Phuket Mob Surrounds British Expat Who Hit Motorcyclist

[lemoncake]

Perhaps a silly question, but was the 16 year old victim licensed? and if he was not, was he also fined for driving without a license?

So we have a 16yo here who is in hospital with a broken leg. He's probably still very shocked by what happened. Wondering whether he was going to come back as a butterfly or a jingjok, no doubt, while he or his motorcycle was being dragged down the road.

Who cares whether he had skinny tires, big disc brakes, oversized motor? He's the victim here.

I hope he makes a good recovery without ongoing physical or psychological problems.

Just because he is a victim, it does not excuse breaking other rules and regulations.

[stevenl]

Perhaps a silly question, but was the 16 year old victim licensed? and if he was not, was he also fined for driving without a license?

What's that got to do with the incident - no driving license, no helmet, under the influence. I'm talking about the Thai 'victim' here. If it's proven that the farang was drunk then that will be the crux of an accident investigation/legal proceedings.

NO doubt, however i do not see the relevance who is at fault, when both drivers are breaking the law, so it would be only legal and fair to punish both.

No license, possibly unregistered bike, no helmet-all adds up to a fine for the Thai driver.

Yes,my experience with things like that is he will get a fine, and the person at fault for the accident will have to pay for all damages. Plus get additional fines if e.g. driving drunk.

[NamKangMan]

Perhaps a silly question, but was the 16 year old victim licensed? and if he was not, was he also fined for driving without a license?

What's that got to do with the incident - no driving license, no helmet, under the influence. I'm talking about the Thai 'victim' here. If it's proven that the farang was drunk then that will be the crux of an accident investigation/legal proceedings.

NO doubt, however i do not see the relevance who is at fault, when both drivers are breaking the law, so it would be only legal and fair to punish both.

No license, possibly unregistered bike, no helmet-all adds up to a fine for the Thai driver.

I agree.

Everyone has jumped on the "he was drunk it's his fault" bandwagon. Both can be at fault. The kid could have pulled out in front of Potter, causing the collision, and it's the collision that lead to the discovery that he was driving under the influence.

The kid gets his fines for causing the accident and Potter gets his fines for drink driving.

That said, we have to add into the equation "the farang rip off factor" that may take place, meaning, Potter is going to be up for the lot, even though, the kid may have pulled out in front of him.

Edited March 4, 2013 by NamKangMan

[LivinginKata]

A number of off topic posts removed.

[Shot]

Martin Potter was a world champion surfer, and the expat in this story goes by Ian. I met Ian a number of years ago and he has a lighting business here.

Thanks, so the poll should be:

Who knows Ian Potter?

I don't.

Never heard of him.

[Old Croc]

A well-known British expat

Let's have a poll, who knows Martin Potter?

I don't.

Is this on topic?

[Shot]

Let's have a poll, who knows Martin Potter?

I don't.

Is this on topic?

Don't know. Maybe another poll about that

[Semper]

The lights were certainly not on when he decided to drink and drive.

Maybe he had a flashback and thought he was surfing?

[Yo Sup]

Dont know why people keep mentioning the ferrari he didnt get away with it as people keep saying,it was just simply dealt with the thai way which involves paying compensation,im sure this ferang will have the same options available to him.

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect App

Unfortunately, especially for the poor, there is a "Thai way" and a "right way". The Thai way is "I have money, and you don't mean shit". The right way is "you committed a crime and you can't buy your way out of it".

[josephinebloggs]

Moral of this story, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and get away with having an "accident" then you better be driving a Ferrari.

Or a cement truck, they do it in 99% of cases on Samui.

[NamKangMan]

Moral of this story, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and get away with having an "accident" then you better be driving a Ferrari.

Or a cement truck, they do it in 99% of cases on Samui.

Nah.

Moral of the story, for Phuket, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and getting away with having an "accident" then you better be a Thai.

If you are a farang - you are going to pay, big time. It's an easy cash cow for the police, the lawyers and the Thai's involved in the accident.

[stevenl]

Moral of this story, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and get away with having an "accident" then you better be driving a Ferrari.

Or a cement truck, they do it in 99% of cases on Samui.

Nah.

