Accident out side Samui Palm Beach Resort - Bohput

[BangkokSpoon]

Wear a helmet!! That is my posting.

Last night as I was heading home I saw two bikes on the other side of the road clip each other outside the Samui Palm Beech Resort (Near the Ibis Hotel). One bike was travelling faster as it came from behind and as its past the slower bike it hit (only slightly) and pushed the rider and the bike over. Unfortunately. the riders head bashed straight against the big road side kerb stones and to make matters worse the bike landed on top of the rider whilst moving along the storm drains till coming to a rest. No helmet - not a pretty sight and no movement.

Yes - I always wear a helmet and hopefully this message serves as a gentle reminder how quick things can happen here that are no fault of our own.

I leave it to you all to make your own conclusion about wearing a helmet but after seeing this - I wanted to share.

BKS

[evadgib]

On consecutive days last week I saw wrecked cars on that same stretch of road, one of which appeared to have been fatal.

[saweden]

This will prob. get removed but...

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX I hope he dies in hell for killing an innocent person and just riding past.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Rooo
Swearing removed.

[Maipenrai007]

Police are all over the place with helmet checks now and fine has been upped. It's only a matter of time that helmet wearing gets on par with Phuket.

[Leckyman]

Police are all over the place with helmet checks now and fine has been upped. It's only a matter of time that helmet wearing gets on par with Phuket.

Do you really think so ??

Never seen a late night helmet check in more than 11 years here,

[Maipenrai007]

Police are all over the place with helmet checks now and fine has been upped. It's only a matter of time that helmet wearing gets on par with Phuket.

Do you really think so ??

Never seen a late night helmet check in more than 11 years here,

Maenam Police stop yesterday and then Bophut today!

Maybe you're a good boy and wear your helmet!!!!!!

[BangkokSpoon]

Police are all over the place with helmet checks now and fine has been upped. It's only a matter of time that helmet wearing gets on par with Phuket.

Do you really think so ??

Never seen a late night helmet check in more than 11 years here,

Maenam Police stop yesterday and then Bophut today!

Maybe you're a good boy and wear your helmet!!!!!!

Dear All,

My posting earlier was just to pass on a really horrible occurrence. That could have been me or any one of us. Nothing more. I live and work here so understand Thai way/style (don't get involved) but to actually see it in real - its different.

In any case - I hope my posting to this forum will help/make/think may be just one person will pick up that crash helmet when they leave home and return with minor injuries after surviving a crash.

BKS

[carmine]

Police are all over the place with helmet checks now and fine has been upped. It's only a matter of time that helmet wearing gets on par with Phuket.

No it won't. Its about revenue not road safety. And taxis won't turn on their meters either. This is Samui, not Phuket as a thai has reminded me on more than one occasion when i asked about both cases.

[robsamui]

Police are all over the place with helmet checks now and fine has been upped. It's only a matter of time that helmet wearing gets on par with Phuket.

Do you really think so ??

Never seen a late night helmet check in more than 11 years here,

Strictly 10 - 4 (as in they don't do checks when the road is too busy).

I've seen plenty of checks at night - but the Thai style of policing is to concentrate grimly on keeping just one thing in mind . . . if they are doing "drugs" then they'll ignore helmets, tax, documents or drunks. (And I've never yet seen a vehicle taken off the road for being an unroadworthy heap, or because it's a bike being ridden by tiny children whose feet can't even touch the ground.)

While I'm at it - folks might like to be aware of 2 very curious laws here. If you have a collision with a vehicle coming towards you, at night and with no lights on (him), then if it happens while you're overtaking (ie he is on the correct side of the road) - then it's your fault and you pay.

Likewise if your car is parked (night or day) and someone drives into the back of it - your fault if you are actually on the road rather than the pavement. Forget everything first-world about illegal parking with 2 wheels on the pavement. Here, if you are more than half-way over the road-drain then you are at fault if rear-ended. Best whenever you can to bump up the kerb onto the pavement with 2 wheels at least. Utterly, totally, lunatic and no sense to it at all. But true. (Unless there is another law that says you have to leave enough space for a motorbike driving on the pavement to be able to pass your car . . .)

Helmets? Yes, I am sure, the day will come soon when it's no longer a gang-bang affair - in other cities this kind of every-day routine check is done by two BIB on the same bike. Here it's a once-a-month event which needs lots of planning and tables and flags and bunting laid out like it's a party . . .

