 to 4 years per life taken? Come on - is that all a persons life is worth? Seriously? It might as well be nothing (as this Thai speedracer is likely to get).

Well there were 2 people guilty of the 2 lives taken. So if you want to do that sort of callous arithmetic one guy received up to 9 years for the life he took. (I'm not sure what sentence the other culprit got.)

Now I happen to agree with your statement that the Porsche driver will not receive even a week's custodial sentence.

So we have a situation in the west where a guy gets 9 years for taking a life through reckless driving. And you agree that a not totally dissimilar case in Thailand will result in no jail (from past experience this is exactly what will happen). Based on that how can you pretend for a minute that the Thai system and the system in Australia (for example) are even slightly similar.

They are not.

[samran]

Well there were 2 people guilty of the 2 lives taken. So if you want to do that sort of callous arithmetic one guy received up to 9 years for the life he took. (I'm not sure what sentence the other culprit got.)

I think the other bloke died at the scene if i remember your links correctly.

Call it callous arithmetic if you want, but I'm guessing that a lot of people would feel like there is no sense of proportionality in that sentence. I'm no legal scholar (though I sense you might be!) but to me there just doesn't seem to be any type of natural justice there. I have a feeling that there are people getting more time behind bars for doing a heck of a lot less.

Now I happen to agree with your statement that the Porsche driver will not receive even a week's custodial sentence.

Glad we agree on something! 5555

So we have a situation in the west where a guy gets 9 years for taking a life through reckless driving. And you agree that a not totally dissimilar case in Thailand will result in no jail (from past experience this is exactly what will happen). Based on that how can you pretend for a minute that the Thai system and the system in Australia (for example) are even slightly similar.

They are not.

I never said the systems were the same. I've only tried to make the point that they will spit out(in my eyes, and I'm sure many others) rather inadequate results.

[naiharn]

I bet many of the people who are making vitroilic comments about this are happy to be able to pay off the coppers 200baht for traffic infringements,

Paying off coppers for traffic infringements. As in real traffic infringements? Is there a new system in place since I was last in The Kingdom? Where cops actually pull people over for doing something wrong? Not just pull up people randomly to get tea money off them?

for some magic reason their overseas license means they are 'better trained'.

Perhaps not a 'magic' reason. Do you know for example the requirements to get a licence in Sydney, Australia?

- 120 hours of supervised instruction, recorded in a logbook, including a minimum amount of night driving

- a difficult test carried on on REAL ROADS in REAL TRAFFIC, not some lunatic system of driving at 10kmh around a practice ground while the examiner looks at several cars from a distance - if he is a particularly diligent examiner

- a total of about 7 tests and about 4 years to get a full licence

- before you get a full licence, you spend a minimum of 3 years on a provisional licence, where your maximum speed is at first 90kmh, then 100kmh (not 120 kmh!)

- while on the provisional licence, you can commit only a very small number of traffic offences before you lose the licence

Not same same at all.

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

I did the tests here as well. No training required. A quick multi choice questionnaire that I got wrong first, and was helped to complete by the supervisor followed by 10 minutes around a closed track with the examiner busy chatting with his friends back at the starting line.

I just showed my UK license and UK IDP and had to do only the colour blindness test, which I cannot fathom has any relevance to driving, unless sometimes they put the red light at the bottom and the green one at the top.

Edited March 28, 2011 by JetsetBkk

[naiharn]

Call it callous arithmetic if you want, but I'm guessing that a lot of people would feel like there is no sense of proportionality in that sentence. I'm no legal scholar (though I sense you might be!) but to me there just doesn't seem to be any type of natural justice there.

Well I personally feel that 9 years is a severe sentence. It is a big chunk out of anyone's life. It will still afford the culprit the chance to rebuild his life and possibly become a useful member of society after his release, but 9 years in the slammer is not a walk in the park.

So we have a situation in the west where a guy gets 9 years for taking a life through reckless driving. And you agree that a not totally dissimilar case in Thailand will result in no jail (from past experience this is exactly what will happen). Based on that how can you pretend for a minute that the Thai system and the system in Australia (for example) are even slightly similar.

They are not.

I never said the systems were the same. I've only tried to make the point that they will spit out(in my eyes, and I'm sure many others) rather inadequate results.

