Another Sorry Story

[evadgib]

@tropicalevo,

It would help if the helmets that are should be available to tourists @ rental outlets offered a little more protection than a homebase flowerpot & came in ferang sizes.

Edited November 27, 2012 by evadgib

[kaspercat]

I have had enough idiots cutting from the left side to turn right. This Aussie seems to have done just that. I would say the police made a just judgement call. He caused the accident by cutting in front of the other driver and he's to blaim for her death.

Shame on the press to distort and shift the responsibility.

[marstons]

Having see the video the Australian guys just seems to come over from the left and take a right into the hotel. He was not driving the bike in a correct manner to take a right turn. He has to live with it but for me he has to accept some of the blame for the accident.

[ydraw]

Don`t take my word for it. Watch the video yourself, the evidence doesn’t lie.

I've watched the video. A speeding motorcyclist, trying to overtake illegally, plowed into the back of another motorcycle who did everything right except wear a helmet. You're full of it.

The first motorcyclist overtook on the left, as is correct when you are overtaking a right-turning vehicle. The second one tried to squeeze in between the right-turning vehicle and oncoming traffic, was going too fast, and killed a woman.

Again, stop trying to blame the victims.

Edited November 27, 2012 by ydraw

[Beetlejuice]

@tropicalevo,

It would help if the helmets that are should be available to tourists @ rental outlets offered a little more protection than a homebase flowerpot & came in ferang sizes.

That is totally irrelevant in this case because none of the parties involved were wearing motorbike helmets, or is this just another excuse for those who prefer to take the gamble and not wear them, perhaps because they feel the wearing of helmets doesn’t look cool or that’s OK, this is Thailand so it does not matter because we can get away with it here? And if the worst happens, we can blame it on the corrupt Thai system or the Thais for our misfortune.

If safety is not the number one priority for those driving here, than that’s up to their own risk and discretion and I couldn’t give a rat’s behind what happens to them, providing they do not place other lives in jeopardy, such as other road users and their innocent passengers, which unfortunately in many cases they do, and that’s the problem.

[taninthai]

just watched the video gotta agree with the people that it wasnt a great piece of riding by the aussie he slows down way before the turn in the completely wrong position on the road to let the oncoming scooter pass ,he then makes the turn from the middle of his side off the road.

[Beetlejuice]

Don`t take my word for it. Watch the video yourself, the evidence doesn’t lie.

I've watched the video. A speeding motorcyclist, trying to overtake illegally, plowed into the back of another motorcycle who did everything right except wear a helmet. You're full of it.

The first motorcyclist overtook on the left, as is correct when you are overtaking a right-turning vehicle. The second one tried to squeeze in between the right-turning vehicle and oncoming traffic, was going too fast, and killed a woman.

Again, stop trying to blame the victims.

I suggest you read my posts and watch the video again.

The first motorcyclist was using the motorbike lane and not the main part of the road to overtake the Australian from the inside. The second motorcyclist was traveling on the actual all traffic road when the Australian suddenly turned right. Although it appears the second motorcyclist was moving at speed, it has not been exactly confirmed as to what speed he was traveling or whether he was breaking the speed limit. I do think even if the second motorcyclist was not speeding, that he was traveling too fast and not allowing for an eventuality of someone pulling out in front of him. Maybe due to lack of experience and I never said in any of my posts that the second guy was entirely blameless, my point is that the Australian is mostly at fault here and that the police were perfectly in they’re rights to point the blame at him. And sorry, but I’m not convinced about the police trying to extort money allegation, as they were only doing their job.

I doubt that a tourist would have knowledge as to the Thai road layouts and the motorbike lanes, which is another reason why newbies are the cause of and have so many road accidents in Thailand.

[taninthai]

Don`t take my word for it. Watch the video yourself, the evidence doesn’t lie.

I've watched the video. A speeding motorcyclist, trying to overtake illegally, plowed into the back of another motorcycle who did everything right except wear a helmet. You're full of it.