R

[evadgib]

@Rob:

1. Much of the island is covered by CCTV; footage of which is available from the ampur for less than THB 50 (the cost of burning the disc).

2. Dashcams are considerably cheaper to residents than the cost of a new car, bike or med bill (etc) to anyone who 'tries it on'.

Edited October 11, 2013 by evadgib

[robsamui]

@Rob:

1. Much of the island is covered by CCTV; footage of which is available from the ampur for less than THB 50 (the cost of burning the disc).

2. Dashcams are considerably cheaper to residents than the cost of a new car, bike or med bill (etc) to anyone who 'tries it on'.

Thanks for the info about the CCTV disk - good to know.

But I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'? - the 'new car'/padded-out med bill I reckon? Good point . . .

I was just pointing out that there are some really odd laws here that to me are utter nonsense. Fair dos with the helmet thing. But the 2 examples I gave - plus nobody seems bothered about licences or 10 year-olds on motorbikes. This isn't a coconut island of farmers anymore where nobody could read or write and none of the vehicles needed to be taxed or insured and it was easy to just get on a motorbike and drive on the wrong side of the road all around the village - the out-of-proportion accident stats prove this.

Something as simple as a couple of hand-held speed guns constantly in daily use around the island for a start? Helmets?

Samui is big enough now and with enough trucks hammering around the ring road to warrant gov. cert. driving instructors and licenses for all - and a proper driving test with reversing and road positioning included. The police would be the first to have to pass . . . just to show they were serious (hysterical giggle . . .)

But where the heck would the police begin with this total chaos . . . ? We got flatscreens in most of the houses and everyone's got a mbike and a mobile phone. But the laws about driving are still back in the 1970s.

R

[Tropicalevo]

@Rob:

1. Much of the island is covered by CCTV; footage of which is available from the ampur for less than THB 50 (the cost of burning the disc).

2. Dashcams are considerably cheaper to residents than the cost of a new car, bike or med bill (etc) to anyone who 'tries it on'.

Thanks for the info about the CCTV disk - good to know.

But I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'? - the 'new car'/padded-out med bill I reckon? Good point . . .

I was just pointing out that there are some really odd laws here that to me are utter nonsense. Fair dos with the helmet thing. But the 2 examples I gave - plus nobody seems bothered about licences or 10 year-olds on motorbikes. This isn't a coconut island of farmers anymore where nobody could read or write and none of the vehicles needed to be taxed or insured and it was easy to just get on a motorbike and drive on the wrong side of the road all around the village - the out-of-proportion accident stats prove this.

Something as simple as a couple of hand-held speed guns constantly in daily use around the island for a start? Helmets?

Samui is big enough now and with enough trucks hammering around the ring road to warrant gov. cert. driving instructors and licenses for all - and a proper driving test with reversing and road positioning included. The police would be the first to have to pass . . . just to show they were serious (hysterical giggle . . .)

But where the heck would the police begin with this total chaos . . . ? We got flatscreens in most of the houses and everyone's got a mbike and a mobile phone. But the laws about driving are still back in the 1970s.

R

Cannot disagree with your points Rob, but just an update on one thing (highlighted above).

Earlier this year I paid for my manager to have driving lessons, to take her test and to get licences for both car and bike. All kosher.

She sat the written test and passed first time. When the old guy next to her asked her to help him as he couldn't read and write - he was sent away and told to learn the highway code and to do it himself.

One lad there was with his dad and dad asked if he could pay for his son to pass the test. He was sent away and told to get lessons for his son.

There was a young guy who was a policemen who pased his test. (Not in uniform)

The driving test involved parkiing, manouvering and reversing etc.

My manager failed the reversing but after a couple of more lessons went back and passed.

When I did my 5 year licence renewal earlier this year, there was a farang couple appying there as well. On the eyesight test, the husband kept telling the wife what to do and answering the questions for her. They were sent away and told to come back another day.

This is not going to fix the problems that you have mentioned, but it is a start. Things are improving.

Now - about all of those people who have been driving for years! How to fix them? (Foreigners are just as bad as the locals!)

And I agree with BangkokSpoon 100%. ALWAYS wear a helmet when on a bike.

