My Friend Accidently Caused Injury To A Thai Motorcycle Taxi Guy...

[advancebooking]

A few days ago a friend and I were catching a taxi in Bangkok and the traffic came to a standstill for about 5 min. We decided it would be better to pay the fare and walk. I got my wallet out to pay the driver and my friend in the back seat opened up the left side door (without looking for traffic) and a motorcycle taxi ran into / bumped into the door that she opened.

All I could think was ‘<Snip!>, how much is this going to cost us’ (followed by….I hope the guy is ok). I got out and picked up his motorbike and tried to help him up- he was down on the ground refusing to get up.

To my surprise we were then surrounded by at least 10 other motorcycle taxi guys and the feeling was a little hostile. I yelled out to everyone 'Yai Yin Yin' (keep a cool heart in thai) and then we didn’t say anything for ages because no one could speak English. They were all basically just talking to our taxi cab driver.

A traffic cop turned up and the injured guy started putting on a fake 'Im in pain' look on his face. He pulled up his jeans to reveal a small scratch/ bruise on the front of his ankle. As the cop could not speak English I then decided to call the 'tourist police' on 1155. 30 min later the tourist police arrived and they were more on our side. Once again the guys leg started hurting again – he had a look on his face similar to a school boy who just fell over in the play ground. (the correlation between police arriving and pain on his face was duly noted)

He wanted thb3000. I said no way we are poor English teachers and can only pay thb100. Then I pointed to my friend and I saying ‘kee neo' (we are stingy) and they all laughed- including the police. Mr Injured then said he'd take 500 and I said (in a resolute manner) FINAL PRICE 300THB. Luckily the tourist police said to him take it or leave it and a deal was done.

I spoke to my Thai friends about this and and they implied that the general mentality of un-educated thai’s here is basically that the farang will always be in the wrong and that the police will always take the side of the Thai national. They said the average thai person fundamentally believes that if the farang had not come to Thailand in the first place then there would not have been an accident.

What would have happened if the motorcycle guy was seriously injured? Would the original taxi driver have an insurance policy to cover this area of tort law (civil liability) or would my friend be liable for a huge cost?

Edited November 21, 2012 by metisdead
: Profanity removed.

[tw25rw]

Kee niow wasn't kidding.. I would have offered him 1k as an apology.

[rgs2001uk]

Cant believe this post, never mind I'll bite,

"my friend in the back seat opened up the left side door (without looking for traffic) and a motorcycle taxi ran into / bumped into the door that she opened"

Please pray tell me why the Thai should be out of pocket because of the actions of the dozy cow who opened the door without looking?

No wonder TEFLrs get such a bad name on here.

[tinfoilhat]

'Yai Yin Yin'

that must have gone over well.

on another not why would anyone with half a brain throw open their door in traffic? you are bloody lucky you did not kill the poor bastard and end up replacing the taxi door as well as compensating the family

pure carelessness, and entirely your fault. you deserved worse.

i suspect you didnt have the class to compensate the taxi driver whose time you wasted either?

its a good thing he was "yai yin yin"

Edited November 21, 2012 by tinfoilhat

[balo]

300 , that was cheap , good that you knew a few words Thai then so they all could have a laugh

[Semper]

What would have happened if the motorcycle guy was seriously injured?

Your "friend" would have to pay more money.

[Schillaci]

Presuming the bike was undamaged surely just handing over a measly1000 baht would of saved a lot of time and hassle. If money is such an issue maybe it's time to head home.

[Neeranam]

300 , that was cheap , good that you knew a few words Thai then so they all could have a laugh

'Kee neo' and 'Yai Yin Yin'

I've been learning Thai for nearly 20 years and never heard the second one.

I spoke to my Thai friends about this and and they implied that the general mentality of un-educated thai’s here is basically that the farang will always be in the wrong and that the police will always take the side of the Thai national.

That's the mentality of educated Thais as well.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Neeranam

[Semper]

300 , that was cheap , good that you knew a few words Thai then so they all could have a laugh

'Kee neo' and 'Yai Yin Yin'

I've been learning Thai for nearly 20 years and never heard the second one.

Should be 'yai yen yen'.

[Pomthai]

You cheap git. 300 baht? Thats nothing considering it was your friends fault. No wonder they were getting alittle hostile, I'd be somewhat hostile as well if some muppet had opened a door on me without looking. Ya ought to get yer prioroties sorted, at least check the victim is okay first. Its always nice to establish no one is dead, only then you can focus fully on being a tight arse.

Maybe you should save up, go home and take a job as a no win no fee lawyer, it'd be quite fitting to your persona.

Edited November 21, 2012 by Pomthai

[tinfoilhat]

300 , that was cheap , good that you knew a few words Thai then so they all could have a laugh

'Kee neo' and 'Yai Yin Yin'

I've been learning Thai for nearly 20 years and never heard the second one.

Should be 'yai yen yen'.

oh come on, it it is jai yen yen,

yai yen yen would mean big cool cool, or grandmother cool cool.

i often wonder if some of you people actually live here

Edited November 21, 2012 by tinfoilhat

[endure]

A post has been removed. Thaivisa does not tolerate threats or bad language.

[transam]

Cause a problem, pay the guy.

[phuturatica]

Well, your plan of sharing your lovely little story only got you a load of abuse on how tight you are and how sh*t your Thai is.