The first motorcyclist overtook on the left, as is correct when you are overtaking a right-turning vehicle. The second one tried to squeeze in between the right-turning vehicle and oncoming traffic, was going too fast, and killed a woman.

Again, stop trying to blame the victims.

looked to me like the thai ploughed into the side of their bike not the back right on the centre white line,the only way the thai could hit them side on is because the aussie made the turn from way to far over on the left side of the road cant really see if he was indicating or not but i would say 50/50 blame and if the aussie wasnt indicating then the blame would be more with the australian guy

Edited November 27, 2012 by taninthai

[ydraw]

my point is that the Australian is mostly at fault here and that the police were perfectly in they’re rights to point the blame at him.

Your point is completely wrong. The motorcyclist trying to overtake was overtaking on the wrong side. If you want to overtake on the right, you do it by crossing onto the oncoming traffic lane. There was traffic coming so he decided to try and squeeze in between them, which is completely illegal and stupid.

[Beetlejuice]

my point is that the Australian is mostly at fault here and that the police were perfectly in they’re rights to point the blame at him.

Your point is completely wrong. The motorcyclist trying to overtake was overtaking on the wrong side. If you want to overtake on the right, you do it by crossing onto the oncoming traffic lane. There was traffic coming so he decided to try and squeeze in between them, which is completely illegal and stupid.

Can`t be bothered.

[Tropicalevo]

@tropicalevo,

It would help if the helmets that are should be available to tourists @ rental outlets offered a little more protection than a homebase flowerpot & came in ferang sizes.

Most bike rental places that I have seen do offer helmets. (The rental guy that I use insists on the helmet going with the bike.)

You are correct though - unfortunately the quality is what you would expect for a 199 baht skid lid. However anything is better then nothing and had the Aussie driver been wearing one, he could be justified in taking the moral high ground.

Personally, if this had happened to me, I would be too busy giving myself a hard time for making a few stupid decisions rather than blaming the BIBs. But hey, that's just me.

[maxme]

@tropicalevo,

It would help if the helmets that are should be available to tourists @ rental outlets offered a little more protection than a homebase flowerpot & came in ferang sizes.

Most bike rental places that I have seen do offer helmets. (The rental guy that I use insists on the helmet going with the bike.)

You are correct though - unfortunately the quality is what you would expect for a 199 baht skid lid. However anything is better then nothing and had the Aussie driver been wearing one, he could be justified in taking the moral high ground.

Personally, if this had happened to me, I would be too busy giving myself a hard time for making a few stupid decisions rather than blaming the BIBs. But hey, that's just me.

I think the point was that they added salt to the wounds by trying to make him sign a document written in Thai.

I can't see this as putting the blame on the BIB just that it's rather shameful to let the other driver go free and then by extorsion forcing him to sign a document which was clearly written so he wouldn't understand it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what they were up to.

Edited November 28, 2012 by maxme

[samuijimmy]

@tropicalevo,

It would help if the helmets that are should be available to tourists @ rental outlets offered a little more protection than a homebase flowerpot & came in ferang sizes.

That's a load of <deleted>, I've never come across a place that rents bikes that does not have helmets to fit.... ..... But seen tourists refuse to take them even when offered.....

[evadgib]

Fitting you doesn't automatically mean they'll fit everyone else.

Edited November 28, 2012 by evadgib

[theslime]

havin watched the CCTV images, it appears to be a young Thai travelling with no care in the world with no road sense , and just carering straight into them, and it is clearly visible to be the Thai's fault ...

This is why , when driving a motorbike in thailand, i NEVER wait in the centre lane to turn Right, i wait on the side till all the traffic is clear , then ride across, as to many crazy drivers out there can crash into you ( mainly drunk TRUCK drivers )

No one said it was his fault. I just like to know where the Australian Embassy was during the aftermath of the accident.

The police report is ...

