Be Carefull!

[norwaygeir]

Sitting now at internett-cafe in koh chang near my home, and sudenly hear a big bang outside shop. Look out and a man had crashed with truck and is under the truck. Nothing to do, he dead!! Happend 2 minutt ago!! So be carefull and use helmet!!!!!!!!!

[YipYipYa123]

A couple of months back i was approaching an intersection ,there was a stocky thai boy with his leg snapped nearly off at the knee in a horrific break lying in the middle of the road ,police had just arrived on the scene and were directing traffic around him and on the radios for assistance

i went on a couple of miles to pick up some parts ,about 45 min later i was on the way back and the ambulance guys was just arriving and the poor barstard was still in the same spot in the middle of the road in the midday sun and i dont think anyone had given him painkillers or anything

seein that was enough to put me off zooming around the innercity in daytime but on a daily basis i get passed by teenagers who seem to have a deathwish the way they navigate between moving trucks and jeeps with an inch or two of clearance .......of course with no helmets and bicycle wheels so thin a pothole or a few grains of sand could leave them disabled for life

drive safe folks and wear as much safety gear as you can tolerate !

[mania]

Look out and a man had crashed with truck and is under the truck.

By the description the guy was likely hit from behind by the truck probably while he was stopped.

Edited November 24, 2012 by mania

[Riley'sLife]

Yep, so true. I'm nursing a series of cuts bruises and gravel rash right now from my stupid use of front brake on a corner yesterday. In my village a woman in a car came around a corner on my side of the road leaving me nowhere to go other than brake hard all on a corner with wet sand and gravel on the road. Fortunately all slow speed stuff, but even that caused my hip, elbow and shoulder to swell up. Too easy to get injuries. I'm wondering what age I should attain before giving up the bike!

Sometimes though it's easier and more pleasant to potter on the bike rather than get the car out.

[mania]

Too easy to get injuries. I'm wondering what age I should attain before giving up the bike!

[Kwasaki]

Too easy to get injuries. I'm wondering what age I should attain before giving up the bike!

Until you don't want to ride anymore I guess, the guy on the left on a 1200GS at 81years, hope to be able to that as well on my Versys.

[cbrer]

on a daily basis i get passed by teenagers who seem to have a deathwish the way they navigate between moving trucks and jeeps with an inch or two of clearance .......of course with no helmets and bicycle wheels so thin a pothole or a few grains of sand could leave them disabled for life

Not a death-wish, it's just they're too stupid to realize the danger and are too arrogant to think it may happen to them. Locals have a certain, oddly baseless, high opinion of their ability. Strange old culture.

[cbrer]

Yep, so true. I'm nursing a series of cuts bruises and gravel rash right now from my stupid use of front brake on a corner yesterday. In my village a woman in a car came around a corner on my side of the road leaving me nowhere to go other than brake hard all on a corner with wet sand and gravel on the road. Fortunately all slow speed stuff, but even that caused my hip, elbow and shoulder to swell up. Too easy to get injuries.

Did she stop?

Or give the buffalo-stare ahead, avoiding any acknowledgement of the effect her idiotic behaviour is having on others?

[Rancid]

Riding home always careful turning right into my Soi, not sure why, just a feeling. Other day did the usual check in the mirror before turning, saw a workman cab close on my tail and thought hmmm. So watched him, just as I was about to turn he did the overtake, body rattling, smoke belching, steel with no red rag sticking out the back. So didn't turn obviously, if I had I would be canon fodder to another brain dead Thai driver. After crushing my bike and snapping half my bones I wonder if he would have stopped and called for assistance for my splattered remains? Yeah right.

After you can after understand Thai driving habits you can get a feeling for places they are more likely to do insane things and kill anything in their path, those you can keep at least eye on but don't get complacent as the time will surely come. The guy that serviced my bike got wasted on his big bike, another guy I know pulled out from the green lights on a Harley and a truck wasted him running the very red light. The drivers here are mostly incompetent and do things no one in their right mind would attempt, it is all very survivable, but you really do need to focus if you don't want to become someones hood ornament.

[cbrer]

The drivers here are mostly incompetent and do things no one in their right mind would attempt

I like how the on coming pick-ups pull into your lane to overtake, then come straight at you while flashing their lights to tell you to move into the ditch or go *splat* into their grille. (mainly happens outside of Bangkok)

It's not just their stupidity behind the wheel, it's their cultural need for an extra inch or two.

It really makes you wonder about the emotional issues many Thai people seem to have.

Edited November 24, 2012 by cbrer

[Riley'sLife]

Yep, so true. I'm nursing a series of cuts bruises and gravel rash right now from my stupid use of front brake on a corner yesterday. In my village a woman in a car came around a corner on my side of the road leaving me nowhere to go other than brake hard all on a corner with wet sand and gravel on the road. Fortunately all slow speed stuff, but even that caused my hip, elbow and shoulder to swell up. Too easy to get injuries.

Did she stop?

Or give the buffalo-stare ahead, avoiding any acknowledgement of the effect her idiotic behaviour is having on others?

She had no option other than stop (or drive her car over me) as I fell off by braking using too much front brake on a left hand blind bend and my bike slid infront of her. No impact. She craftily reversed her car into a better position on the road as I was picking up the bike. It was outside one of the village shops though and many people saw it happen. I was thankful that everyone berated her too for driving too fast and cutting the corner.

Love your "buffalo stare" analogy,,,had that experience so many times.

Edited November 24, 2012 by Riley'sLife

[JSixpack]

After you can after understand Thai driving habits you can get a feeling for places they are more likely to do insane things

Very true. "Defensive driving" takes on a whole new meaning here; it requires a lot more awareness and focus than back home and it requires a good deal of experience w/ the local environment. Hopefully sufficient experience can be acquired before you're run over. It makes riding a bike a lot less fun here because you have to concentrate so hard on avoiding a collision.

[robsamui]

The drivers here are mostly incompetent and do things no one in their right mind would attempt

I like how the on coming pick-ups pull into your lane to overtake, then come straight at you while flashing their lights to tell you to move into the ditch or go *splat* into their grille. (mainly happens outside of Bangkok)

It's not just their stupidity behind the wheel, it's their cultural need for an extra inch or two.

It really makes you wonder about the emotional issues many Thai people seem to have.

You only need to study their TV watching habits to be able to gauge the emotional issues . . . and age . . .

R

[BSJ]

When to stop??? When my cold dead body is needed for the funeral!

I have been riding motorcycles for 47 years...off-road initially. Only one major bingle early on whilst riding a scramble bike on a track. None on the highway.

I have been riding pushies for 55 years.