They said the average thai person fundamentally believes that if the farang had not come to Thailand in the first place then there would not have been an accident.

Is this not stating the obvious? If your friend hadn't have been so careless then the accident wouldn't have happened right?

[Songhua]

Scratch and a bruise, inconvenience, embarassment, fault. Sounds like about 1500 baht worth. You got lucky.

[Humbugged]

300baht, excellent effort.

Nothing like beating a fraud at his own game.

[hotandhumid]

I knew I shouldn't have opened this, it made me feel sick.

The majority of posters here should all be rounded up and put in some kind of hostel somewhere and have a challenge amongst them who can live on the least money.

Some very odd people around here.

[Semper]

300 , that was cheap , good that you knew a few words Thai then so they all could have a laugh

'Kee neo' and 'Yai Yin Yin'

I've been learning Thai for nearly 20 years and never heard the second one.

Should be 'yai yen yen'.

oh come on, it it is jai yen yen,

yai yen yen would mean big cool cool, or grandmother cool cool.

i often wonder if some of you people actually live here

Jes of course.

[hotandhumid]

I also have noticed that these type of people always have 'thai friends'

Ha ha ha,

[arkom]

Was the taxi stopped curbside? I had the same thing happen to me a while back, but taxi was parked curb side. The taxi driver even got mad at the motorcycle cause they shouldn't be riding in that lane.

[norrona]

cracking thread this...all these posters letting the OP have it, what about the somchai who demanded 3k baht then? What kind of pay back does he deserve?

Crash into another TEFL teacher could be the karma he deserves?

[cbrer]

Thai opens the door and knocks a farang off their bike and Johnny Long Prong is at fault for undertaking and has to pay for chipping the taxi door paint.

[geriatrickid]

As someone that has been at the receiving end of twits that fling open car doors without looking, I have no sympathy. However, one should not place all of the plame on the passenger. the traffic came to a standstill for about 5 min. This is a key fact. If traffic was at a standstill, and the motorcyclist moving at sufficient speed so that he could not stop, this indicates one of those infamous lane splitting weaving drivers. My understanding is that the motorcyclist shares some responsibility for the event because he shouldn't jave been driving in such a manner as to run into a car door. In an ideal world both passenger and motorcycle driver should have been issued tickets for violating the driving laws.

[thaifkrlim]

"I yelled out to everyone 'Yai Yin Yin' (keep a cool heart in thai) and then we didn’t say anything for ages because no one could speak English".

you shouldnt yell "Calm Down" if you really want people to calm down

"He wanted thb3000. I said no way we are poor English teachers and can only pay thb100"

100 bt ( 3 us dollars) is a shameful offer for compensation, it shows your blatant disregard for the welfare of other people living on the planet

[Bung]

If the woman opened a door while stuck in traffic and the motorcycle taxi was splitting lanes, who is at fault? Thats right. The motorcycle taxi rider. It is technically illegal to be splitting lanes and if you come unstuck while doing it, you are at fault. he knew it, that is why he took the 300 baht.

Some replies here are a little over the top. the guy wasn't hurt, no harm done, take more than a days wages in compensation and move on your way. I think it was a good settlement.

[Honkie]

So far nobody have actually answered his question on whether the Taxis's insurance will cover any medical bills . Well it all depends even if the insurance is willing to pay , they will sue OP's friend for ALL the expenses so there you are .

Do not blame the victim ,just consider your friend got off lightly.

[Semper]

i often wonder if some of you people actually live here

This is a good question. Just as good as this;

why would anyone with half a brain throw open their door in traffic?

I have no answer to your last question, but it happens daily, as you might have seen, if you actually live here.

[Somtamnication]

OP. Both of you need to leave Thailand. Your friend ignored basic Thai traffic rules (look up, down, left and right) prior to moving your ass.

Then due to his stupidity, a bike driver gets injured (irrelevant if it was minor or major).

Then you have the idiocy to offer only 300 baht to a guy who may have been bruised enough to lose a days´ wages.

No wonder Thais hate our guts.

[rookball]

If the woman opened a door while stuck in traffic and the motorcycle taxi was splitting lanes, who is at fault? Thats right. The motorcycle taxi rider. It is technically illegal to be splitting lanes and if you come unstuck while doing it, you are at fault. he knew it, that is why he took the 300 baht.

Some replies here are a little over the top. the guy wasn't hurt, no harm done, take more than a days wages in compensation and move on your way. I think it was a good settlement.

nobody is saying the rider is innocent, its just the initial thought of " how much is this going to cost us" show how much of a person ts is. it is technically illegal to jaywalk, you get hit by a car, who is at fault? according to your logic, the predestrian. and lane splitting is not illegal here

[rgs2001uk]

If the woman opened a door while stuck in traffic and the motorcycle taxi was splitting lanes, who is at fault? Thats right. The motorcycle taxi rider. It is technically illegal to be splitting lanes and if you come unstuck while doing it, you are at fault. he knew it, that is why he took the 300 baht.

Some replies here are a little over the top. the guy wasn't hurt, no harm done, take more than a days wages in compensation and move on your way. I think it was a good settlement.

"more than a days wages in compensation"

What 300 baht, do you actually live here?

Dont assume these guys are on some sort of pittance, 500 baht and upwards is easily obtainable.

I will assume the OP was in a tourist area, so daily wages will be more than 500 baht.