They won't inform the embassy if they are trying to stitch someone up , and if no other foreign influence is aware if the arrest

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

If the embassy was called then the pre prepared statement of confession would have to be in English, he would have to be made aware of what he was signing and not just some document written in Thai signing over his kidneys to somchais mother.

I was threatened with soltary unless I signed a form written in Local LIngo. It was scary, and as I have half a brain I opted not to sign and ended up on me Lonesome. , Got a phone to me and rang my Lawyer and everything was okay next day. Back with people, no phone would be a problem. but to sign could be a massive problem.

[BigC]

This story is about four weeks old. Just wondering why it never appeared in local news. Also first time in mainstream Aus news.

No mention of Australian embassy / consulate involvement either.

Not saying it didn't happen, but Channel Nine is well known for exaggerating & fabrications of stories for ratings.

.

mayve drop the main website channel 9 a confirmation email just to cover yourself

[BigC]

i just don't understand how a Thai judge can accept a written statement in Thai when it could be proven that a forang cannot write or read this statement.

the proper way shopuld be a statement written in your own language and translated by a lisenced translator

[Tatsujin]

This is terrible .....when will the Thai Police treat people in a fair and just manner ...

I was treated in the same way after an accident and threatened with either night in jail , impounding my car , taking my passport etc etc ....

I signed ...later I learnt the police had fabricated a story to protect the Thai .. so that he would be able to claim insurance ....etc etc ..

I had exactly the opposite experience. Was rear-ended (no sarcastic comments please) whilst waiting to turn at a set of lights late at night. Young kid (14), drunk, "stole" his Uncle's pickup to go for a spin, smacked into me hard. Long story short, the Thai taxi drivers all came over, grabbed this kid who was trying to run away, called the Police for me, Police arrived and could see straight away what was going on. Went to station, and they were all very friendly and helpful.They pushed me to charge the kid etc and not let it go. I did have my (at the time) Thai gf with me later on, but I have no complaints how it was handled in my particular situation.

[keith101]

I watched the full video and read the article. Jamie Keith says; (“I was vulnerable and they were obviously after one thing and one thing only, it was my money. It was a way to bribe my way out of it"). But was it? That was only his opinion, but nowhere has he mentioned that the police actually asked him for money or how much money was involved.

Also the fact is that the couple were not wearing helmets, which is a negligent act and against the law, plus considering that the couple had been out during that night, it is possible that they had been drinking, as many of the pictures of them out dining in the video have an alcoholic drink on the table.

If you look carefully at the video, it appears that Jamie Keith did not indicate he was going to turn right and the other motorcyclist attempted to over take him, then suddenly Jamie Keith pulls sharply over to the right, hence the collision.

Another point is, that although the other party was also not wearing a helmet, there is no mention of the extent as to what injuries he sustained during the impact? Because I very much doubt that the guy actually got up and simply walked away from this.

These are only my observations and it appears that the couple were not entirely blameless regarding this tragic event and therefore unjustified in portraying the other party and the police as the complete wrong doers in this case, plus the allegations being made against the police here are unfounded without any evidence to back it up.

Extremely tragic and my heartfelt condolences go out to the girl’s finance and all others concerned.

As usual with these themes, I hope the emphasis will not turn towards Thai bashing and as a platform for those who have extreme prejudices about Thailand as a whole to air their views.

The question should be, were the police right to place the blame solely on Jamie Keith? As he allegedly claims? ALLEGELY. As after perusing the video and article, in my opinion the police were justified in this case to want to bring charges against him and also in my opinion, I believe Jamie Keith got off lightly, that’s legally, because tragically he has lost his finance, and will never recover from that.

you said you watched the whole video and no money amount was mentioned . did you not here her father say it would cost $20,000 to $30,000 to get him out or just not listening .

[geovalin]

I'm sorry: where did you see the CCTV footage? Any link?

[Rooo]

I watched the full video and read the article. Jamie Keith says; (“I was vulnerable and they were obviously after one thing and one thing only, it was my money. It was a way to bribe my way out of it"). But was it? That was only his opinion, but nowhere has he mentioned that the police actually asked him for money or how much money was involved.

