Farang-Thai road accident and discrimination

[kcore]

I can understand the paranoia voiced here but, I must say I have never experienced it. The one accident I was involved in , was very interesting to say the least. Driving motorcai down a main road leading into Chiang Mai town. Truck coming from the other direction decides to pull a u turn directly in front of me. No more than 70 meters. No choice for me. I just lay the bike down and skid into the curb. Either this or t-bone the truck. Anyway, truck driver gets out, does not leave the scene and pay the entire 15k repair bill for the bike. No police involved!!! Just lucky?

[kcore]

/\ anybody wanna buy a second hand Honda air blade. Less than 13 k kilo......excellent condition. Farang owned and cared for.....hahah.

[JLCrab]

Per post # 211 above If at 60 km/hour = 16.67 meters per second or 4.2 seconds stopping time for 70 meters.

[Tomtomtom69]

Why are you surprised that The lady wasn't ready to meet them yet". This is a typical tactic when dealing with the police here in Thailand. The Red Bull heir who ran over a cop was not ready to meet with the police........The teenager who caused the accident that killed 9 people in Bangkok was not ready to meet with the police yet..Cheralems son who shot a cop was not ready to meet with the police,.... the former miss Thailands son who plowed into a group of pedestrians at a bus stop in a case of road rage was not ready to meet with the police

This is the way Thailand works and after 11 years here I am surprised that you don't know that already. I'm not saying that is it right, just that this is the way it is

A lot of Thais seem to have a very poor view of their police force, despite Thai police actually being quite friendly and fair, especially given their relatively limited resources. If the police here were more powerful and wouldn't let themselves be intimidated by ordinary people then Thailand would be well on it's way to becoming a developed country (and no, I'm not suggesting that the police should be all powerful and be able to get away with things an ordinary citizen can't as is/was the case in many communist countries; I'm simply saying they should be able to enforce the law and be able to detain people if there is a good reason to do so). There is no way anyone in a developed country would be able to say something like: "I'm not ready to meet the police yet". This is an absolutely bullshit excuse.

[nontabury]

Why are you surprised that The lady wasn't ready to meet them yet". This is a typical tactic when dealing with the police here in Thailand. The Red Bull heir who ran over a cop was not ready to meet with the police........The teenager who caused the accident that killed 9 people in Bangkok was not ready to meet with the police yet..Cheralems son who shot a cop was not ready to meet with the police,.... the former miss Thailands son who plowed into a group of pedestrians at a bus stop in a case of road rage was not ready to meet with the police

This is the way Thailand works and after 11 years here I am surprised that you don't know that already. I'm not saying that is it right, just that this is the way it is

A lot of Thais seem to have a very poor view of their police force, despite Thai police actually being quite friendly and fair, especially given their relatively limited resources.

You've got to be joking, the RTP fair, have you ever even visited Thailand,they are corrupt from the top down to the bottom as everybody, Thai's and Farangs well know. Limited resources= approx 225,000 police officers, who when not actively involved in crime

Can usually be found in their police station eating and watching TV. Compare this with the combined military personnel of the UK

Approx 175,000 personal.

[CaptHaddock]

So, the bottom line question is that all of this grief as well as that caused by police behavior can be avoided simply by not driving in Thailand. Why would any westerner find driving here to be worth the risk?

[dotpoom]

So, the bottom line question is that all of this grief as well as that caused by police behavior can be avoided simply by not driving in Thailand. Why would any westerner find driving here to be worth the risk?

Well you may ask.....but after giving it a little bit of thought I decided that the regular "jaunts" my wife and I go on every 5 or 6 weeks for a 3 night stay in a part of Thailand that we haven't seen before, was well worth the trouble of having our own vehicle to go in. So when we head off, we pack up the pick-up with the picnic gas cooker, (stopping at a nice "Salah" (Gazebo, Bus Shelter) along the way and have our "fry-up") We also bring an ice-box, in it we have the butter, jam, drinks, "man farangs" and whatever. Sometimes we bring a motorbike or the bicycles. On our way if we come to a nice town we will stop over for the night and carry on the next day. Any journey more than 14 hrs. away we would probably have two stop-overs. One stopover if nearer. We have found a decent room on the way costs only about 400 Baht. The room at our destination will be more "upmarket" at about 800 Baht. So our trip costs about 4000 Baht for accommodation and 3,000 Baht for gasoline. The food we would be buying anyway if we did not go anywhere.

So, I decided to get in the "dash-cams", upgrade to 1st class Insurance, cancel my policy with my original Insures, for more peace of mind when I'm driving. A small price to pay for the joy we receive from our planning of, and the taking of, our trips around Thailand.

Thank you all that replied with a genuine desire to contribute with advice and so forth. I have taken the above steps on your advice and feel so much better for it. Some people who replied seem to want to be just nasty and offensive...but that's OK too if it turns you on. GB.

[richard_smith237]

So, the bottom line question is that all of this grief as well as that caused by police behavior can be avoided simply by not driving in Thailand. Why would any westerner find driving here to be worth the risk?