Didn't you? Well, I seem to remember you pretty well did:

The sad thing about all of this is, Thailand is no worse on this front that the so-called enlightened 'west'.

...

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

[samran]

I bet many of the people who are making vitroilic comments about this are happy to be able to pay off the coppers 200baht for traffic infringements,

Paying off coppers for traffic infringements. As in real traffic infringements? Is there a new system in place since I was last in The Kingdom? Where cops actually pull people over for doing something wrong? Not just pull up people randomly to get tea money off them?

for some magic reason their overseas license means they are 'better trained'.

Perhaps not a 'magic' reason. Do you know for example the requirements to get a licence in Sydney, Australia?

- 120 hours of supervised instruction, recorded in a logbook, including a minimum amount of night driving

- a difficult test carried on on REAL ROADS in REAL TRAFFIC, not some lunatic system of driving at 10kmh around a practice ground while the examiner looks at several cars from a distance - if he is a particularly diligent examiner

- a total of about 7 tests and about 4 years to get a full licence

- before you get a full licence, you spend a minimum of 3 years on a provisional licence, where your maximum speed is at first 90kmh, then 100kmh (not 120 kmh!)

- while on the provisional licence, you can commit only a very small number of traffic offences before you lose the licence

Not same same at all.

Perhaps I should have said 'because they have an overseas license people think they are better trained to drive like a maniac'. And yes, TV punters, I'm sure most of them, know that they are doing wrong (or think they are more qualified to do so) and are happy to be able to pay some tea money when caught.

As for traffic infringements - I concluded after near a decade and a half experience in Thailand on Thai roads (taking my car from Laos all the way to Malaysia and then to other corners of the country)I think that I genuinely live in a different Thailand to most posters on TV. The only times I have been pulled over (all three of them) was actually breaking the rules - and I never slipped a copper anything, paying the fine down the cop shop at a later time.

So what comments you going to pick apart next?

[samran]

I never said the systems were the same. I've only tried to make the point that they will spit out(in my eyes, and I'm sure many others) rather inadequate results.

Didn't you? Well, I seem to remember you pretty well did:

The sad thing about all of this is, Thailand is no worse on this front that the so-called enlightened 'west'.

...

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

I think you are clutching a straws on that last one.

Thailand is no worse, or better, at handing out inadequate sentences, if you really want me to spell it out for you.

[naiharn]

I bet many of the people who are making vitroilic comments about this are happy to be able to pay off the coppers 200baht for traffic infringements,

Paying off coppers for traffic infringements. As in real traffic infringements? Is there a new system in place since I was last in The Kingdom? Where cops actually pull people over for doing something wrong? Not just pull up people randomly to get tea money off them?

for some magic reason their overseas license means they are 'better trained'.

Perhaps not a 'magic' reason. Do you know for example the requirements to get a licence in Sydney, Australia?

- 120 hours of supervised instruction, recorded in a logbook, including a minimum amount of night driving

- a difficult test carried on on REAL ROADS in REAL TRAFFIC, not some lunatic system of driving at 10kmh around a practice ground while the examiner looks at several cars from a distance - if he is a particularly diligent examiner

- a total of about 7 tests and about 4 years to get a full licence

- before you get a full licence, you spend a minimum of 3 years on a provisional licence, where your maximum speed is at first 90kmh, then 100kmh (not 120 kmh!)

- while on the provisional licence, you can commit only a very small number of traffic offences before you lose the licence

Not same same at all.

Perhaps I should have said 'because they have an overseas license people think they are better trained to drive like a maniac'.

No you should have just left it at: "by and large, drivers with licences from western countries are more highly trained (and more severely examined) than Thais."

As to whether they use that higher training to drive like a maniac, I'm not qualified to judge. They could hardly be more maniacal than many Thai drivers I've seen. Especially Thai bus and minivan drivers.

[Buchholz]

The Thai press help to isolate him and show more of him...

Khao Sod newspaper (article in Thai)

http://www.khaosod.c...HdNeTB5T0E9PQ==

He looks about 12

not looking any older in the latest photo...

Porsche Driver Turns Himself In

The driver of a brand-new Porsche who slammed into a 17 year-old girl from Laos turned himself in to police yesterday. The driver of a red-plated Porsche, Peerapol Thaksinthaweesap, who slammed into 17 year-old Kambai Inthilat, surrendered to the Pathum Thani police yesterday.