Moral of the story, for Phuket, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and getting away with having an "accident" then you better be a Thai.

If you are a farang - you are going to pay, big time. It's an easy cash cow for the police, the lawyers and the Thai's involved in the accident.

BS, many big payments have been made recently by HS drunk Thais.

[NamKangMan]

Moral of this story, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and get away with having an "accident" then you better be driving a Ferrari.

Or a cement truck, they do it in 99% of cases on Samui.

Nah.

Moral of the story, for Phuket, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and getting away with having an "accident" then you better be a Thai.

If you are a farang - you are going to pay, big time. It's an easy cash cow for the police, the lawyers and the Thai's involved in the accident.

BS, many big payments have been made recently by HS drunk Thais.

Sure, MANY payments by HiSo Thai's - but ALL farang making the payment, whether at fault, or not.

Only on Phuket, with the honest police we have here, not elsewhere.

This is "Planet Phuket" where we can have so much more, yet we get so much less, than the rest of Thailand. :)

Police pay a premium to be transfered here for a reason.

[Valentine]

In any accident like this there are two issues, civil & criminal. The police press charges if warranted & those involved, along with insurance agents, lawyers &/or police, sort out the civil (compensation) side.

[stevenl]

Moral of this story, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and get away with having an "accident" then you better be driving a Ferrari.

Nah.

Moral of the story, for Phuket, if you want to drive after having been drinking, and getting away with having an "accident" then you better be a Thai.

If you are a farang - you are going to pay, big time. It's an easy cash cow for the police, the lawyers and the Thai's involved in the accident.

BS, many big payments have been made recently by HS drunk Thais.

Sure, MANY payments by HiSo Thai's - but ALL farang making the payment, whether at fault, or not.

Only on Phuket, with the honest police we have here, not elsewhere.

This is "Planet Phuket" where we can have so much more, yet we get so much less, than the rest of Thailand.

Police pay a premium to be transfered here for a reason.

So you're complaining drunk foreigners involved in an accident have to pay. Hmmm.

[virtualtraveller]

Someone in Thailand fleeing the scene, what a surprise! Oh, he's a farang, well that's not alright then. Wish the public would do this more often.

[NamKangMan]

@ stevenl

No, not complaining.

It's just sad that a proper public transport option does not exist for getting home after drinking, thus, many Thai's and foreigners, drive/ride under the influence, making the roads more dangerous for all of us.

Due to cost, it's obvious that using tuk-tuks for your regular transport isn't appealing to the masses here, so, most people have control of a vehicle, many whilst drunk.

All Phuket NEEDS is what other areas in Thailand have, nothing more, but what we have here at the moment is a whole lot less.

The thing is, we all pay a premuim to live here. Phuket is the most expensive of the major tourist destinations in Thailand, yet the essential service is withheld from us here.

Anyway, we all know nothing will change here, so, there will be another death today, and another tomorrow, and it goes on and on.

[bearpolar]

baffles me how often thai police can smell alchool on farangs. I can smell a smoker that had his last dirtystick a day ago yet ive NEVER been able to smell alchool off someone unless they had a liter of whiskey poured on them though most people drink beers in the day and retain no smell..

50/50 chance this is a BS story to help out the kamikaze street "racer". If he did indeed drink both car and motorbike deserve this little warning to fix up their life and stop drinking on the roads/stop fixing up their bikes to do crazy maneuver with 0 skills

[theoldgit]

@bearpolar. You've hit the nail on the head, the police have claimed that they smelt alcohol on his breath so all the TV hang 'em high brigade have convicted Ian already with at least one keyboard warrior calling for his deportation.

I will add that I have no time for people driving when drunk or even with enough alcohol to impair their judgement, there is no excuse for it whatsoever, but I don't know if Ian had one or ten glasses of wine, or indeed any, and I suspect no one who has posted here does either.

Unlike a lot of other posters who seem to know the facts, I wasn't there, so I will wait for the truth to out.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[stevenl]

baffles me how often thai police can smell alchool on farangs. I can smell a smoker that had his last dirtystick a day ago yet ive NEVER been able to smell alchool off someone unless they had a liter of whiskey poured on them though most people drink beers in the day and retain no smell..

