The "riding A Motorcycle In Thailand Is A Recipe For Dying" Thread

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

With everything that's been in the news lately, seemed a good thing to collect some of these stories all in one place...just as a reminder of the fatal and near-fatal risks involved -- for the riders, their passengers, and the loved ones they leave behind.

Crazyswede Died In A Motorcycle Accident

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/615216-crazyswede-died-in-a-motorcycle-accident/

With sadness I'd like to inform about the death of the thaivisa member Crazyswede. He died in an accident near his village by Surin on his way back from the Buriram Big Bike Show. Let our thoughts go out to his pregnant wife, his family and friends.

Norwegian Killed In Traffic Accident In Thailand

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632529-norwegian-killed-in-traffic-accident-in-thailand/?hl=%20motorcycle

The Norwegian was killed instantly, but his girlfriend, who was on the back of the bike is in a coma and is being treated in a hospital.

Very Sad News

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/632288-very-sad-news/?hl=motorcycle#entry6291876

Guys, just heard the news about a friend/colleague of mine. Was driving home from work last weekend, swerved to avoid a cat/dog & ploughed into a tree at speed. Stuart is now paralysed from the neck down. Incredibly sad & a top bloke.

Phuket: Family Looks For Help To Get Injured American Back Home

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/633140-phuket-family-looks-for-help-to-get-injured-american-back-home/

PHUKET: -- George Byrdwell Harris Jr has been lying in a hospital in Phuket for the past eight months after a horrific motorbike accident in August last year.

Phuket Russian teen students still in ICU after motorcyclist crash

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/630239-phuket-russian-teen-students-still-in-i-c-u-after-motorcyclist-crash/

PHUKET: -- Two Russian students from Phuket’s British International School are tonight still in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Phuket International Hospital after being involved in a horrific motorbike accident on the bypass road yesterday.

Entire Family Killed In Midnight Motorcycle Crash: Pattaya

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/606483-entire-family-killed-in-midnight-motorcycle-crash-pattaya/

PATTAYA: -- Banglamung Police were called to a fatal accident which killed a complete family, riding a motorcycle which crashed into a power pole just after midnight on Thursday.

How much longer does this list need to get....

Edited April 16, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[USNret]

It's sad; I used to hear the same mantra in San Diego: "Riding a bike is asking for trouble."

I have 2 thoughts about this: One is that defensive riding goes a long way. Assume everyone behind the wheel is out to get you; in San Diego, with malice & forethought. In Thailand, through carelessness & inattention.

Secondly, if you are a true lover of riding (or anything else in life) it just doesn't pay to live your life in fear. Do what you love, do it as carefully as possible and hope for the best. Statistically, nothing is likely to happen to you. Sadly, for many people, the odds turn against them at one time or another.

[deadman]

Morbid thread this, but nonetheless important because it's a reminder to us all that riding a bike here is a real gamble. As the previous poster said, ya gotta assume the worst from drivers. Thats why i prefer riding at the track

D

M

[loserlazer]

Accidents can happen.

And car accidents and fatalities are much more than bike accidents all over the world.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Actually, in Thailand, I believe motorcycles are the vehicle most involved in traffic accidents here... far more than cars.

Admittedly, that's probably at least in part because the share of vehicle traffic here involving motorcycles vs. cars is greater than in more developed countries.

But still, when you suddenly swerve to avoid an animal, or lose control on a curb or get hit by another vehicle, in what kind of vehicle are you likely to emerge in better share -- riding on a motorcycle, or riding in a car?

[taninthai]

Riding a bike anywhere is dangerous especially if you have had no training and insist on riding with no safety gear as is mostly the case here, crossing the road on foot can also be dangerous,imo we dont need threads like this stupid idea

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[mania]

How much longer does this list need to get....

Just as long as it needs to be.

Same as the list of folks dead or injured in cars

Same as those who will die from drinking,smoking,eating bacon take your choice

Same as the etc etc etc

I don't get your point of this morbid topic at all.

Living is hazardous to your health dont you know that?

Don't check your mail & you wont get side swiped by a drunk at the street curb.

Who lives life like this?

Take your recipe for dying elsewhere thanks

Edited April 16, 2013 by mania

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Some things are clearly MORE hazardous than others... especially in Thailand.

It is (literally) a morbid topic, isn't it... I think that was the point.

Edited April 16, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[JonnyF]

Everyone knows the risks. No need for a thread to rehash the sad stories IMO.

[mania]

Some things are clearly MORE hazardous than others... especially in Thailand.

