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

[TheWalkingMan]

On my 2nd or 3rd trip to Bangkok the same thing happened to me. I opened the door on the left side and hit a motorcycle taxi carrying a passenger. I think I passed the motorcycle driver 500 baht and took the passenger to the hospital for x-rays for which I paid. After the hospital we (I was with a friend) dropped the guy off at his office and we went on our way.

Now I know that driving habits are pretty horrendous and you really need to look around everywhere when in traffic.

[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.

"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.

How would you know what a motorcycle taxi driver makes in day? But let's say it is between 300-500 a day ok? The guy has a bruise on his leg, no treatment necessary and he went on his way, bike un damaged. They all agreed to the sum, even the cops, why pay more? What do you think a Thai would have paid? They would have handled the same way, probably giving him 100 for a meal and m150.

BTW, been here 15 years. You?

All these cries about needing to leave Thailand....seriously some of you need to get a grip. I think the OP handled it amicably.

[isawasnake]

You guys are getting emotional. I'm not saying anything about who is right or wrong or anything like that, but anything in life is open to negotiation. If there is going to be money changing hands for a death, a bride, a car... whatever... negotiating isn't "bad". You can think of it another way, if the victim here would have asked for 30k baht, negotiation ok then?? Oh, but not when he says 3k.... not good logic.

I don't know the true road rules here; there don't seem to be any. If you want to pass on the left between cabs and curbs in a farang infested area you should be counting your lucky stars every day you arrive home safe as far as i'm concerned. Simply put, there is no safe riding of a motorbike here.

Edited November 21, 2012 by isawasnake

[Bung]

Lets face it here. If a motorcycle taxi driver gets tripped up by someone opening a door on him, with all his mates around along with the police and settles for 300 baht, that is all he could have got. If he thought he could have got more he would have got more.

People that think he should have immediately paid thousands of baht are the ones that need to leave this country, you just make it harder every time a Farang gets into trouble here.

The guy accepted 300 baht, get over it.

[rgs2001uk]

How would you know what a motorcycle taxi driver makes in day? But let's say it is between 300-500 a day ok? The guy has a bruise on his leg, no treatment necessary and he went on his way, bike un damaged. They all agreed to the sum, even the cops, why pay more? What do you think a Thai would have paid? They would have handled the same way, probably giving him 100 for a meal and m150.

BTW, been here 15 years. You?

All these cries about needing to leave Thailand....seriously some of you need to get a grip. I think the OP handled it amicably.

"How would you know what a motorcycle taxi driver makes in day?"

Three reasons,

1. The BIL does it part time in On Nut.

2. I sometimes drink beer at the local watering hole in Bang Kapi at shoot the shit with these guys, they aint all the scum some on here make them out to be, I see the money that changes hands on a daily basis.

3. The mrs invests in those orange vests, if you are looking for a inflation beating return in Thailand you could do a lot worse, some of these vests change hands for multiples of 10,000 baht depending on location.

Only 7 years, must still be a newbie unaware of what goes on.

[cbrer]

Surprising that he was just lane-splitting, and not lane-splitting while driving the wrong way.

[hookedondhamma]

OP, it is not worth your time to post things like this on thaivisa. You see the responses.

I more than likely would have thought the same thing, by the way. Money is THE thing here, and your not looking like a thai sets you up as a cash fountain when it comes to someone you don't know, especially in a situation like this. Good for you for calling the tourist police and not giving in to pressure. In the meantime remind your friend to look in every direction before opening a door. Just because thais do it doesn't mean you can, too.

The Thai for beginners by becker is a great start, and if followed by the higsby thai reference grammar you should be good to go.

Edited November 21, 2012 by hookedondhamma

[hookedondhamma]

that is why he took the 300 baht.

Something can really be better than nothing. I do hope he is ok though, considering I wasn't there and didn't witness the extent of his injury.

It is the standard falang fare, right? "sam loi; sam loi ..."

[vtjforyou]

Yai Yin Yin

555++

Wonder who is more educated, the MOTOSAI or you...

[mauGR1]

OP, it is not worth your time to post things like this on thaivisa. You see the responses.

I more than likely would have thought the same thing, by the way. Money is THE thing here, and your not looking like a thai sets you up as a cash fountain when it comes to someone you don't know, especially in a situation like this. Good for you for calling the tourist police and not giving in to pressure. In the meantime remind your friend to look in every direction before opening a door. Just because thais do it doesn't mean you can, too.

The Thai for beginners by becker is a great start, and if followed by the higsby thai reference grammar you should be good to go.

So why do you bother to post here if you have such a condescending attitude towards fellow posters ?

Among many different opinions, somewhere in the middle lays the truth.

If the OP could speak a lttle Thai, he would have probably not needed to call the Tourist Police.

Yep, some Thais think we are all rich, and some try to milk us the best they can, up to you is to be milked or not.

And when you open the car door, you don't need to look " in every direction " , but just on the back

Edited November 21, 2012 by mauGR1

[hookedondhamma]

What do you consider condescending? The OP put out a topic that has brought much criticism. Seeing that, was it worth it? No need to look too much into a post though (sorry if you found that offensive, I certainly did not mean it that way).

I post here because I can.

Edited November 21, 2012 by hookedondhamma

[mauGR1]

What do you consider condescending? The OP put out a topic that has brought much criticism. Seeing that, was it worth it? No need to look too much into a post though (sorry if you found that offensive, I certainly did not mean it that way).

I post here because I can.

The first line "OP, it is not worth your time to post things like this on thaivisa. You see the responses." Of your previous post was condescending IMO.

It's a topic worth posting IMHO, a situation which can happen to everyone when least one expects it, and i appreciate to get the pulse, just in case it happens to me.