The accident happened on Friday. The driver said he was traveling at 120 kilometers per hour when the girl ran in front of his car. He claimed there was a bus in the left lane so he could not see that the girl was about to cross the road.

Peerapol said he was in shock as the impact decapitated the girl's body. The lower half of her body flew out the back windshield and landed in a ditch in the middle of the road but the upper half of her torso remained in the car.

He claimed he did not know what to do, so he drove on and then abandoned his car and took a taxi home.

The driver said he went to the hospital after the accident as he was hit hard in the chest by the air bag.

He claimed he did not try to escape, and that his insurance company has been trying to contact the family of the dead girl. Peerapol promised to take full responsibility for his action. The police have charged him with reckless driving causing death. Police have approved bail for him, as he turned himself in.

-- Tan Network 2011-03-28

Edited March 28, 2011 by Buchholz

[Crushdepth]

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

I really don't think so. Flee the scene of a fatal accident in Australia you will not be treated gently. You certainly won't be given the opportunity to 'look after the victims family' (aka pay them off with a few hundred bucks) and walk away from it.

Did the hiso kid (Ms Thailand's son) who deliberately ran his mercedes into a bus stop full of people go to jail? What about the underaged and unlicensed girl (daughter of police) who caused the multiple-fatality minivan crash near Kaset a few months ago?

This kid will walk.

[naiharn]

I never said the systems were the same. I've only tried to make the point that they will spit out(in my eyes, and I'm sure many others) rather inadequate results.

Didn't you? Well, I seem to remember you pretty well did:

The sad thing about all of this is, Thailand is no worse on this front that the so-called enlightened 'west'.

...

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

I think you are clutching a straws on that last one.

Thailand is no worse, or better, at handing out inadequate sentences, if you really want me to spell it out for you.

Oh, I'm completely aware at how good Thailand is at handing out both very inadequate and very very severe sentences. You would have no trouble digging up a case of some poor Thai who got 9 years for a trivial offence.

Trouble is the sentences bear little correlation to the severity of the crime or the guilt of the defendant. Only on the defendant's status, wealth and privilege.

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

Peerapol said he was in shock as the impact decapitated the girl's body. The lower half of her body flew out the back windshield and landed in a ditch in the middle of the road but the upper half of her torso remained in the car.

<snip>

tan 2011-03-28

So Peerapol said that the lower half went out the back windshield? Difficult to believe that's what happened.

[JetsetBkk]

<snip>

Trouble is the sentences bear little correlation to the severity of the crime or the guilt of the defendant. Only on the defendant's status, wealth and privilege.

Remember O.J. Simpson?

[samran]

Oh, I'm completely aware at how good Thailand is at handing out both very inadequate and very very severe sentences. You would have no trouble digging up a case of some poor Thai who got 9 years for a trivial offence.

Trouble is the sentences bear little correlation to the severity of the crime or the guilt of the defendant. Only on the defendant's status, wealth and privilege.

Yes, so then justice is blind in the west, money doesn't buy good representation, and generally, more favourable verdicts? Prosecutors and politicians are immune to lynch-mob mentalities and the poor aren't over represented in our prisons?

As the T-shirt says: "Same same but different".

Edited March 28, 2011 by samran

[Wallaby]

Well if I remember correctly OJ wasn't found guilty.

We are talking about people that are actually guilty of the offences. Seems that in Thailand if you are poor then you do the time. If you are rich, you just do the pay off.

Try paying someone off in the US/UK/OZ and see what happens, perhaps another charge added to the list.

I recall reading an article about some scandinavian country where your fine for a traffic offence, such as speeding, is relative to your wage. I like that idea. So if this young man's family are quite rich I would expect a hell of a lot of money to go to the poor girl's family.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Wallaby

[canuckamuck]

<snip>

Peerapol said he was in shock as the impact decapitated the girl's body. The lower half of her body flew out the back windshield and landed in a ditch in the middle of the road but the upper half of her torso remained in the car.

<snip>

tan 2011-03-28

So Peerapol said that the lower half went out the back windshield? Difficult to believe that's what happened.

Seems unlikely, and I doubt the kid saw anything once the windshield shattered, his eyes would have been closed.

I think the back window simply blew out because of the pressure of the impact.

