Bt50M Insurance Fund To Be Set Up To Aid Foreign Tourists In Distress

[A Member]

Good idea and hope it works.

February 1 is soon...

So is April 1.

Call me cynical, but nothing is going to change. Just more hot air posturing.

one day I hope to stop laughing

[26vinny]

untill the corruption from the top is curbed, then empty promises. instead of tackling the problem, lets just give some compensation for it, on paper . typical Thai ways

[catweazle]

Yeah, sure! We know what happens to "funds" and donations made in Thailand, no? There simply will be a few extra orders rolling in at Porsche and Mercedes, done by some officials, the money will magically disappear, an investigation team will be appointed and order a few new Toyotas and Honda Clicks. And after that it all will be business as usual...

[nottocus]

Just another idea so some or many can cream money off the top (and probably middle and bottom) as well.

[khunken]

Trypical local scheme without any thought beforehand. First give us the money, then we can look into how it is run, who runs it, what sort of scams, injuries & deaths are covered & how will the compo be paid out.

Whoever runs it, don't let the police get within a million miles of involvement.

[Arkady]

Most of the road accidents involving tourists are due to tourists renting motor bikes without a motorbike licence and little or no experience of motorbike driving or of road conditions in tourist resorts. Stiff fines with jail sentences for repeat offenders for riders without a Thai motorbike driving licence and the motorbike rental shops that rent to them would reduce the problem at a stroke. Not that Thai driving tests are meaningful but most tourists would not bother to rent a bike, if they had to get a Thai licence first. I believe they have had regulations like this in Bali that are enforced for decades and the motorbike licensing centre shows graphic photographs motorcyclist road kill as a warning.

Of course there is too much income generated by this dangerous illegal practice for that to happen. Much easier just to promise Bt 50 million of taxpayers' money, most of which will be stolen, if it is ever in fact disbursed. The foreign donations for tsunami victims were nearly all stolen by the police and no action has ever been taken.

"Most of the road accidents involving tourists are due to tourists renting motor bikes without a motorbike licence and little or no experience of motorbike driving or of road conditions in tourist resorts"

"Most of the road accidents involving Thais are due to Thais riding motorbikes without a pilot's license and little or no experience of motorbike driving or of road conditions in other provinces."

Well...I pardon your ignorance. Do you know what it costs to get a license in Europe? Do you know what it involves for that type of money, the discipline, the knowledge and responsibility? Not like in Thailand 30 mins to read a book, Multiple choice on a computer that concentrates on parking. Then a practical of reflex by holding brakes when a red light pops up on a computer screen and matching two pencils at the same level for distance judgement....and Voila... your Thai license. Signs, lines and markings on the road are simply decorations for no one?????? yes.... I guess the tourist does not know how to ride a bike...because he is used to all those signs and lights and markings that the THAI riders and driver dont care a dam_n for! Yes tourist cannot wiggle their fat ass like the thais between cars or sway like a thai...but they do know what it is to follow the rules.

It is true that Thai driving tests are totally inadequate. Beefing them up and eliminating bribery would go a long way to improving road safety, as would stricter enforcement of drunk driving and motorcycle helmet laws. Even as they are, enforcing the need to have a licence with stiff penalties would keep a lot of idiots off the road. In the case of tourists, just the inconvenience of having to take a test would keep a lot of them off the road.

Of the various traffic collisions I have had over the years in Thailand, the majority of the other drivers (motorbike and taxi) didn't have a licence and I mean no licence at all, not just left it at home. In each case the police just levied a Bt 500 fine with no comment, i.e. it is an option to pay a small fine without further repercussions or stiffer penalties for subsequent offences.

[KuhnPaen]

So a little over $1.5 million dollars. I'm bad at math, but with an estimated 20 million visitors coming in 2013-that breaks down to how much per person?

[Arkady]

Wow thats great !!! billions in revenue from tourists 23000000 last year and they give 50 million bht fund which is a little over1 million sterling, that will really help ! 1 or 2 of the hundreds injured every week lmao, why bother its futile when will be swallowed up by some corrupt government official!!

2 baht per tourist and it only covers accidents, not murders, rapes and other assaults, or rip offs. I expect they will charge a 10 baht landing tax and make a huge profit, just like the foreign labourers have to pay into a repatriation fund.

[LUSHGOAT]

What about all the women who swindle old and young farangs out of their hard earned cash on the pretence that they love love them and been thrown out of the houses they have bought etc pickups cars and bikes for which they make it almost impossible for us to buy without the help of a Thai. I'l believe it when I see it.

[Colabamumbai]

Lets all put some positive energy/thoughts towards this. A decision is better than indecision. It is easy to be a naysayer, a little harder to have some hope and prayers for its success.

[harada]

Could have something to do with the fact that it is no longer Amazing Thailand but Amazing Vietnam closely followed by Amazing Burma.

[sexy man]

wow i spent 3 weeks in hospital cost nearly 1 million baht so this means 50 people can get treated and the sceme is broke

[bigbamboo]

Wow thats great !!! billions in revenue from tourists 23000000 last year and they give 50 million bht fund which is a little over1 million sterling, that will really help ! 1 or 2 of the hundreds injured every week lmao, why bother its futile when will be swallowed up by some corrupt government official!!

They should call this scheme the Bangkok Tea Party.

[rattler]

Good idea and hope it works.

February 1 is soon...

So is April 1.

Call me cynical, but nothing is going to change. Just more hot air posturing.

And surely better to fix the reasons why so many die instead of the "here have a few baht way"

Either way like you said "hot air" probably

[LaoPo]

Good idea and hope it works.

February 1 is soon...

So is April 1.