It is (literally) a morbid topic, isn't it... I think that was the point.

It is a cheap form of Sensationalism nothing more

To post a title like "riding A Motorcycle In Thailand Is A Recipe For Dying"

in a Thailand motorcycling forum section is ignorance nothing more.

Edited April 16, 2013 by mania

[VocalNeal]

Some things are clearly MORE hazardous than others... especially in Thailand.

Crossing the street

Eating magic mushrooms

Standing on a Hi-So's foot

The list is endless.

That the OP doesn't like riding motorcycles is up to him. More people get killed in RTA in the US on a daily basis than motorcyclists get killed in Thailand. Just another cultural imperialist.

[DualSportBiker]

You might be surprised to know that the great majority of recreational riders actually do understand the risks and consider the reward sufficient... It is not necessary for people who don't appreciate the rewards, or consider the risks too high, to continually bemoan the risks to those that understand them, experience them, and dismiss them as insufficient.

I have an order of magnitude more biker buddies than I have close friends, and yet have lost more friends to cancer, AIDS, and sleep apnea than buddies to bike accidents in Thailand. The roads here are significantly more dangerous than they should be, but that is no reason for us to stop enjoying what makes many of us tick. Not until poor eyesight, judgement, reactions and bad route selection/timing make the risks not worth the reward.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Or you end up, like the American in the news story above, in a hospital brain damaged and unable to care for yourself for the rest of your life...and become a burden to your family/relatives -- all for enjoying what makes you tick...

Edited April 16, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[JonnyF]

Or you end up, like the American in the news story above, in a hospital brain damaged and unable to care for yourself for the rest of your life...and become a burden to your family/relatives -- all for enjoying what makes you tick...

1366019340_1.jpg

When you are not here do you go on boxing forums and post pictures of Michael Watson, Gerald McLennan etc? Go to horse riding forums and post pictures of paralysed jockeys?

This thread is a waste of bandwidth and you lack taste. I hope the mods delete it. I'm out of here.

[VocalNeal]

This thread is a waste of bandwidth and you lack taste. I hope the mods delete it. I'm out of here.

+1 I'm thinking of changing my forum style and becoming less....polite?

Again it is cultural imperialism.

[taninthai]

Or you end up, like the American in the news story above, in a hospital brain damaged and unable to care for yourself for the rest of your life...and become a burden to your family/relatives -- all for enjoying what makes you tick...

you know its extremely disrespectfull to post this picture and write what you have i dont think his family would see him as a burden to them , yes i know this picture was on another part of the forum but that doesnt make it alright for you to copy it and spread it further around the internet,maybe you should have contacted them first and asked there permission to use there picture in some sort of campaign you are trying to start.

I would report this thread for being distastefull but cant seem to find the report button on the android app

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Edited April 16, 2013 by taninthai

[wantan]

It would be a sad life if my main motivation for buying a car is fear of having a bad accident. Sometimes i even ride bicycle on the streets of Bangkok. Imo this is more dangerous than riding motorbike.

But its OK to open such thread. Its like the "Riding without helmet" threads. A good reminder for some people. Protect yourself with good gear and think about your actions first. Riding safe is more important than riding fast.

[USNret]

As I said in post #2: It doesn't pay to live your life in fear. Do what you love.

If we succumb to fear of riding, the next step is... Open a thread on pedestrian injuries (don't walk outside), bath tub injuries (don't bathe), ladder injuries (don't change lightbulbs). Life starts getting pretty restricted by the time you've made yourself 100% safe.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Or you end up, like the American in the news story above, in a hospital brain damaged and unable to care for yourself for the rest of your life...and become a burden to your family/relatives -- all for enjoying what makes you tick...

1366019340_1.jpg

you know its extremely disrespectfull to post this picture and write what you have i dont think his family would see him as a burden to them , yes i know this picture was on another part of the forum but that doesnt make it alright for you to copy it and spread it further around the internet,maybe you should have contacted them first and asked there permission to use there picture in some sort of campaign you are trying to start.

I would report this thread for being distastefull but cant seem to find the report button on the android app

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Don't let the facts get in your way...

The photo was posted in another thread on the accident here on ThaiVisa...and only appeared in ThaiVisa after being published in the local newspaper.

If you actually read the article, you'll see the man's brother had to quit his job to take care of his now-invalid brother, and the family doesn't even have enough funds to pay for his return to the U.S. They're seeking donations for that effort.

[bramds]

Are you related to the victim and are now just venting your frustration?