50/50 chance this is a BS story to help out the kamikaze street "racer". If he did indeed drink both car and motorbike deserve this little warning to fix up their life and stop drinking on the roads/stop fixing up their bikes to do crazy maneuver with 0 skills

That is why do they do a bloodtest at the station.

So no worries, if he was sober he'll go free.

You're conclusions about the motorbike driver don't hold water and are based on nothing at all.

[NamKangMan]

@bearpolar. You've hit the nail on the head, the police have claimed that they smelt alcohol on his breath so all the TV hang 'em high brigade have convicted Ian already with at least one keyboard warrior calling for his deportation.

I will add that I have no time for people driving when drunk or even with enough alcohol to impair their judgement, there is no excuse for it whatsoever, but I don't know if Ian had one or ten glasses of wine, or indeed any, and I suspect no one who has posted here does either.

Unlike a lot of other posters who seem to know the facts, I wasn't there, so I will wait for the truth to out.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

More importantly, we don't know who actually caused the accident. Just because Ian may have been driving under the influence, that does not automatically mean the accident was his fault.

[LivinginKata]

@bearpolar. You've hit the nail on the head, the police have claimed that they smelt alcohol on his breath so all the TV hang 'em high brigade have convicted Ian already with at least one keyboard warrior calling for his deportation.

I will add that I have no time for people driving when drunk or even with enough alcohol to impair their judgement, there is no excuse for it whatsoever, but I don't know if Ian had one or ten glasses of wine, or indeed any, and I suspect no one who has posted here does either.

Unlike a lot of other posters who seem to know the facts, I wasn't there, so I will wait for the truth to out.

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

More importantly, we don't know who actually caused the accident. Just because Ian may have been driving under the influence, that does not automatically mean the accident was his fault.

Yes, I have yet to see any reporting on how this accident occurred. However, if Ian is proven to have been over the alcohol limit then that places him at a disadvantage in answering the investigators.

[theoldgit]

@ LivinginKata, yes spot on, if he was in fact over the limit then he will have to face the consequences.

[SOTIRIOS]

...allegations are enough to lynch a foreigner....

...mountains of evidence of murder are nothing to a Thai....

[Old Croc]

The initial article states he was charged with drunk driving. Presumably after he tested positive back at the police station.

The conjecture about smelling alcohol seems redundant.

[theoldgit]

Martin Potter was a world champion surfer, and the expat in this story goes by Ian. I met Ian a number of years ago and he has a lighting business here.

People are telling me that it's not the Ian with the lighting business.

[SeaVisionBurma]

Flame post and post containing profanity removed

[Colabamumbai]

Two drunk Thais kicked me and the motorcycle over in Kalasin Sunday at 5:30 a/m I was going for coffee in the cycle lane very slowy, they were walking towards me, I went down on the higway. The police report says that my bike fell down, no mention of the one Thai who kicked me over. I hope he broke his leg, since I suffered more injuries to add to the roll I took 3 weeks ago.

I will not stop if I hit a Thai, I will keep going. I hope lots of Thais are reading this.

Edited March 5, 2013 by LivinginKata

[stevenl]

Two drunk Thais kicked me and the motorcycle over in Kalasin Sunday at 5:30 a/m I was going for coffee in the cycle lane very slowy, they were walking towards me, I went down on the higway. The police report says that my bike fell down, no mention of the one Thai who kicked me over. I hope he broke his leg, since I suffered more injuries to add to the roll I took 3 weeks ago.

I will not stop if I hit a Thai, I will keep going. I hope lots of Thais are reading this.

So a Thai kicks you over and now you hate Thais? Sounds like you're in the wrong place.

[Colabamumbai]

Two drunk Thais kicked me and the motorcycle over in Kalasin Sunday at 5:30 a/m I was going for coffee in the cycle lane very slowy, they were walking towards me, I went down on the higway. The police report says that my bike fell down, no mention of the one Thai who kicked me over. I hope he broke his leg, since I suffered more injuries to add to the roll I took 3 weeks ago.

I will not stop if I hit a Thai, I will keep going. I hope lots of Thais are reading this.

So a Thai kicks you over and now you hate Thais? Sounds like you're in the wrong place.

Who Mentioned hating Thais?