Edited October 11, 2013 by Tropicalevo

[carmine]

@Rob:

1. Much of the island is covered by CCTV; footage of which is available from the ampur for less than THB 50 (the cost of burning the disc).

2. Dashcams are considerably cheaper to residents than the cost of a new car, bike or med bill (etc) to anyone who 'tries it on'.

Thanks for the info about the CCTV disk - good to know.

But I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'? - the 'new car'/padded-out med bill I reckon? Good point . . .

I was just pointing out that there are some really odd laws here that to me are utter nonsense. Fair dos with the helmet thing. But the 2 examples I gave - plus nobody seems bothered about licences or 10 year-olds on motorbikes. This isn't a coconut island of farmers anymore where nobody could read or write and none of the vehicles needed to be taxed or insured and it was easy to just get on a motorbike and drive on the wrong side of the road all around the village - the out-of-proportion accident stats prove this.

Something as simple as a couple of hand-held speed guns constantly in daily use around the island for a start? Helmets?

Samui is big enough now and with enough trucks hammering around the ring road to warrant gov. cert. driving instructors and licenses for all - and a proper driving test with reversing and road positioning included. The police would be the first to have to pass . . . just to show they were serious (hysterical giggle . . .)

But where the heck would the police begin with this total chaos . . . ? We got flatscreens in most of the houses and everyone's got a mbike and a mobile phone. But the laws about driving are still back in the 1970s.

R

Cannot disagree with your points Rob, but just an update on one thing (highlighted above).

Earlier this year I paid for my manager to have driving lessons, to take her test and to get licences for both car and bike. All kosher.

She sat the written test and passed first time. When the old guy next to her asked her to help him as he couldn't read and write - he was sent away and told to learn the highway code and to do it himself.

One lad there was with his dad and dad asked if he could pay for his son to pass the test. He was sent away and told to get lessons for his son.

There was a young guy who was a policemen who pased his test. (Not in uniform)

The driving test involved parkiing, manouvering and reversing etc.

My manager failed the reversing but after a couple of more lessons went back and passed.

When I did my 5 year licence renewal earlier this year, there was a farang couple appying there as well. On the eyesight test, the husband kept telling the wife what to do and answering the questions for her. They were sent away and told to come back another day.

This is not going to fix the problems that you have mentioned, but it is a start. Things are improving.

Now - about all of those people who have been driving for years! How to fix them? (Foreigners are just as bad as the locals!)

And I agree with BangkokSpoon 100%. ALWAYS wear a helmet when on a bike.

I admire you're optimism but i don't see any improvements at all. Just wholesale carnage, worsening from month to month. No policing of the roads, accidents galore, God forbid how many every month.

I don't dispute what you say but i have also never heard of someone having to reverse in their driving test. I didn't even have to get in a car. Its completely 3rd world.

I reckon these roads are just about as dangerous as anywhere in the world, and getting worse, visibly, month to month.

[Tropicalevo]

I admire you're optimism but i don't see any improvements at all. Just wholesale carnage, worsening from month to month. No policing of the roads, accidents galore, God forbid how many every month.

Sad but true. But to (mis)quote a famous man - a journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step. It is only a start - but an important one. This is not going to be fixed overnight.

I don't dispute what you say but i have also never heard of someone having to reverse in their driving test. I didn't even have to get in a car. Its completely 3rd world.

Foreigners are able to convert their existing licence without taking a test. The experience that I quoted was only 4 months ago (I think) It is recent. My manager had to do it twice (she failed the first time.)

I reckon these roads are just about as dangerous as anywhere in the world, and getting worse, visibly, month to month.

Have you ever driven in India?

But you are right. Things are getting worse month by month, especially dip-stick tourists and boy racers. I nearly became a bonnet adornment on the front of a new Volvo this morning as he overtook a pick up truck on a blind bend. The continually increasing volume of traffic is definitely exacerbatting the problem

Edited October 12, 2013 by PoorSucker
fixed quotes

[evadgib]

@Rob;

I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'?

My "Trying it on" is perhaps best explained by an example I encountered some years ago that went something like this:

- A ferang driving home from work @ dark o'clock indicated to turn into his estate.

- A motorbike with no lights T- boned him as he turned.

- The rider was found to be so pi_ssed that he couldn't even lay on the floor without hanging on!