Also the fact is that the couple were not wearing helmets, which is a negligent act and against the law, plus considering that the couple had been out during that night, it is possible that they had been drinking, as many of the pictures of them out dining in the video have an alcoholic drink on the table.

If you look carefully at the video, it appears that Jamie Keith did not indicate he was going to turn right and the other motorcyclist attempted to over take him, then suddenly Jamie Keith pulls sharply over to the right, hence the collision.

Another point is, that although the other party was also not wearing a helmet, there is no mention of the extent as to what injuries he sustained during the impact? Because I very much doubt that the guy actually got up and simply walked away from this.

These are only my observations and it appears that the couple were not entirely blameless regarding this tragic event and therefore unjustified in portraying the other party and the police as the complete wrong doers in this case, plus the allegations being made against the police here are unfounded without any evidence to back it up.

Extremely tragic and my heartfelt condolences go out to the girl’s finance and all others concerned.

As usual with these themes, I hope the emphasis will not turn towards Thai bashing and as a platform for those who have extreme prejudices about Thailand as a whole to air their views.

The question should be, were the police right to place the blame solely on Jamie Keith? As he allegedly claims? ALLEGELY. As after perusing the video and article, in my opinion the police were justified in this case to want to bring charges against him and also in my opinion, I believe Jamie Keith got off lightly, that’s legally, because tragically he has lost his finance, and will never recover from that.

you said you watched the whole video and no money amount was mentioned . did you not here her father say it would cost $20,000 to $30,000 to get him out or just not listening .

He said it would cost 15 to 30 K Aus. Never said he paid that amount, as a matter of fact no sum was mentioned..

Please listen to the whole thing.

As I pointed out in a very early post, this particular program does embellish the truth & ignores facts. That also being compounded that the unfortunate young girl was a staff member of the station.

As for balanced reporting I do not think so in the least. Even the sister mentioned about the blaze attitude Aus travellers take towards Bali & Thailand.

Beetlejuice made some very good points,. Very unfortunate for the young lady.

[HeijoshinCool]

Sure am glad most of you aren't Traffic Court Judges.

There's a difference between being "totally blameless" and being at fault.

It's a single lane. Rear-enders, except in very rare cases, are the rear-ender's fault. No matter not wearing helmets, drinking a little or blow-away-drunk, not even sudden manuevering; the local who nailed them from behind is at fault, and in any western nation, would be held accountable.

But not here. Because in Thailand, EVERYthing is a business transaction.

But more to the point, I notice no one has mentioned that this scenario could happen to anybody, or to themselves. You've been here twenty years, you say? Speak fluent Thai? Have an established business? Love and blend exceptionally well with the culture? Have local family, kids in school?

It could happen to you. You are a farang when you get here, and while you are here, and for infinity. It only takes one situation like this, an accident, an unforseeable, unpreventable bit of irresponsibility on the part of a local, and you too are at the mercy of corruption.

One wonders what the outcome would have been if she hadn't been somewhat famous back home ....

[carmine]

I watched the full video and read the article. Jamie Keith says; (“I was vulnerable and they were obviously after one thing and one thing only, it was my money. It was a way to bribe my way out of it"). But was it? That was only his opinion, but nowhere has he mentioned that the police actually asked him for money or how much money was involved.

Also the fact is that the couple were not wearing helmets, which is a negligent act and against the law, plus considering that the couple had been out during that night, it is possible that they had been drinking, as many of the pictures of them out dining in the video have an alcoholic drink on the table.

If you look carefully at the video, it appears that Jamie Keith did not indicate he was going to turn right and the other motorcyclist attempted to over take him, then suddenly Jamie Keith pulls sharply over to the right, hence the collision.

Another point is, that although the other party was also not wearing a helmet, there is no mention of the extent as to what injuries he sustained during the impact? Because I very much doubt that the guy actually got up and simply walked away from this.

