Hit & Run

[danozxfxr]

Howdy TV gang,

I'm curious about others reaction to this shit. In my newer model 4x4 on Hang Dong road yesterday I was rear ended by a very old Toyota PU. Probably had one working drum brake and was full of very over-weight Thais. I seen/heard it coming but there was no way out. I signaled to pull over & he took off. I chased him down & yelled/signalled to pull over. None of them would make eye contact & continued to race through traffic. I let it go knowing with my temper, it wouldn't be pretty. Have their make/model/color/plate #, but I think that's a waist of pen ink. Surprisingly there was only a couple little scratches on the bumper from that pretty good thump.

A month ago I had another truck racing through traffic, clip & scratch up my mirror turn signal. Caught up with him and observed the same reaction, (no eye contact/increase speed). I ran him off the road which went like clock work, but not an intelligent reaction on my part.

I've been driving and riding in this country for years but just rolled with the stupidity & chaos, rarely engaging in road rage, but always upset with the carelessness & disregard for life. I recently got a Thai drivers license and have become more aware of how they do the opposite of everything they learned in order to pass the license exam (they may or may not have anyhow).

Anyways, if one was to get into a serious hit & run gig (hypothetically your vehicle is still drivable & no serious injuries to tend to) what would be the legal, safest, proper course of action in this country? Also, I've never hit another vehicle, but if I were to, & there wasn't any injuries, why should I stop (other then my morals compelling me to)? Does the shoe fit the other foot??????????????

Thanks in advance for the insight!

[iainiain101]

Driving someone off the road hardly shows a 'regard for life'.

I would just call your insurance company, pass on the details and let them sort it.

[LivinLOS]

If you have a newer SUV, I assume your fully insured.. While it galls to let it go, in the interests of a peaceful life, as your covered for all bar the excess, I would probably count to ten, and try to regain my peace of mind.

If you really want to make it happen, your going to need to pay a cop to investigate with any pretense of interest and that cost is going to be almost the excess, then if he finds him what then ?? Have witnesses ??

[NancyL]

This happens all the time in the U.S., too, especially if the other driver is uninsured and/or isn't in the country legally. The problem isn't unique to Thailand. As mentioned, just get as much info as you can and pass it along to your insurance company. At least here in Thailand, many people with new cars have A1 insurance which has doesn't have a deductable and the insurance adjusters arrive on the scene quickly. No need to put yourself in a dangerous situation trying to chase down the other party or exchange "words" with them.

[richard_smith237]

Chase them, run them off the road and teach them a valuable lesson. Afterall, no one else teaches these idiots responsibility.... I wish I could do that anyway.

Being a civilised person means we don't behave like these uncivilised idiots.... Take their plate number, report it to you insurance and police and let them handle it. Forget and chill out in time for the next incident...

[venturalaw]

"Also, I've never hit another vehicle, but if I were to, & there wasn't any injuries, why should I stop (other then my morals compelling me to)?"

Pursuant to Thai law you must stop and exchange information.

Regarding the information you secured, as others have said, turn it over to your insurance.

[BarnicaleBob]

As stated by others above, just report it to your insurance and let them handle it. Going after the offender is dangerous in that you now become an offender yourself. Zipping through traffic to catch up to your suspect you could very easily hit someone else or run over a small child. Then to run your suspect off the road intentionally puts you in a position of being responsible for damage or injury to him, his vehicle and his passengers. We are talking jail time for such an offense so unless you feel time in a Thai prison is where you would like to be don't do this. There is also one more hazard in going after a traffic offender; he may be armed and feel he has a right to shot you for attempting to kill him with your car, whose side do you think the Thai court will be on then? Finally, if you do a search you will find there have been several westerners shoot and killed in Chiang Mai in recent years for simple traffic incidents where they pissed off an armed Thai driver. Think before you take the leap that could end your life as you know.

Edited October 10, 2011 by BarnicaleBob

[LarryBird]

This happens all the time in the U.S., too, especially if the other driver is uninsured and/or isn't in the country legally. The problem isn't unique to Thailand.

OK.

It's the exception, not the rule in those other places. It would be like if I showed you that 6 out of 10 cars will be in an accident in the next year in one country, and 1 out of 1000 cars will be in an accident in a year in another country, and you think since it's possible to get in an accident in each country, that the two things are comparable.

[kartman]

Full of Thai's and you chased it, H'mm.