- A 3rd party who hadn't seen the accident appeared from nowhere & spent 2 hrs trying to intimidate the driver into parting with vast sums...('local family/top half of shergar' an' all that; a chancer!)

Common sense did eventually prevail but only because the driver had suitable backup from the company that he worked for at the time.

HTH

Edited October 11, 2013 by evadgib

[robsamui]

@Rob:

1. Much of the island is covered by CCTV; footage of which is available from the ampur for less than THB 50 (the cost of burning the disc).

2. Dashcams are considerably cheaper to residents than the cost of a new car, bike or med bill (etc) to anyone who 'tries it on'.

Thanks for the info about the CCTV disk - good to know.

But I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'? - the 'new car'/padded-out med bill I reckon? Good point . . .

I was just pointing out that there are some really odd laws here that to me are utter nonsense. Fair dos with the helmet thing. But the 2 examples I gave - plus nobody seems bothered about licences or 10 year-olds on motorbikes. This isn't a coconut island of farmers anymore where nobody could read or write and none of the vehicles needed to be taxed or insured and it was easy to just get on a motorbike and drive on the wrong side of the road all around the village - the out-of-proportion accident stats prove this.

Something as simple as a couple of hand-held speed guns constantly in daily use around the island for a start? Helmets?

Samui is big enough now and with enough trucks hammering around the ring road to warrant gov. cert. driving instructors and licenses for all - and a proper driving test with reversing and road positioning included. The police would be the first to have to pass . . . just to show they were serious (hysterical giggle . . .)

But where the heck would the police begin with this total chaos . . . ? We got flatscreens in most of the houses and everyone's got a mbike and a mobile phone. But the laws about driving are still back in the 1970s.

R

Cannot disagree with your points Rob, but just an update on one thing (highlighted above).

Earlier this year I paid for my manager to have driving lessons, to take her test and to get licences for both car and bike. All kosher.

She sat the written test and passed first time. When the old guy next to her asked her to help him as he couldn't read and write - he was sent away and told to learn the highway code and to do it himself.

One lad there was with his dad and dad asked if he could pay for his son to pass the test. He was sent away and told to get lessons for his son.

There was a young guy who was a policemen who pased his test. (Not in uniform)

The driving test involved parkiing, manouvering and reversing etc.

My manager failed the reversing but after a couple of more lessons went back and passed.

When I did my 5 year licence renewal earlier this year, there was a farang couple appying there as well. On the eyesight test, the husband kept telling the wife what to do and answering the questions for her. They were sent away and told to come back another day.

This is not going to fix the problems that you have mentioned, but it is a start. Things are improving.

Now - about all of those people who have been driving for years! How to fix them? (Foreigners are just as bad as the locals!)

And I agree with BangkokSpoon 100%. ALWAYS wear a helmet when on a bike.

Trop, I'm impressed! At last a thin vein of integrity has begun to appear. So happy to hear it and thanks for opening my eyes. Now . . . when is it going to become law that all police have to have a licence . . .? (Just kiddin.)

But seriously - this is the island from hell, as far as the roads are concerned. I passed this today. Level, flat road with no drainage ditch to fall into. No trees or concrete posts that were bumped or bounced off. No skid marks on the road. Tanker and trailer lined up straight . . . neatly parked but on its side! Plus last week I watched as a car drove straight into the back of my friend's pick-up, in a dead straight line without skidding or swerving or even slowing down. BAM. Amazing!

R

Edited October 11, 2013 by robsamui

[robsamui]

@Rob;

I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'?

My "Trying it on" is perhaps best explained by an example I encountered some years ago that went something like this:

- A ferang driving home from work @ dark o'clock indicated to turn into his estate.

- A motorbike with no lights T- boned him as he turned.

- The rider was found to be so pi_ssed that he couldn't even lay on the floor without hanging on!

- A 3rd party who hadn't seen the accident appeared from nowhere & spent 2 hrs trying to intimidate the driver into parting with vast sums...('local family/top half of shergar' an' all that; a chancer!)

Common sense did eventually prevail but only because the driver had suitable backup from the company that he worked for at the time.

HTH

Got it - much the same as what I was thinking. Happened to me - nudged a kid off his bike and his family turned up mob handed demanding 10,000 B for a scraped knee. (Told them I would wait at the police station while he went to Nathon hospital and came back with a receipt. Waited for 3 hours and then went home . . .)

