Accident

[ClareQuilty]

I won't go into too much detail, but I was just recently hit by a motorbike when a large gang of bikers - I'd estimate about 100 - went the wrong way and 'played chicken' with me around midnight - driving at high speed at my car and then swerving to either side, as is the practice of these teenaged gangs. I was on a major road, almost a highway, going maybe 40kph I guess. I slowed down as quickly as I could and had nearly come to a stop, but one of them just drove straight into the left corner of my car at speed and went flying, damaging my bumper quite a lot! It was a hard hit, and I feared he might've been badly hurt or worse.

I really can't figure out why he did that, unless it was that there was such a mass of them that he couldn't turn - because his friends had accidentally boxed him in.

I didn't feel comfortable stopping - thought it might be dangerous in a crowd of 100 young toughs - so drove on just another couple of blocks to the next large restaurant with a lot of people. Stopping there I explained what happened to the owner, security guard, and various customers who came out (my car was making a bit of noise because the plastic cover had been pushed back, rubbing the tire, so I drew attention). They all advised me to go straight home and not go back to the scene or call the police, saying those boys were on ya-ba, crazy, and dangerous.

Anyway, I sort of fixed my noisy tire situation by pulling on the plastic, and drove home about an hour away (the tire vibrated a bit on the way, slightly out of balance or alignment I think - shows it was quite a hit!).

When I arrived I immediately roused a couple of English speaking Thai friends (my Thai is rudimentary) and together we called back to the police in the town where it happened. They said nothing had been reported, no complaint made, no hospital reported any death, etc., and just took my and my friend's info and numbers down in case of need of further contact, and as my Thai friends said I 'showed my good faith' by reporting it - making clear I had no intention to run away but rather just not be set upon by a gang. The police told my friend that these types of youths are not very likely to make a report as they tend to fear the police, have drugs on them, etc.

Edited September 1, 2012 by ClareQuilty

[bkkjames]

I would have done the same as you.

[ClareQuilty]

Does anyone think I should flee the country or prepare to flee the country due to this incident?

[kartman]

Does anyone think I should flee the country or prepare to flee the country due to this incident?

This is where a SR20 DET engine would have come in handy getting to the airport quicker.

[submaniac]

Does anyone think I should flee the country or prepare to flee the country due to this incident?

No. I would have done the same things if I were you. You were reasonable and prudent. It sounds over and done.

[kriswillems]

It's completely wrong to run away from an accident and it will make you look suspicious, but it happens a lot in Thailand. I understand you were scared, but that shouldn't be an excuse for not stopping.

I had an accident a few days ago and the motorcycle passed the red light. I immediately stopped to help him. Although there were no witnesses the police immediately believed me when I said I passed green. He said: "the fact you stopped and helped proves you were right, because else you would have run away for sure". And when making the final report I also had the police completely on my side. The motorcycle rider was seriously injured (broken bone, lost teeth, deep injuries at several places).

Most Thai people don't want to get problems in case of an accident, they don't want to go to court for it, especially not when they know they're partly or completely responsible. So, the chances are extremely low (maybe 0.01%) that you'll ever hear anything about this. I wouldn't move out of Thailand (expect maybe if I was a 1 time tourist) and I wouldn't be too worried.

I think it not very smart to post this on a public forum (using your old account). Forum software logs you IP address (and thus the location you've posted this from).

About the damage on your car, if it's only your bumper you're very lucky (my car is complete destroyed in front and on one whole side, having more that 100K damage).

There's a huge police action going on at the moment (in Chonburi province) and they try to catch all drivers that drive the wrong way. There are big signs near the road that say it's 100% sure you'll go to jail if they catch you driving the wrong way. That will certainly not motivate the motorcycle gang to file a complaint.

Edited September 3, 2012 by kriswillems

[Tywais]

I think it not very smart to post this on a public forum (using your old account). Forum software logs you IP address (and thus the location you've posted this from).

And the only way anyone can get that IP is through a court order.

[thaicbr]

It's completely wrong to run away from an accident and it will make you look suspicious, but it happens a lot in Thailand. I understand you were scared, but that shouldn't be an excuse for not stopping.

I had an accident a few days ago and the motorcycle passed the red light. I immediately stopped to help him. Although there were no witnesses the police immediately believed me when I said I passed green. He said: "the fact you stopped and helped proves you were right, because else you would have run away for sure". And when making the final report I also had the police completely on my side. The motorcycle rider was seriously injured (broken bone, lost teeth, deep injuries at several places).

Most Thai people don't want to get problems in case of an accident, they don't want to go to court for it, especially not when they know they're partly or completely responsible. So, the chances are extremely low (maybe 0.01%) that you'll ever hear anything about this. I wouldn't move out of Thailand (expect maybe if I was a 1 time tourist) and I wouldn't be too worried.

I think it not very smart to post this on a public forum (using your old account). Forum software logs you IP address (and thus the location you've posted this from).

About the damage on your car, if it's only your bumper you're very lucky (my car is complete destroyed in front and on one whole side, having more that 100K damage).