These are only my observations and it appears that the couple were not entirely blameless regarding this tragic event and therefore unjustified in portraying the other party and the police as the complete wrong doers in this case, plus the allegations being made against the police here are unfounded without any evidence to back it up.

Extremely tragic and my heartfelt condolences go out to the girl’s finance and all others concerned.

As usual with these themes, I hope the emphasis will not turn towards Thai bashing and as a platform for those who have extreme prejudices about Thailand as a whole to air their views.

The question should be, were the police right to place the blame solely on Jamie Keith? As he allegedly claims? ALLEGELY. As after perusing the video and article, in my opinion the police were justified in this case to want to bring charges against him and also in my opinion, I believe Jamie Keith got off lightly, that’s legally, because tragically he has lost his finance, and will never recover from that.

you said you watched the whole video and no money amount was mentioned . did you not here her father say it would cost $20,000 to $30,000 to get him out or just not listening .

I'll explain as being a long term expat i've had to endure the likes of this poster for years. He's part of a small and select expat sub culture called a "thai apologist" that suffers from selective vision and selective hearing. They throw their toys out of the pram at even the mere percieved observation that all is not perfect thai.

Ofcorse he neglected to hear that it was going to cost the bereaved to free himself. Wouldn't be fine and dandy would it.

The apologist then trots off back to la la land with the retort of "if you don't like it why don't you leave!"

Mindyou i bet he'd think differently if it was his daughter that had been killed in such a brutal manner

Edited November 28, 2012 by carmine

[softgeorge]

Don`t take my word for it. Watch the video yourself, the evidence doesn’t lie.

I've watched the video. A speeding motorcyclist, trying to overtake illegally, plowed into the back of another motorcycle who did everything right except wear a helmet. You're full of it.

The first motorcyclist overtook on the left, as is correct when you are overtaking a right-turning vehicle. The second one tried to squeeze in between the right-turning vehicle and oncoming traffic, was going too fast, and killed a woman.

Again, stop trying to blame the victims.

I suggest you read my posts and watch the video again.

The first motorcyclist was using the motorbike lane and not the main part of the road to overtake the Australian from the inside. The second motorcyclist was traveling on the actual all traffic road when the Australian suddenly turned right. Although it appears the second motorcyclist was moving at speed, it has not been exactly confirmed as to what speed he was traveling or whether he was breaking the speed limit. I do think even if the second motorcyclist was not speeding, that he was traveling too fast and not allowing for an eventuality of someone pulling out in front of him. Maybe due to lack of experience and I never said in any of my posts that the second guy was entirely blameless, my point is that the Australian is mostly at fault here and that the police were perfectly in they’re rights to point the blame at him. And sorry, but I’m not convinced about the police trying to extort money allegation, as they were only doing their job.

I doubt that a tourist would have knowledge as to the Thai road layouts and the motorbike lanes, which is another reason why newbies are the cause of and have so many road accidents in Thailand.

I have to totally disagree with you. (1st the wearing of helmets or not, played no part in the collision)

I have 20+ years experience attending and investigating vehicle collisions and from the footage I see nothing that the Australian could be charged with. (no helmet yes) What is the 1st very glaring and obvious offence committed by the thai rider? It is an international rule and offence not to abide by. The offence is "fail to keep as far left a practicable" Then you have the offences of Fail to keep left of centre and diverge when unsafe. A road rule designed to prevent such collisions.

What was preveting the Thai rider abiding by this rule, was there an obstruction on his left? I didn't see anything as other riders were travelling on the left and abiding by the law. The Thai rider has no defence for not doing so and if he had of abided by the law and travelled as far left as praticable then I do not see how this collision would have occured. Thai rider totally at fault.