R

[robsamui]

@Rob:

1. Much of the island is covered by CCTV; footage of which is available from the ampur for less than THB 50 (the cost of burning the disc).

2. Dashcams are considerably cheaper to residents than the cost of a new car, bike or med bill (etc) to anyone who 'tries it on'.

Thanks for the info about the CCTV disk - good to know.

But I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'? - the 'new car'/padded-out med bill I reckon? Good point . . .

I was just pointing out that there are some really odd laws here that to me are utter nonsense. Fair dos with the helmet thing. But the 2 examples I gave - plus nobody seems bothered about licences or 10 year-olds on motorbikes. This isn't a coconut island of farmers anymore where nobody could read or write and none of the vehicles needed to be taxed or insured and it was easy to just get on a motorbike and drive on the wrong side of the road all around the village - the out-of-proportion accident stats prove this.

Something as simple as a couple of hand-held speed guns constantly in daily use around the island for a start? Helmets?

Samui is big enough now and with enough trucks hammering around the ring road to warrant gov. cert. driving instructors and licenses for all - and a proper driving test with reversing and road positioning included. The police would be the first to have to pass . . . just to show they were serious (hysterical giggle . . .)

But where the heck would the police begin with this total chaos . . . ? We got flatscreens in most of the houses and everyone's got a mbike and a mobile phone. But the laws about driving are still back in the 1970s.

R

Cannot disagree with your points Rob, but just an update on one thing (highlighted above).

Earlier this year I paid for my manager to have driving lessons, to take her test and to get licences for both car and bike. All kosher.

She sat the written test and passed first time. When the old guy next to her asked her to help him as he couldn't read and write - he was sent away and told to learn the highway code and to do it himself.

One lad there was with his dad and dad asked if he could pay for his son to pass the test. He was sent away and told to get lessons for his son.

There was a young guy who was a policemen who pased his test. (Not in uniform)

The driving test involved parkiing, manouvering and reversing etc.

My manager failed the reversing but after a couple of more lessons went back and passed.

When I did my 5 year licence renewal earlier this year, there was a farang couple appying there as well. On the eyesight test, the husband kept telling the wife what to do and answering the questions for her. They were sent away and told to come back another day.

This is not going to fix the problems that you have mentioned, but it is a start. Things are improving.

Now - about all of those people who have been driving for years! How to fix them? (Foreigners are just as bad as the locals!)

And I agree with BangkokSpoon 100%. ALWAYS wear a helmet when on a bike.

Trop, I'm impressed! At last a thin vein of integrity has begun to appear. So happy to hear it and thanks for opening my eyes. Now . . . when is it going to become law that all police have to have a licence . . .? (Just kiddin.)

But seriously - this is the island from hell, as far as the roads are concerned. I passed this today. Level, flat road with no drainage ditch to fall into. No trees or concrete posts that were bumped or bounced off. No skid marks on the road. Tanker and trailer lined up straight . . . neatly parked but on its side! Plus last week I watched as a car drove straight into the back of my friend's pick-up, in a dead straight line without skidding or swerving or even slowing down. BAM. Amazing!

R

AH! It is - has been - actually 'parked'!

3 hours earlier it was like this . . . (thanks for the pic, Matt)

[yorkie100]

Interesting that when I was stopped at a roadblock and fined 400 baht for not having my licence with me (fair do's if that's the law, I was given a receipt) I offered to go home and bring my licence to show them I have one (as I would have to do back home). They were not interested in that, only that I was not carrying it. So anyone NOT having taken and passed a test is treated the same as anyone who has passed and has a licence but is not carrying it.

Illogical but TIT.

[churchill]

@Rob;

I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'?

My "Trying it on" is perhaps best explained by an example I encountered some years ago that went something like this:

- A ferang driving home from work @ dark o'clock indicated to turn into his estate.

- A motorbike with no lights T- boned him as he turned.

- The rider was found to be so pi_ssed that he couldn't even lay on the floor without hanging on!

- A 3rd party who hadn't seen the accident appeared from nowhere & spent 2 hrs trying to intimidate the driver into parting with vast sums...('local family/top half of shergar' an' all that; a chancer!)

Common sense did eventually prevail but only because the driver had suitable backup from the company that he worked for at the time.