There's a huge police action going on at the moment (in Chonburi province) and they try to catch all drivers that drive the wrong way. There are big signs near the road that say it's 100% sure you'll go to jail if they catch you driving the wrong way. That will certainly not motivate the motorcycle gang to file a complaint.

JEEEEZE. You would stop and get out of your vehicle with 50-100 thai youth about who may be extremely annoyed that their friend rode into a car .. I think your the crazy one.. The OP reported the incident to the police. so he has done more than most.

OP. I think you did the right thing.

[Murf]

There is NO WAY i would have stopped... These scooter gangs can be very dangerous, drugs, knives, guns etc...

I understand you feel anxious about the police, but you have reported it now, so try to stop worrying.

[transam]

The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety.

[stevenl]

The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety.

No, he is not a BS'er but was involved in an accident recently. Why do you always feel the need to put others down when you don't agree with them? And no, you're not funny.

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

[WarpSpeed]

The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety.

No, he is not a BS'er but was involved in an accident recently. Why do you always feel the need to put others down when you don't agree with them? And no, you're not funny.

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

Yes OP handled THIS incident correctly IMO, each one is different and since he reported it to the police already no need to worry about IP addresses etc. as he mentioned having given them his information already so what's to track and for what reason? Maybe a nice trip abroad would be nice to put things aside for the time being but don't see a need to evacuate permanently, the gang doesn't have your info so what's to run from?

[transam]

The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety.

No, he is not a BS'er but was involved in an accident recently. Why do you always feel the need to put others down when you don't agree with them? And no, you're not funny.

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

So you would have stopped , a farang, with a 100 young bikers playing the fool and l would bet money a few ''tough'' guys would be tooled up. Then you are very foolish. If you read this forum as much as l do you will know that farangs have been killed, gunned down by bikers with a problem.

The OP is alive and well because he did the right thing for his own longevity. If you are a ''brave'' fool then you carry on.

[stevenl]

The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety.

No, he is not a BS'er but was involved in an accident recently. Why do you always feel the need to put others down when you don't agree with them? And no, you're not funny.

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

So you would have stopped , a farang, with a 100 young bikers playing the fool and l would bet money a few ''tough'' guys would be tooled up. Then you are very foolish. If you read this forum as much as l do you will know that farangs have been killed, gunned down by bikers with a problem.

The OP is alive and well because he did the right thing for his own longevity. If you are a ''brave'' fool then you carry on.

No, that is not what I would have done, nor did I imply that here. All I'm saying is that it would be so much nicer here on TV if you could disagree with somebody without putting him down. You have sometimes valuable information here, but your way of disagreeing is very, very unfriendly when there is no need at all for that.

[kriswillems]

I want to apologize. I misread your post. I thought you just had a friend anonymously asking the police if a report was made, but you said that you left your contact information.

Still, I would have stopped, but that might be because I was ever seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident when I was 13.

In this kind of situation there's a small chance you might get hurt, but there's a bigger chance somebody else gets more seriously hurt if you don't stop.

Personally, if I am involved in an accident, I'll also go to see the injured person in the hospital, even if there a small chance to get in a fight with angry family members or friends.

I have a friend that's in a wheelchair (about 15 years already) and the guy that caused the accident never went to see him. I couldn't live like that.

I just feel it's the correct thing to do and there's no way I would run away if I have an accident. But, I am not a brave guy and I would be scared as hell.

It's not fun to be involved in an accident between a car and a motorcycle, because the person on the motorcycle is very vulnerable. The last few days,I always woke up in the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep, the accident I had a few days ago is still in my head. I think it's quite normal you're panicking (thinking of leaving the country), but I think there's no reason to be worried.

Edited September 4, 2012 by kriswillems

[culicine]

I'd say this is finished with. These guys want nothing to do with the police so it's highly unlikely they will report the incident. I think the OP did the sensible thing under the circumstances, in the same way that it was right that the other posted stopped to help the guy running the red light into his car.

[transam]

The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety.

No, he is not a BS'er but was involved in an accident recently. Why do you always feel the need to put others down when you don't agree with them? And no, you're not funny.

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

So you would have stopped , a farang, with a 100 young bikers playing the fool and l would bet money a few ''tough'' guys would be tooled up. Then you are very foolish. If you read this forum as much as l do you will know that farangs have been killed, gunned down by bikers with a problem.

The OP is alive and well because he did the right thing for his own longevity. If you are a ''brave'' fool then you carry on.

No, that is not what I would have done, nor did I imply that here. All I'm saying is that it would be so much nicer here on TV if you could disagree with somebody without putting him down. You have sometimes valuable information here, but your way of disagreeing is very, very unfriendly when there is no need at all for that.

, putting someone DOWN for me talking sense too, for folk to stay alive,

<deleted>, why do you think lorry or coach drivers leg it in an accident ? ????? TOO STAY ALIVE, it gets sorted afterwards, AND thats THAI folk, NOT a millionaire farang.