[taninthai]

^

As your so quick to spread his picture over the internet and tell his story i hope you have taken the time to make a donation then,just because the family allowed a picture to be taken for a news story which is looking for donations to help the guy does not mean they want the picture copied and posted all over the internet,

Sent from my GT-P7500 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Are you related to the victim and are now just venting your frustration?

No, I'm not related to the victim, and I don't have any frustration -- other than having seen and read far too many of these motorcycle death/injury news reports in Thailand.

Everyone's going to die sometime for sure, but to increase the risk so substantially and cavalierly here in Thailand by motorcycle riding for sport really makes me wonder.

[wantan]

Are you related to the victim and are now just venting your frustration?

No, I'm not related to the victim, and I don't have any frustration -- other than having seen and read far too many of these motorcycle death/injury news reports in Thailand.

Everyone's going to die sometime for sure, but to increase the risk so substantially and cavalierly here in Thailand by motorcycle riding for sport really makes me wonder.

Nothing to wonder about. For many people riding motorbike is lot of fun. So they do it.

Why are people doing crazy dangerous things that they could avoid? There aren't many "dangers" left nowadays. No need to go out hunting and fighting. But some people need their adrenaline thrill. If there is no risk in daily life anymore some people are "seeking danger" elsewhere. And there are also interesting effects like risk compensation. But nothing to wonder about. All very "human"

[Gweiloman]

To the OP - before I jump in with all guns blazing, what exactly is your thread about? Are you trying to say that we shouldn't ride or that we should be careful when we are riding or what?

[loserlazer]

Yeah, we shouldnt ride bikes, shouldnt walk, shouldnt even come to Thailand!

This is a poor effort to remind people about the dangers of riding a motorcycle by using others' sad accident news.

Riding is dangerous everywhere in this world and all of us know that but It is a price i and many others gladly pay for the simplicity, praticality and joy of it.

Many other dangers lurking in life but if it is all about safety, just live in a temple as a monk become a priest in a monastery no ride less food no belongings all your life then!

[tavarich]

Are you related to the victim and are now just venting your frustration?

No, I'm not related to the victim, and I don't have any frustration -- other than having seen and read far too many of these motorcycle death/injury news reports in Thailand.

Everyone's going to die sometime for sure, but to increase the risk so substantially and cavalierly here in Thailand by motorcycle riding for sport really makes me wonder.

where do you get off judging people for living their life as they see fit. Why in hell did you even take the time to foist your criteria for living life on the people in this part of the forum that enjoy riding, for whatever their reasons. You are one sad MoFo.

[yankee99]

Everybody dies and so should this thread....a shame the mods dont come here too much ;[

[BSJ]

People can use the same arguement for anything. I am sure, even here, there are those that won't go sky diving, hang gliding, para sailing, mountain climbing, scuba diving or zip lining because it's deemed unsafe. On a motorcycle I feel safe. Get me on the roller coaster at Dreamworld and after the ride is over they have to prise my white knuckled hands off the safety bar to get me out!

[RubberSideDown]

I wear proper gear- I don't ride under the influence of drugs or alcohol- I avoid riding at night- I am extremely aware of what's going on around me- I ride defensively.

I would bet that had some of the people mentioned in the OP observed the above rules, their circumstances would be different.

I'm not immune to injury or death on a motorcycle and I fully accept the implied risks that come with it, but I also do everything I can to improve my chances of avoiding or surviving a mishap- sadly most of the biking tragedies are due to rider error, and this is true of everywhere, not just Thailand.

Encouraging riders to improve their skills or safety would be better than creating a judgmental thread that serves no real purpose as far as substantive change is concerned.

[AllanB]

Wearing proper gear is a problem here, back home it would be leathers, too hot here though, winter or summer.

The usual defensive driving is needed here and more, I treat a green light as a flashing amber. The highway code in the UK states that you may go through a green light if it is safe to do so...so a flashing amber there then.

I posted a video of bike accidents in Asia and people complained, something to do with superstition, I now think about that video a lot when I am riding, I no longer speed between stationary cars, or across junctions, or around corners, or through villages, the time you make up is almost nothing. However, on highways I ride faster than I used too, keeping up with slower traffic, I leave early on trips, just before dawn and enjoy the cooler weather and less traffic and I never drink, or drive when tired and enjoy my riding here in Thailand.

When I was younger I would get a buzz out of danger, not so much now, eyes open and wits sharp, but not fearful.........

Edited April 16, 2013 by AllanB