[Buchholz]

<snip>

Peerapol said he was in shock as the impact decapitated the girl's body. The lower half of her body flew out the back windshield and landed in a ditch in the middle of the road but the upper half of her torso remained in the car.

<snip>

tan 2011-03-28

So Peerapol said that the lower half went out the back windshield? Difficult to believe that's what happened.

Seems unlikely, and I doubt the kid saw anything once the windshield shattered, his eyes would have been closed.

I think the back window simply blew out because of the pressure of the impact.

Further doubt is from the photos of the lower half of her body which look relatively undamaged. One would expect much more damage to it from crashing through a rear window AND bouncing along the road afterwards from a car going at least 120 kph.

.

Edited March 28, 2011 by Buchholz

[Payboy]

Also, in what part of Thailand is it dark at 2:30pm?

Umm, the pubs where we gather to speculate?

[transam]

<snip>

Peerapol said he was in shock as the impact decapitated the girl's body. The lower half of her body flew out the back windshield and landed in a ditch in the middle of the road but the upper half of her torso remained in the car.

<snip>

tan 2011-03-28

So Peerapol said that the lower half went out the back windshield? Difficult to believe that's what happened.

Seems unlikely, and I doubt the kid saw anything once the windshield shattered, his eyes would have been closed.

I think the back window simply blew out because of the pressure of the impact.

Further doubt is from the photos of the lower half of her body which look relatively undamaged. One would expect much more damage to it from crashing through a rear window AND bouncing along the road afterwards from a car going at least 120 kph.

.

Yep, went over the top as the stains on the roof show when the cut was made. BUT, it's academic now.

I do wonder if there will be a twist to this story if he is in fact younger than stated. Looks younger to me.

[ratcatcher]

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

I really don't think so. Flee the scene of a fatal accident in Australia you will not be treated gently. You certainly won't be given the opportunity to 'look after the victims family' (aka pay them off with a few hundred bucks) and walk away from it.

Did the hiso kid (Ms Thailand's son) who deliberately ran his mercedes into a bus stop full of people go to jail? What about the underaged and unlicensed girl (daughter of police) who caused the multiple-fatality minivan crash near Kaset a few months ago?

This kid will walk.

With not knowing exactly what the young Porsche driver was thinking at the time of impact, I am inclined to think that he realized that if he stopped 100 yards up the road, the onlookers that eventually gathered might well have taken the law into their own hands and then we'd have had 2 dead. This is why bus crash drivers "flee the scene"

Looking at his picture above, one can almost feel some sympathy for this young fool. He will carry this memory forever.

The other thing that gets people angry is the attitude of the owners. Rather than utter sympathetic cries to the mother of the victim, these parents are probably running around trying to find ways to make sure that their little lad continues his studies at Rangsit University unhindered by inconvenient jail time. A little humility and remorse might be appropriate. They should be forced to pay at least 1 million compensation.

Over to you.

[richard_smith237]

I wonder if police have interviewed the driver of the bus that hindered his view.

Are you being "cryptic"? - what are you implying? perhaps you could clarify?

The driver has stated that a bus hindered his view. What Wallaby has asked is "have the police interviewed the bus driver?".

Maybe he's suggesting that if the bus was parked in a wrong place obstructing the view of other drivers then this is contributing to this dreadful mess. And in some countries the law is based, in some matters, on shared respsonsibility.

Now I'm not suggesting that the young driver here should be punished less severely because the bus was parked wrongly (if it was), the bottom line is that all drivers (and the written law in this country is in fact the same) have a 'duty of care'. If the view was obstructed the driver should have slowed down and proceeded with caution.

I understand your point here, however if we were to slow down to what may be determined as non-lethal speed each and every time we passed a lorry, bus or any vehicle which may impede our vision the congestion in the city centers would become significantly more horrific than it's current state and we'd never get anywhere. I can't stop or slow down to 10kph each time I pass one of the many busses on Bangkok streets on the off-chance someone might negate to remember they are on a main road which if they attempt to cross without looking would likely result in serious injury.

Each and every time we pass a vehicle its impossible to tell whether or not something is going to jump out from in front of it. However common sense and appropriate speeds should also be exercised - 30 kph can be lethal speed however, so where do we draw the line?.