The criticism, i think, was mostly about the OP worrying about the money he was supposed to lose, even before checking the conditions of the injured.

I am not offended btw, i also post for the sake of discussion

[marstons]

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.

think he meant to say jai yen yen no wonder if this is standard of English teachers why kids are doing so badly in school in learning English language.

[Sayonarax]

Thats an understatement.

[Beetlejuice]

This is what I would have done.

First made sure that the guy was not in need of medical attention. If he was, than I would have taken him to a hospital for treatment and paid the medical bills. Then checked to see if the motorbike was damaged, considering that the vehicle is the guy’s living. Any damage, I would have paid for any necessary repairs to get him back in business as soon as possible. And finally would have made a big apology just to show that I was sorry and cared. And this is what any other decent respectable person would have done as a moral obligation.

And please, please let something similar happen to the OP and his charming girlfriend in the hope that they encounter some morons just like them who will consider his plight as something of humour and to treated with contempt.

[LadyHeather]

A friend of a friend was killed by someone doing just this, he drove into the door, went flying and broke his neck. And yes he was wearing a helmet, just some passenger who didn't care to look and see if there was anyone coming. He was only 23 years old.

You have no sympathy here either, I must say.

[jbrain]

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.

Maybe it's because you're Thaier than Thai.

[The Pundit]

"I yelled out to everyone 'Yai Yin Yin' "

No wonder he was upset,you knocked him off his bike then told him he was Scottish Comedian Billy Connelly in Thai!

[SiameseCurios]

Lets face it here. If a motorcycle taxi driver gets tripped up by someone opening a door on him, with all his mates around along with the police and settles for 300 baht, that is all he could have got. If he thought he could have got more he would have got more.

People that think he should have immediately paid thousands of baht are the ones that need to leave this country, you just make it harder every time a Farang gets into trouble here.

The guy accepted 300 baht, get over it.

Bingo. If the motorcycle taxi driver accepted 300 Baht, his "injuries" were probably worth no more than a bowl of Som Tam.

[jbrain]

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?

The OP reads, the traffic came to standstill for 5 minutes.

Motorbikes are not expected to race between cars in a traffic jam.

[ChaoDangChard]

First of all, I think you guys are being a bit hard on the guy who posted this

Seems to me that everything was cleared up. The motorbike-driver wasnt seriously hurt and together with the police they agreed on compensation. End of story.

But I do think; that of cause you should check first if the driver was alright first and I think that you probably did that.

Personally I would have given a minimum of THB 500 and probably THB 1000, and if there were no scratches on the cardoor, then probably THB 200,- for the taxidrivers trouble aswell. Come on everyone would have been happy, its a one time deal, and its not a lot.

But please dont listen to those guys overreacting, your thai is not that bad, and the situation was not that bad, at least you have thought about after, since you have even posted this.

So sabai sabai

[Neeranam]

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.

How do you think it was a good settlement if it were the motorcyclist's fault?

I agree, he was at fault.

I remember being on a bike that hit a dog and the bike fell over. The guy ripped his trousers and I ripped my shirt. He asked me for money! Of course he got none, but he didn't give me any.

Don't blamee him for trying as they all think ALL foreigners are loaded and fools.

[theslime]

All I could think was ‘<Snip!>, how much is this going to cost us’ (followed by….I hope the guy is ok). I think you have your priorities wrong here.

Was there any damage to the motorbike and the poor guy must have suffered some trauma and shock. I’m sure he wasn’t thinking half way through mid flight before he hit the road; I wonder how much I can claim off the farang?

I said no way we are poor English teachers and can only pay thb100. Such a bleeding heart BS story.

You displayed no concerns as to the condition of the motorbike taxi rider whatever. This displays the attitude of a moron, pure and simple.

I can assure you, that if some moron done this to me while on the road, I would have laid that person out before he had a chance to say; WTH and I’m offering you 100 baht. One day your so what attitudes is going to cost you dear, because what goes around, comes around. Trust me on this one.

My advice is; change your attitude before someone else does the job for you.

[metisdead]

A troll post has been removed as well as posts containing racial/ethnic slurs.

[whistleblower]

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

I would have offered him jack shit! Overtaking on the inside is against the law for one. secondly he was probably riding like an idiot. Thirdly What happened to him is probably Karma for all the car wing mirrors he has clipped/broken scratched while zipping in and out of the traffic at rush hour!

If he had run into a parked car without the owner being around he wouldnt roll on the floor in pain he would of been off like a shot!

[whistleblower]

"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

Thai Huggers out in force on this topic I see.

Piece of advice to anyone that experiences a circumstance like this. When the police arrive offer to pay a decent amount of compensation (say 5,000baht). Only on the condition that the M/C driver submits to a alcohol breath test, the M/C taxi driver produces valid drivers licence road tax and registration. You will never have to pay a penny I guarantee you.

[wayned]

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.

It wouldn't be a social forum if somebody didn't open an idiotic thread and invite all of the "sickies" to respond until it finally becomes a battle where two posters end up questioning each other's parentage and is finally closed by a congenial moderator. Welcome to the real world!

[cheechoo]

the most important point is missed!

what does the perp(girl) look like???????????????????

[saengsureeya]

I don't understand the problem between the motorbike-taxi-driver and the passengers of a metered-taxi.

The driver of the metered-taxi is responsible for any damage caused by his taxi to 3rd parties. He should have taken care, that passengers can't just open a door without being sure that it is possible to do so.

OK, this is Thailand and everything works 180 degrees against the clock.

As said in another post: motorbikes aren't allowed to pass cars at any spot they like; motorbike should keep the utmost left of the road.

[barefoot1988]

the most important point is missed!

what does the perp(girl) look like???????????????????

i would be the first to ask that if im still back home but hey we are here now. no more cellulite and no lack of lookers