What did the Thai Police charge the Australian with? Nothing and why, because they had nothing to charge him with, they needed a confession of wrong doing and without it they had zip, zilch nothing. They produced a confessional statement written in thai by someone who wasn't even a party or witness to the collision apparently admitting all guilt to who knows what, may have been for unsolved murders for all the guy knew. Once they had a signed statement then the negotiations in regards to payments to make any charges disapear and compensation could have started. If he was at fault then he would have been charged with or without a confession and proceeded to court but the BIB knew that they had absolutely nothing to stand up in court. Even a Thai court. The stations legal team would have also scrutinised the footage before the program went to air for any blame that could be attributed to the aussie.

Some on here are trying to depict the guy and his girlfriend, god rest her soul as your typical loud mouthed drunken, thong and chang singlet wearing aussie yobbo. How so very far off the mark some are. These were two well educated decent people. Nicole was graduating with honours in journalism and was already working as a sports reporter/commentator for a radio station and part of the team of one of the highest rating, if not the highest rating television sports shows in Australia (The Footy Show) which requires a certain image on and off the media scene. They were two people who came to Thailand for a romantic holiday before announcing thier engagement and not to crawl the gutters of Pattaya and throw up in the street.

Edited November 28, 2012 by softgeorge

[Arkady]

I can't say who was to blame for this tragic accident but the fact that Mr Keith claims that the police took away his passport and tried to force him to sign something in Thai that he couldn't understand a short time after his traumatic accident and bereavement tells me what I need to know, since I am quite familiar with Thai police methods and have been involved in a number of traffic cases.

There are some good cops and I was once involved in an accident with a Bkk taxi when the Lumpini police blamed the taxi driver and read out his report aloud and then let me scrutinise his handwriting before asking me sign it. Fortunately I can understand and read Thai. On the other hand I was once told by a police captain at Yannawa police station that I was being arrogant in blaming a drunk Thai on a motor bike for crashing into my car and injuring himself, his pillion and both vehicles because he was a poor Thai and I should understand that I was expected to pay because I am a rich foreigner. I was supposed to understand this and have compassion on a poor Thai and stop spout foreign theories of justice that have no application in Thailand. My former driver's son was killed on his motorbike and his father found that the hit and run driver had paid off the police to believe a Chalerm type story that he had lent his car to someone whose real name he didn't know and who had since disappeared to an unknown province. Then the police with a sense of fair opened a bidding war and told him he was welcome to enter a higher bid. With my help, this is what he did and eventually forced the driver to pay compensation for his son.

Justice is rough here and police are under great pressure to channel funds upstream to pay the rent for their jobs in addition to supporting their own lifestyles that are inconsistent with their official emoluments. It is very clear that Mr Keith would have been seen as a prime target for extortion since he is a foreigner with access to funds from overseas and a death had occurred with potential to charge him with causing death through recklessness. It is also very likely that a similar discussion was going on with the Thai driver. He would not have been seen as having enough liquidity to excite much interest but I have nevertheless witnessed police trying to extort money out of obviously poor Thais. They will happily go done to ever Bt 500 in a case like this to at least pay for their time.

[NoshowJones]

I think you are right Boater, I always sat on the centre of the road on my motorbike when waiting to do a right hand turn, from now on I will do as you do, it would be much safer.

[carmine]

I think you are right Boater, I always sat on the centre of the road on my motorbike when waiting to do a right hand turn, from now on I will do as you do, it would be much safer.

You would be very wise to do so.

I am not completely sure about this but if the thai highway code is ever adhered to, i believe that you should actually pull over to the left and wait prior to making a right turn? Mindyou, does it anywhere refer to "accident not happen if you not here!"

[chooka]

Don`t take my word for it. Watch the video yourself, the evidence doesn’t lie.

I've watched the video. A speeding motorcyclist, trying to overtake illegally, plowed into the back of another motorcycle who did everything right except wear a helmet. You're full of it.

The first motorcyclist overtook on the left, as is correct when you are overtaking a right-turning vehicle. The second one tried to squeeze in between the right-turning vehicle and oncoming traffic, was going too fast, and killed a woman.