[ningawomba]

I think you really need to think a lot about what you did before you go out on the road again , very stupid to run a vehicle of the road , almost every Thai family knows the local police you could have given yourself a hell of a lot of trouble .

I was half involved in a case of road rage only a couple of days ago , my wife was driving , and i consider her to be a very good driver , she did a u turn on the main Sukhumvit road in Pattaya near Macro , ( food supermarket ) , i was looking left with her and it was clear for at least 400 yards , which is is a pretty good distance , a lot more than most Thais usually give , she accessed the fast lane indicating to move over , but even though she kept on looking no body would let her across ,eventually she slowed not being able to get across the trafic , the next we knew some total moron shot up behind us blasting his horn , cut us up jumped out of is car , and started shouting his head of at my wife , it happened very quick , if he had shown any phsisical agression towards her ,i would have been out of the car and done what i had to do , but 20 seconds of yelling his stupid head of , was all that happened , ( thank goodness ) i believe he was English , though not completely sure , i said lets phone the police and give them his number incase he hurts someone next time , she said --- if he had laid one finger on me , i know a high rating police man very well , if i phone him this stupid man will be dealt with , or words to that meaning , so after that commment i just thought - nothing more to say .

Never forget , your are a guest here , there is no point in making more trouble for yourself , unless you really don't give a shit , then i just hope you enjoy your time in Thai jail with all the hospitality that entails . keep safe , keep aware , keep your aggresion down if you like it here .

[CMX]

OP,

It appears that you are new here on the forum. Your questions are good ones.

If you had read her a long while, you would have gathered the general opinion is often that foreigners are at a disadvantage at every level of the law, from police interpretation of the laws through court decisions through mention in local media. If you have considerable wealth and are willing to commit a bunch of it - or if perhaps your are a celebrity who will get a lot of coverage in the West, you may attain a fair shake; otherwise not.

One's best tactic is to stay below the radar of legal encounters. Avoid them. Period. Take low. Suck it up.

I believe that such advice goes against the grain; it certainly does mine. But the idea of U.S. western (cowboy myth) justice will only work against you. What people have said above is that you are headed (here) for big trouble, and that avoiding conflicts and making a call to the insurance agent is the road to take.

Also, lighten up. If it seems odd, strange, or unusual, it is not going to change because of me; best I get on with everything good and not impose what I imagine to be the right of things on 60,000,000 other folks in their country. It is - you hear often enough - what it is.

Incidentally, your truck loaded with people was unlikely to have been carrying 1000 baht in easy cash.

[ratcliffe]

The way to look at it is you are in the RIGHT until you decide to take it further, it is a choice a very difficult one sometimes, but if you run them off the road or smash them up you will them become in the WRONG. That's where it all goes bad. I completely understand your frustration, but do the right thing..............

[realthaideal]

I second all of the good advice you've received here. It does suck, but yeah, best to be in the right and out of trouble and harm's way. I had a gf get knocked off her bike and broken hand bone 4 yrs ago - a Farang girl, mind you. They saw her move, ie not dead, and then sped off leaving her groping around in the soi trying to understand what had just happened. I know of countless more stories too.

Interesting thing is if we drag karma into this- as many Thais would in an anlysis, then well, your karma brought the accident upon you, the other person kind of a pawn. However, their karma also caused them to have an accident, but luckily get away. I prefer my western (though arguably still Thai) notion of karma that they were wrong and they will get what's coming to them at some point.

[rickthailand]

this happened to me also, the guy hit my car and drove off. i called the insurance as my car was brand new but they insisted i went to

the police first report the accident. insurance company was not interested in the guys license plate number at all.

rick

[ludditeman]

I don't think you realise how many Thais carry a loaded handgun.

[LJW]

I don't think you realise how many Thais carry a loaded handgun.

How many do you know carry a handgun? None, I am sure.

[scorecard]

I don't think you realise how many Thais carry a loaded handgun.

Most Thai drivers have a baseball bat or sizable iron bar under their seat.

[ludditeman]

I don't think you realise how many Thais carry a loaded handgun.

How many do you know carry a handgun? None, I am sure.

Out of the 4 male Thais I know well enough to have information, 2 carry. One has a S&W .357, the other has a Beretta M9 9mm.

Edited October 11, 2011 by ludditeman

[Payboy]

OP, didnt you read the fine print on the visa application which clearly states that when faced with any aggravation by the locals, you're supposed to bend over and take it up the doodah? Guess you missed it on the TV registration page as well. Anyway, members here will make sure you know this now.