If we want absolute safety for pedestrians the only measure would be to take them off the roads. Roads are for cars, crossing a road places us in danger of being hit by cars.

Crossing the Road is dangerous and often fatal when people don't look. I'd suggest that the onus of responsibility is on the pedestrian more-so than the drivers more out of self preservation than anything else.

But in a country where motorbikes drive down pavements, people walk down the roads at night without so much as a light etc there is one thing which is always missing....

ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION (For drivers and Pedestrians).

Edited March 28, 2011 by richard_smith237

[whybother]

I understand your point here, however if we were to slow down to what may be determined as non-lethal speed each and every time we passed a lorry, bus or any vehicle which may impede our vision the congestion in the city centers would become significantly more horrific than it's current state and we'd never get anywhere. I can't stop or slow down to 10kph each time I pass one of the many busses on Bangkok streets on the off-chance someone might negate to remember they are on a main road which if they attempt to cross without looking would likely result in serious injury.

Each and every time we pass a vehicle its impossible to tell whether or not something is going to jump out from in front of it. However common sense and appropriate speeds should also be exercised - 30 kph can be lethal speed however, so where do we draw the line?.

If we want absolute safety for pedestrians the only measure would be to take them off the roads. Roads are for cars, crossing a road places us in danger of being hit by cars.

Crossing the Road is dangerous and often fatal when people don't look. I'd suggest that the onus of responsibility is on the pedestrian morose than the drivers more out of self preservation than anything else.

But in a country where motorbikes drive down pavements, people walk down the roads at night without so much as a light etc there is one thing which is always missing....

ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION (For drivers and Pedestrians).

He was claiming it was a stopped bus. No one should be passing a stopped bus in a built up area at 120 kph.

[ginjag]

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

I really don't think so. Flee the scene of a fatal accident in Australia you will not be treated gently. You certainly won't be given the opportunity to 'look after the victims family' (aka pay them off with a few hundred bucks) and walk away from it.

Did the hiso kid (Ms Thailand's son) who deliberately ran his mercedes into a bus stop full of people go to jail? What about the underaged and unlicensed girl (daughter of police) who caused the multiple-fatality minivan crash near Kaset a few months ago?

This kid will walk.

With not knowing exactly what the young Porsche driver was thinking at the time of impact, I am inclined to think that he realized that if he stopped 100 yards up the road, the onlookers that eventually gathered might well have taken the law into their own hands and then we'd have had 2 dead. This is why bus crash drivers "flee the scene"

Looking at his picture above, one can almost feel some sympathy for this young fool. He will carry this memory forever.

The other thing that gets people angry is the attitude of the owners. Rather than utter sympathetic cries to the mother of the victim, these parents are probably running around trying to find ways to make sure that their little lad continues his studies at Rangsit University unhindered by inconvenient jail time. A little humility and remorse might be appropriate. They should be forced to pay at least 1 million compensation.

Over to you.

A million---A million WHAT baht---20 thousand miserly quid sterling..you are joking-- I remember the token paid by the girls mother in the tollway incident. and what the uni boy's mother said at the funeral, ''I don't have my boy's company anymore for dinner with me--you have your daughter with you still''

[TJH]

I'd have a small wager that judging by his mug shot, that he's closer to 16 (or below) than 19 as reported earlier. Let's see!

[transam]

I understand your point here, however if we were to slow down to what may be determined as non-lethal speed each and every time we passed a lorry, bus or any vehicle which may impede our vision the congestion in the city centers would become significantly more horrific than it's current state and we'd never get anywhere. I can't stop or slow down to 10kph each time I pass one of the many busses on Bangkok streets on the off-chance someone might negate to remember they are on a main road which if they attempt to cross without looking would likely result in serious injury.

Each and every time we pass a vehicle its impossible to tell whether or not something is going to jump out from in front of it. However common sense and appropriate speeds should also be exercised - 30 kph can be lethal speed however, so where do we draw the line?.

If we want absolute safety for pedestrians the only measure would be to take them off the roads. Roads are for cars, crossing a road places us in danger of being hit by cars.

Crossing the Road is dangerous and often fatal when people don't look. I'd suggest that the onus of responsibility is on the pedestrian morose than the drivers more out of self preservation than anything else.

But in a country where motorbikes drive down pavements, people walk down the roads at night without so much as a light etc there is one thing which is always missing....