HTH

Got it - much the same as what I was thinking. Happened to me - nudged a kid off his bike and his family turned up mob handed demanding 10,000 B for a scraped knee. (Told them I would wait at the police station while he went to Nathon hospital and came back with a receipt. Waited for 3 hours and then went home . . .)

R

I had a similar situation many years ago a young boy , 13 or so , no helmet decided to turn right from the left hand lane without looking or indicating ..... i did my best to avoid him , he had no helmet , but luckily no serious injuries apart from a very scrapped bottom.... I paid , no choice, not a lot but if I had not been aware he could have died ....

Also I was locked up on one occasion , a long story , but basically a Thai driver crashed on an empty road with no on coming traffic , not hitting me ...I was doing a school run 7.30am and had to edge out into the road to see as there was a garbage truck .... He was driving way too fast could not stop and rather than driving straight ahead , as he could have done panicked and crashed into a concrete pole , again luckily no injuries .. but he had his pregnant girlfriend in the front seat with no seat belt ...I was sweating for a few hours !

I feel sorry for the tourists who wear helmets but are still very unaware of traffic ....

Every day I go out I see idiotic driving mostly from local Thais .... either vans or lorries who have to drive like they need to get to their destination yesterday .... driving up to ones bumper to try to force more speed and then overtaking at the worst moment ...

I am convinced Thai drivers do not focus ahead but look about 2 metres in front of their bonnet .... For instance ..Many times I see a driver turning right ahead so I draw to the left to undertake but the driver behind me rather than following , noticing what is happening ahead , will think that I am stopping or turning left , and try to overtake only then to realise what is happening and that he is boxed and either has to stop behind the car turning right or make a sudden left turn ...

Van drivers and jungle park tourist pick ups are the worst...

[robsamui]

@Rob;

I'm puzzled about what you mean by 'trying it on'?

My "Trying it on" is perhaps best explained by an example I encountered some years ago that went something like this:

- A ferang driving home from work @ dark o'clock indicated to turn into his estate.

- A motorbike with no lights T- boned him as he turned.

- The rider was found to be so pi_ssed that he couldn't even lay on the floor without hanging on!

- A 3rd party who hadn't seen the accident appeared from nowhere & spent 2 hrs trying to intimidate the driver into parting with vast sums...('local family/top half of shergar' an' all that; a chancer!)

Common sense did eventually prevail but only because the driver had suitable backup from the company that he worked for at the time.

HTH

Got it - much the same as what I was thinking. Happened to me - nudged a kid off his bike and his family turned up mob handed demanding 10,000 B for a scraped knee. (Told them I would wait at the police station while he went to Nathon hospital and came back with a receipt. Waited for 3 hours and then went home . . .)

R

I had a similar situation many years ago a young boy , 13 or so , no helmet decided to turn right from the left hand lane without looking or indicating ..... i did my best to avoid him , he had no helmet , but luckily no serious injuries apart from a very scrapped bottom.... I paid , no choice, not a lot but if I had not been aware he could have died ....

Also I was locked up on one occasion , a long story , but basically a Thai driver crashed on an empty road with no on coming traffic , not hitting me ...I was doing a school run 7.30am and had to edge out into the road to see as there was a garbage truck .... He was driving way too fast could not stop and rather than driving straight ahead , as he could have done panicked and crashed into a concrete pole , again luckily no injuries .. but he had his pregnant girlfriend in the front seat with no seat belt ...I was sweating for a few hours !

I feel sorry for the tourists who wear helmets but are still very unaware of traffic ....

Every day I go out I see idiotic driving mostly from local Thais .... either vans or lorries who have to drive like they need to get to their destination yesterday .... driving up to ones bumper to try to force more speed and then overtaking at the worst moment ...

I am convinced Thai drivers do not focus ahead but look about 2 metres in front of their bonnet .... For instance ..Many times I see a driver turning right ahead so I draw to the left to undertake but the driver behind me rather than following , noticing what is happening ahead , will think that I am stopping or turning left , and try to overtake only then to realise what is happening and that he is boxed and either has to stop behind the car turning right or make a sudden left turn ...

Van drivers and jungle park tourist pick ups are the worst...