[WarpSpeed]

I want to apologize. I misread your post. I thought you just had a friend anonymously asking the police if a report was made, but you said that you left your contact information.

Still, I would have stopped, but that might be because I was ever seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident when I was 13.

In this kind of situation there's a small chance you might get hurt, but there's a bigger chance somebody else gets more seriously hurt if you don't stop.

Personally, if I am involved in an accident, I'll also go to see the injured person in the hospital, even if there a small chance to get in a fight with angry family members or friends.

I have a friend that's in a wheelchair (about 15 years already) and the guy that caused the accident never went to see him. I couldn't live like that.

I just feel it's the correct thing to do and there's no way I would run away if I have an accident. But, I am not a brave guy and I would be scared as hell.

It's not fun to be involved in an accident between a car and a motorcycle, because the person on the motorcycle is very vulnerable. The last few days,I always woke up in the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep, the accident I had a few days ago is still in my head. I think it's quite normal you're panicking (thinking of leaving the country), but I think there's no reason to be worried.

Your sentiments and ethics are commendable and not exclusive to you to be honest back in the REAL world but in THIS case one has to give serious consideration to the culture and environment you are living in and how you as an outsider (and besides physical risk possibly thought about as being well off in comparison) would be viewed..

Edited September 4, 2012 by WarpSpeed

[KeyserSoze01]

Does anyone think I should flee the country or prepare to flee the country due to this incident?

No, but you should have backed up, running over the little cretin 3 or 4 times to make sure the job that he started was completed.

[ClareQuilty]

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

Yes, stevenl, you have an excellent point - and this was the one remaining detail I have considered to change. I have thought of going back to Khon Kaen to make an official police report. However I've been delayed in doing so because of classes and waiting to have the car back. I'm also just a little nervous to show my face in that town for at least a few weeks, for fear of revenge from the gang (my car is VERY easy to identify).

[funcat]

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

Yes, stevenl, you have an excellent point - and this was the one remaining detail I have considered to change. I have thought of going back to Khon Kaen to make an official police report. However I've been delayed in doing so because of classes and waiting to have the car back. I'm also just a little nervous to show my face in that town for at least a few weeks, for fear of revenge from the gang (my car is VERY easy to identify).

Are you kidding?...you want to go back there?...for what?

[ClareQuilty]

Are you kidding?...you want to go back there?...for what?

Its the only big city within driving distance, funcat - I really have no choice but to go there someday.

[funcat]

Are you kidding?...you want to go back there?...for what?

Its the only big city within driving distance, funcat - I really have no choice but to go there someday.

I would check with friends and police first,if there is any followup to this incident...

[stevenl]

"The poster who said you should have stopped is a BS'er, he would have had his foot to the floor the same as l would. There are situations where you do NOT do the right thing for your OWN safety. "

No, he is not a BS'er but was involved in an accident recently. Why do you always feel the need to put others down when you don't agree with them? And no, you're not funny.

At the OP: think you did right, but I would recommend you not to settle for the 'written down phonenumbers' but ask for a report from police. Will cost you 20 Baht, but is worth it, just to make sure everything has been reported properly.

And no, no reason at all to leave the country.

So you would have stopped , a farang, with a 100 young bikers playing the fool and l would bet money a few ''tough'' guys would be tooled up. Then you are very foolish. If you read this forum as much as l do you will know that farangs have been killed, gunned down by bikers with a problem.

The OP is alive and well because he did the right thing for his own longevity. If you are a ''brave'' fool then you carry on.

No, that is not what I would have done, nor did I imply that here. All I'm saying is that it would be so much nicer here on TV if you could disagree with somebody without putting him down. You have sometimes valuable information here, but your way of disagreeing is very, very unfriendly when there is no need at all for that.

, putting someone DOWN for me talking sense too, for folk to stay alive,

<deleted>, why do you think lorry or coach drivers leg it in an accident ? ????? TOO STAY ALIVE, it gets sorted afterwards, AND thats THAI folk, NOT a millionaire farang.

Nothing to do with legging it or not, only with disageeing without putting others down.

[transam]

My ''put down'', in your opinion, might come to the fore to keep a guy alive in a similar situation eh. Sometimes the truth hurts BUT you live another day.

[chantsurfer]

Where does insurance come into this to fix your car? I presume you have Class1 insurance.

If not can we assume he does for any comments for my knowledge please?

[ClareQuilty]

Where does insurance come into this to fix your car? I presume you have Class1 insurance.

If not can we assume he does for any comments for my knowledge please?

No I have the minimal insurance. The car is about 28 years old I guess, and the value maybe 35,000 baht.

[stevenl]

My ''put down'', in your opinion, might come to the fore to keep a guy alive in a similar situation eh. Sometimes the truth hurts BUT you live another day.

Why do you keep talking about staying on the scene yes or no when that has nothing to do with my point.

Aw, forget it, no point.

[apiwan]

They call them "dek wen" large gangs competing with each other ,

Racing and high on drugs

Better not to stop,

[madjbs]

I wouldn't have stopped and wouldn't have called the police either.