Call me cynical, but nothing is going to change. Just more hot air posturing.

You're cynical! . . . but then, so am I . . .

99% of Thaivisa members is cynical

[smotherb]

Good idea and hope it works.

February 1 is soon...

So is April 1.

Call me cynical, but nothing is going to change. Just more hot air posturing.

I just wonder how many--Thais and Falangs--are figuring how they can defraud that system and get some money out of it

[Kitbaikitmah]

Mmmm....all the makings and soundings of another S.W.A.G. (sourced wealth attributed to gullability) scheme. May sound unfair but wait for the loop-holes in the fine print when you apply from your hospital bed.

Just enforce the law?

BTW...tourist confidence must have surged because today the farang kill rate fell by 100%.

Would be interesting to read some of the claim interviews...would provide wonderous insight:

Me and me mate had a few, tuk tuk pulled up, we were up for it.

Farang chop sexy lady massage

She was minging, well rank.

Farang mai chop pii sao.

Yea like we gonna pay.

Farang mai hai tang.

Then these guys outta nowhere set on us.

Pii chai gap nong chai chuey...farang mao bar.

Woke up in hospital, head and rib busted...how much am I gonna get?

[millwall_fan]

99% of Thaivisa members is cynical

​Mostly born out of experience! doesn't mean we don't love the place, just we don't believe all these empty promises. We should ask 'Webfact' to monitor this and post the first time a foreigner gets a payout from this 'fund'

[lostinisaan]

Most of the road accidents involving tourists are due to tourists renting motor bikes without a motorbike licence and little or no experience of motorbike driving or of road conditions in tourist resorts. Stiff fines with jail sentences for repeat offenders for riders without a Thai motorbike driving licence and the motorbike rental shops that rent to them would reduce the problem at a stroke. Not that Thai driving tests are meaningful but most tourists would not bother to rent a bike, if they had to get a Thai licence first. I believe they have had regulations like this in Bali that are enforced for decades and the motorbike licensing centre shows graphic photographs motorcyclist road kill as a warning.

Of course there is too much income generated by this dangerous illegal practice for that to happen. Much easier just to promise Bt 50 million of taxpayers' money, most of which will be stolen, if it is ever in fact disbursed. The foreign donations for tsunami victims were nearly all stolen by the police and no action has ever been taken.

"Most of the road accidents involving tourists are due to tourists renting motor bikes without a motorbike licence and little or no experience of motorbike driving or of road conditions in tourist resorts"

"Most of the road accidents involving Thais are due to Thais riding motorbikes without a pilot's license and little or no experience of motorbike driving or of road conditions in other provinces."

Well...I pardon your ignorance. Do you know what it costs to get a license in Europe? Do you know what it involves for that type of money, the discipline, the knowledge and responsibility? Not like in Thailand 30 mins to read a book, Multiple choice on a computer that concentrates on parking. Then a practical of reflex by holding brakes when a red light pops up on a computer screen and matching two pencils at the same level for distance judgement....and Voila... your Thai license. Signs, lines and markings on the road are simply decorations for no one?????? yes.... I guess the tourist does not know how to ride a bike...because he is used to all those signs and lights and markings that the THAI riders and driver dont care a dam_n for! Yes tourist cannot wiggle their fat ass like the thais between cars or sway like a thai...but they do know what it is to follow the rules.

It's not just that. Schools, government institutions, mechanics, etc....it's all different here. But that's maybe a reason why so many of us moved, or would like to, to this country.

I know how much a European ( not the new countries) driver's license is, my brother's got a driving school. Ever thought about so many foreigners being used to drive on the right lane?

And of course to show some bar girls what a though guy you are, driving on a big bike you'd never driven before?

And that after 10 beers. Have seen too many of them. Kau Tchai Boo?

[lostinisaan]

99% of Thaivisa members is cynical

​Mostly born out of experience! doesn't mean we don't love the place, just we don't believe all these empty promises. We should ask 'Webfact' to monitor this and post the first time a foreigner gets a payout from this 'fund'

You'd rather get 200 baht from a cop, when having no money to buy a beer......

[Andre0720]

Will it cover the jetski scams the authorities somehow seem powerless to prevent?

which would be used to help foreigners injured or killed in accidents while visiting here.

What about those who are broken-hearthed over a bar girl? Bt50M is harly enough to cover that..

[rbrooks]

How is a 50mil baht insurance fund for tourists going to help boost tourist confidence in coming to the LOS? Farlang tourists do not have insurance? How about this for a change, increased police presence in scam, scum attracting resorts like Phuket, Pattaya, Jomtien etc. Then we can top it off with Thai police actually conducting reasonably intelligent, unbiased investigations into crimes committed against tourists and actually prosecuting swiftly the offenders. Admitting first that they have a crime problem in these resort cities and humbly apologizing for their incompetent police work would be greatly recognized internationally as the best step forward. But hey this is the LOS and money seems to buy everything in this country so lets just go with Thai plan A, the mighty baht.

[Ian Curtis]

Good idea and hope it works.

February 1 is soon...

So is April 1.

Call me cynical, but nothing is going to change. Just more hot air posturing.

Oh no! does that mean the dual pricing scam will carry on?

[mancub]

Even if this scheme were to be run honestly , with the best intentions, just can't see how it can be effectively administered . Witness the flood- aid fiascos .

Can't imagine the form filling ,the disclaimers etc etc . If you had an accident , rest assured that you or your insurance would have to front up for any costs ..and.then try getting a refund !!!

[rubl]

government strives to restore international confidence in tourism in Thailand.

21, 22, 23m tourists, ever increasing. Surely theNation must be wrong in writing 'restore confidence'? This THB 50 million can be returned to the government, I think