ROAD SAFETY EDUCATION (For drivers and Pedestrians).

He was claiming it was a stopped bus. No one should be passing a stopped bus in a built up area at 120 kph.

Sorry to say but if l was a young lad and given the keys to a '' race '' car, l probably would be doing 120km/h, common sense doesn't come into it at that age, thats why in farang land it's near impossible to get insurance for this type of ride if your a teenager.

[StateSix]

The driver said he was travelling at 120 kilometers per hour when the girl ran in front of his car.

He claimed there was a bus in the left lane so he could not see that the girl was about to cross the road.

Even IF he was "only" doing 120, if he's traveling that fast in the furthest left lane possible (just to the right of a stopped bus), it was a catastrophic accident waiting to happen.

He's doing 120 and he's not even in the far right "speed lane"???

I echo the comment earlier about the bus driver and bus passengers (if, in fact, there even was a bus there as claimed) needing to being questioned.

Their testimony will be critical.

.

There is no such thing as a "speed lane". The max speed limit applies to all lanes. The outside lane is for overtaking. If the inside lanes are clear, then you should be travelling in them.

If you are travelling in the inside lane then you should be paying attention to the road ahead and anticipating people potentially stepping out into the road. In reality it is easy to miss this and no-one here can honestly say that that this could not have happenend to them (a long glance in the rear view, another car overtaking you at speed taking your eyes off teh road ahead, changing a radio station etc). Even at half the speed limit (which I assume is 120kph based on what the driver claimed) there would still be a high chance of a fatality.

It should be fairly easy to get a estimate of the speed of the vehicle at the time, based on skid marks, damage to the victim, how far the lower torso was thrown etc. This will then give a better indication of whether it was death by dangerous driving, driving without due care and attention or a tragic accident based on a mistake by the victim. For the dangerous driving you would be looking at excess speed or a wilful disregard of basic road safety rules (eg dangerous overtaking, using a phone etc). Without due care would be where he was driving at or under the speed limit and simply wasn't paying enough attention to the road ahead. For this there would be evidence that the driver saw the victim, albeit late and took, or attempted to take, avoiding action, such as skid marks showing swerving, impact dameage. The third possibility is that the victim stepped out in front of him and there was no way to avoid. This could have happened if the victim was distracted for whatever reason and instinctively looked left rather than right before crossing, as she would do in Laos. If there was a bus/other vehicle in the inside left lane, then its possible that the victim looked down the road, saw only the bus (as the Porsche overtaking it was obscured) and attempted to run across the road. I believe the lower torso was found in the central ditch which makes me think she was at leat half way across the road at impact.

Without looking at the scene and the layout of the area, it is impossible for any of us to say with any certainty.

Can anyone with anyone sort of professional experience say if the damage to the body could have been caused at sub 120kph speed? My limited experience in traffic collisions is yes, but someone else may differ. How far the lower torso was thrown may be a better indicator of speed.

The problem with a bus being in the inside lane obscuring his view is that the bus driver and passengers would surely have seen the accident and come forward by now, or more likely have remained at the scene.

[softgeorge]

whatever reason, the Thai and Australian legal systems will arrive at a fairly similar outcome, right or wrong.

I really don't think so. Flee the scene of a fatal accident in Australia you will not be treated gently. You certainly won't be given the opportunity to 'look after the victims family' (aka pay them off with a few hundred bucks) and walk away from it.

Did the hiso kid (Ms Thailand's son) who deliberately ran his mercedes into a bus stop full of people go to jail? What about the underaged and unlicensed girl (daughter of police) who caused the multiple-fatality minivan crash near Kaset a few months ago?

This kid will walk.

I have to agree. Putting Thailand and Australia on level field is riduculous. In Australia for a start this kid would not be allowed to drive such a vehicle. Vehicle restrictions apply depending on licence status and this kid would not have been the holder of a full licence.

He would have been immeadiately charged with culpable driving (20 yrs imprisonment max), Fail to stop at a collision scene, poss fail to report a collision, drive in breach of licence conditions just to name a few. regardless of if he was Hiso or the man who pumps turds from a toilet he would be treated the same as everyone else. He would be looking at a minimum of at least 7yrs imprisonment

Yes I have charged the odd few with these particular offences...