Chuckle - how many times each day do I undertake a Thai driver who has had to come to a dead halt on the bumper of the car in front, who has indicated right. I used to think that it was because Thais don't feel comfortable if there is space between them and the car in front. Then I kept noticing that a driver would close a 50-yard gap and stop right on my bum(per) (me in the middle of the road and signalling right . . .) So I reckon you may well be right. Or they're chatting on the phone. Or gawping out the window . . .

[robsamui]

Actually . . . (clears throat) . . . I have to say that up until the last year or so all my moans and whinges were about Thai people here and their utterly oblivious (to everything else on the road) driving habits. But I now see more and more tourist fools who have quite obviously never been on a bike before, and they are here, on the road, in probably the worst place in the world for road accidents.

Farang comes out of a side road onto the ring road, whacks the front brake on and his bike front-wheel skids into the car in front. Car driver gets out. Embarrassed farang goes to lift the bike up (engine still running) and grips the handle bars to do this. The open throttle drags him and the bike another 5 or 6 feet, bashing into the amazed car driver as he goes, before he lets go and falls down flat on his face, and the bike carries on by itself and smacks right into the side of a car passing in front on the ring road. (And yes - he was wearing a helmet, but I reckon he'd have been better off in a head-to-toe tutonium-plated Iron-Man outfit as well, plus chained to the sink in his hotel bathroom . . . )

Dum-dum-dum-dum - there are many tales to be told of the Twilight Zone - this is just one of them . . .

R

Edited October 11, 2013 by robsamui

[mjj]

I would have loved to see that Rob! Gave me a chuckle.

[limbos]

Agree that many Thai drivers are bad and dangerous drivers who in general have no environmental awareness about what's going or how other cars/bikes will react and that it takes time to stop a car, the higher the speed, the longer the time/distance to stop.

However, too many tourists have no idea what they're doing on a bike and are almost more dangerous than the Thai drivers.

[mjj]

As a generalisation of the bad riders on Samui, I would say the Thai's are in control of their bike, but lack awareness of other road users and the farang are just not in control of their motorbike. Apart from the younger Thai men on their bikes, the farang tend to ride faster as well. Just my opinion.

[Rooo]

I think that you also have to take into account the hundreds of migrant workers riding around. I was told in the past that they weren't, allowed to ride bikes. No wonder you see so many wearing full face helmets.

[samuijimmy]

I think that you also have to take into account the hundreds of migrant workers riding around. I was told in the past that they weren't, allowed to ride bikes. No wonder you see so many wearing full face helmets.

That's not true... at least with the Burmese workers, (tour guides) I know.... one I know has just brought a new bike and has applied for his drivers license. (not heard if he got it, yet) ...

These are legit workers with proper work permits.... I know there are many around who don't have WP's might be a different story for them?

All those I know have motor bikes, with no problem with police... they wear their helmets too

[evadgib]

As a generalisation of the bad riders on Samui, I would say the Thai's are in control of their bike, but lack awareness of other road users

They have about as much control as Wyle-E-Coyote in pursuit of a road runner.

[Rooo]

I think that you also have to take into account the hundreds of migrant workers riding around. I was told in the past that they weren't, allowed to ride bikes. No wonder you see so many wearing full face helmets.

That's not true... at least with the Burmese workers, (tour guides) I know.... one I know has just brought a new bike and has applied for his drivers license. (not heard if he got it, yet) ...

These are legit workers with proper work permits.... I know there are many around who don't have WP's might be a different story for them?

All those I know have motor bikes, with no problem with police... they wear their helmets too

Well that is not what I was told whenI had my workers , legal with permits. Could not have mobiles,not out of compound house after 8 pm & most definite not ride a bike. He got fined 1,000 baht & threatened with deportation if it occurred again.

[churchill]

I think that you also have to take into account the hundreds of migrant workers riding around. I was told in the past that they weren't, allowed to ride bikes. No wonder you see so many wearing full face helmets.

That's not true... at least with the Burmese workers, (tour guides) I know.... one I know has just brought a new bike and has applied for his drivers license. (not heard if he got it, yet) ...

These are legit workers with proper work permits.... I know there are many around who don't have WP's might be a different story for them?

All those I know have motor bikes, with no problem with police... they wear their helmets too

Well that is not what I was told whenI had my workers , legal with permits. Could not have mobiles,not out of compound house after 8 pm & most definite not ride a bike. He got fined 1,000 baht & threatened with deportation if it occurred again.

sounds like slave labour