Again, stop trying to blame the victims.

I suggest you read my posts and watch the video again.

The first motorcyclist was using the motorbike lane and not the main part of the road to overtake the Australian from the inside. The second motorcyclist was traveling on the actual all traffic road when the Australian suddenly turned right. Although it appears the second motorcyclist was moving at speed, it has not been exactly confirmed as to what speed he was traveling or whether he was breaking the speed limit. I do think even if the second motorcyclist was not speeding, that he was traveling too fast and not allowing for an eventuality of someone pulling out in front of him. Maybe due to lack of experience and I never said in any of my posts that the second guy was entirely blameless, my point is that the Australian is mostly at fault here and that the police were perfectly in they’re rights to point the blame at him. And sorry, but I’m not convinced about the police trying to extort money allegation, as they were only doing their job.

I doubt that a tourist would have knowledge as to the Thai road layouts and the motorbike lanes, which is another reason why newbies are the cause of and have so many road accidents in Thailand.

I have to totally disagree with you. (1st the wearing of helmets or not, played no part in the collision)

I have 20+ years experience attending and investigating vehicle collisions and from the footage I see nothing that the Australian could be charged with. (no helmet yes) What is the 1st very glaring and obvious offence committed by the thai rider? It is an international rule and offence not to abide by. The offence is "fail to keep as far left a practicable" Then you have the offences of Fail to keep left of centre and diverge when unsafe. A road rule designed to prevent such collisions.

What was preveting the Thai rider abiding by this rule, was there an obstruction on his left? I didn't see anything as other riders were travelling on the left and abiding by the law. The Thai rider has no defence for not doing so and if he had of abided by the law and travelled as far left as praticable then I do not see how this collision would have occured. Thai rider totally at fault.

What did the Thai Police charge the Australian with? Nothing and why, because they had nothing to charge him with, they needed a confession of wrong doing and without it they had zip, zilch nothing. They produced a confessional statement written in thai by someone who wasn't even a party or witness to the collision apparently admitting all guilt to who knows what, may have been for unsolved murders for all the guy knew. Once they had a signed statement then the negotiations in regards to payments to make any charges disapear and compensation could have started. If he was at fault then he would have been charged with or without a confession and proceeded to court but the BIB knew that they had absolutely nothing to stand up in court. Even a Thai court. The stations legal team would have also scrutinised the footage before the program went to air for any blame that could be attributed to the aussie.

Some on here are trying to depict the guy and his girlfriend, god rest her soul as your typical loud mouthed drunken, thong and chang singlet wearing aussie yobbo. How so very far off the mark some are. These were two well educated decent people. Nicole was graduating with honours in journalism and was already working as a sports reporter/commentator for a radio station and part of the team of one of the highest rating, if not the highest rating television sports shows in Australia (The Footy Show) which requires a certain image on and off the media scene. They were two people who came to Thailand for a romantic holiday before announcing thier engagement and not to crawl the gutters of Pattaya and throw up in the street.

Spot on, 100% correct with the fail to keep as far left as practible. Thai at fault.

[NoshowJones]

I think you are right Boater, I always sat on the centre of the road on my motorbike when waiting to do a right hand turn, from now on I will do as you do, it would be much safer.

You would be very wise to do so.

I am not completely sure about this but if the thai highway code is ever adhered to, i believe that you should actually pull over to the left and wait prior to making a right turn? Mindyou, does it anywhere refer to "accident not happen if you not here!"

Is there really such a thing as a Thai highway code?

[carmine]

I think you are right Boater, I always sat on the centre of the road on my motorbike when waiting to do a right hand turn, from now on I will do as you do, it would be much safer.

You would be very wise to do so.

I am not completely sure about this but if the thai highway code is ever adhered to, i believe that you should actually pull over to the left and wait prior to making a right turn? Mindyou, does it anywhere refer to "accident not happen if you not here!"

Is there really such a thing as a Thai highway code?

When it suits there is, yes!