[justmaybe]

Happens regularly to the Thai friend who drives me. Nice new car and the rear brake lights are a perfect height for smashing by motorcyles, which promptly disappear. He tried his insurance company a couple of times but they raised his rates, so his attitude now is a seething sort of "mai-pen-rai". The story most likely to drive a farang crazy would be the woman who rear-ended him, managed to convince him her husband/brother/boyfriend was a BIB, and collected 3000 baht for damage to her old car that was clearly a pre-existing condition. Yes, we have a name for that sort of thing in the West, but here it's known as TIT.

[LarryBird]

I don't think you realise how many Thais carry a loaded handgun.

How many do you know carry a handgun? None, I am sure.

Out of the 4 male Thais I know well enough to have information, 2 carry. One has a S&W .357, the other has a Beretta M9 9mm.

You must be tough.

[AndyDandy]

Out of the 4 male Thais I know well enough to have information, 2 carry. One has a S&W .357, the other has a Beretta M9 9mm.

Do you have any civilized friends?

[mallmagician]

So 38% of Americans are not civilised?

Out of the 4 male Thais I know well enough to have information, 2 carry. One has a S&W .357, the other has a Beretta M9 9mm.

Do you have any civilized friends?

[Dante99]

So 38% of Americans are not civilised?

Out of the 4 male Thais I know well enough to have information, 2 carry. One has a S&W .357, the other has a Beretta M9 9mm.

Do you have any civilized friends?

Yeh, at least 38%.

[KRS1]

This happens all the time in the U.S., too, especially if the other driver is uninsured and/or isn't in the country legally. The problem isn't unique to Thailand.

OK.

It's the exception, not the rule in those other places. It would be like if I showed you that 6 out of 10 cars will be in an accident in the next year in one country, and 1 out of 1000 cars will be in an accident in a year in another country, and you think since it's possible to get in an accident in each country, that the two things are comparable.

Are you really Larry Bird?

[KRS1]

Not a good idea to chase someone down. This is coming from someone who carries a serrated edge at all times.

You never know what someone is carrying, and they're carrying for this specific reason.:jap:

[KNJ]

Reminds me of a time when I was in Malaysia, driving through KL on a quiet Sunday morning, little traffic.

I am on the main road, and from a filter lane a car comes way to fast and clips mine.

The car stops and a lady steps out I do likewise.

No "are you OK"

No " I am sorry"

What do I get ?

She takes a long look at me and then says " You are a foreigner, if you were not in my country I would not have had that accident" she jumps back in the car and drives off. I am dumbstuck and just watch her leave. TIM

[philw]

Not a good idea to chase someone down. This is coming from someone who carries a serrated edge at all times.

You never know what someone is carrying, and they're carrying for this specific reason.:jap:

Doubt if you are " Sabai, Irie, Aloha, Chillin'.............." if you feel the need to " carry a serrated edge at all times."

Something wrong with that picture.

Edited October 11, 2011 by philw

[KRS1]

Not a good idea to chase someone down. This is coming from someone who carries a serrated edge at all times.

You never know what someone is carrying, and they're carrying for this specific reason.:jap:

Doubt if you are " Sabai, Irie, Aloha, Chillin'.............." if you feel the need to " carry a serrated edge at all times."

Something wrong with that picture.

Been carrying one since childhood do to my work, interest and hobbies...Im the kind of person that would pull over and help you when your car is broken down, carry a full tool kit and a knife is just part of it.:jap:

[nikster]

Road rage turns deadly easily in Thailand. Don't be stupid. Running someone off the road - great way to make new friends for sure.

Stopping might not in your best interest either - call the police to sort out whose fault it was, they might want some money. Especially from the farang.

If you have first class insurance, no problem. If you don't get it - peace of mind with that brand new vehicle is worth it.

Getting your car fixed up is pretty cheap even without insurance.

I just want to add my stories... I must be one lucky guy, I guess, 'cause no problems at all. Last month this girl managed to swipe the tail of my Versys when I stopped to make a right turn. Was a loud "bump" but didn't cause me to lose control so nothing major. I make my turn, get off the bike to take a look - and there she was on the other side of the road, parked, and looking very apologetic. I signal her no damage, just go on your way...

Second a few years back I backed up our Fortuner on a busy road, didn't see the guy who pulled up behind me and is trying to get around me. Crash. Fortuner had some bent plastics which later bent back on their own. The little car had a broken headlight and bent fender. I get out and apologize. The older man inside waves to me, says never mind, and drives off! Amazing Thailand!