Well you may ask.....but after giving it a little bit of thought I decided that the regular "jaunts" my wife and I go on every 5 or 6 weeks for a 3 night stay in a part of Thailand that we haven't seen before, was well worth the trouble of having our own vehicle to go in. So when we head off, we pack up the pick-up with the picnic gas cooker, (stopping at a nice "Salah" (Gazebo, Bus Shelter) along the way and have our "fry-up") We also bring an ice-box, in it we have the butter, jam, drinks, "man farangs" and whatever. Sometimes we bring a motorbike or the bicycles. On our way if we come to a nice town we will stop over for the night and carry on the next day. Any journey more than 14 hrs. away we would probably have two stop-overs. One stopover if nearer. We have found a decent room on the way costs only about 400 Baht. The room at our destination will be more "upmarket" at about 800 Baht. So our trip costs about 4000 Baht for accommodation and 3,000 Baht for gasoline. The food we would be buying anyway if we did not go anywhere.

So, I decided to get in the "dash-cams", upgrade to 1st class Insurance, cancel my policy with my original Insures, for more peace of mind when I'm driving. A small price to pay for the joy we receive from our planning of, and the taking of, our trips around Thailand.

Thank you all that replied with a genuine desire to contribute with advice and so forth. I have taken the above steps on your advice and feel so much better for it. Some people who replied seem to want to be just nasty and offensive...but that's OK too if it turns you on. GB.

Many of the folk who question the need for a car and use Police extortion or scams as an excuse have either made the choice not to have a car and are thus justifying their decision or they can't afford a car.

These folks are not aware of the sense of freedom that driving in Thailand can provide. Its clear that you use your car to the full, exploring Thailand and taking road trips.

Having driven in Thailand for 15 years I've had 3 minor accidents (2 of them in car parks!), never any police extortion, although I have paid a couple of times (once 100B for tax 3 months out of date, another time 80B for turning left from the second lane), I was once stopped for passenger not wearing a seat belt and asked for 2000B - the passenger was wearing a seatbelt, I argued and was waved along (some try it on). In 15 years I've probably been stopped about 7 or 8 times (mostly in the first couple of years). I've not been stopped at all in the past 3-4 years.

I've driven through numerous police stops - I'm always waved through.

In fact - I believe so firmly that the BiB are not out to specifically scam the Foreign driver that I have low tint on my windscreen so when I'm at a Police check point they can see a Westerner driving... they barely give me a second glance.

At most we are treated with an equal indifference. When involved in an incident the BiB simply attempt to take the path of least resistance and if that is through a weak Foreigner who yields so easily then so be it... they don't really care one way or another just so long as conclusion to the issue at hand is reached as quickly as possible.

There are also other social factors which come into play i.e. the poorer party usually gets paid, but even this can be refused if you are in the right.

The Dash cam and first class insurance are a must, not only in Thailand, but in any country these days.... i.e. UK with numerous fake 'rear-end' scams where the car in front breaks suddenly or reverses into you and clams injury and compensation against your insurance.

Common sense is protecting yourself with some level of balance. Completely avoiding having a car because there is an element of risk is a little excessive, where do we draw the line? some are happy on a bike without a helmet in Thailand others have stated that all road related problems can be avoided by not having car - Food poisoning can be avoided by not eating !!!.... there needs to be balance when making these decisions.

[yougivemebaby]

So, the bottom line question is that all of this grief as well as that caused by police behavior can be avoided simply by not driving in Thailand. Why would any westerner find driving here to be worth the risk?

Well you may ask.....but after giving it a little bit of thought I decided that the regular "jaunts" my wife and I go on every 5 or 6 weeks for a 3 night stay in a part of Thailand that we haven't seen before, was well worth the trouble of having our own vehicle to go in. So when we head off, we pack up the pick-up with the picnic gas cooker, (stopping at a nice "Salah" (Gazebo, Bus Shelter) along the way and have our "fry-up") We also bring an ice-box, in it we have the butter, jam, drinks, "man farangs" and whatever. Sometimes we bring a motorbike or the bicycles. On our way if we come to a nice town we will stop over for the night and carry on the next day. Any journey more than 14 hrs. away we would probably have two stop-overs. One stopover if nearer. We have found a decent room on the way costs only about 400 Baht. The room at our destination will be more "upmarket" at about 800 Baht. So our trip costs about 4000 Baht for accommodation and 3,000 Baht for gasoline. The food we would be buying anyway if we did not go anywhere.

So, I decided to get in the "dash-cams", upgrade to 1st class Insurance, cancel my policy with my original Insures, for more peace of mind when I'm driving. A small price to pay for the joy we receive from our planning of, and the taking of, our trips around Thailand.

Thank you all that replied with a genuine desire to contribute with advice and so forth. I have taken the above steps on your advice and feel so much better for it. Some people who replied seem to want to be just nasty and offensive...but that's OK too if it turns you on. GB.

Many of the folk who question the need for a car and use Police extortion or scams as an excuse have either made the choice not to have a car and are thus justifying their decision or they can't afford a car.

These folks are not aware of the sense of freedom that driving in Thailand can provide. Its clear that you use your car to the full, exploring Thailand and taking road trips.

Having driven in Thailand for 15 years I've had 3 minor accidents (2 of them in car parks!), never any police extortion, although I have paid a couple of times (once 100B for tax 3 months out of date, another time 80B for turning left from the second lane), I was once stopped for passenger not wearing a seat belt and asked for 2000B - the passenger was wearing a seatbelt, I argued and was waved along (some try it on). In 15 years I've probably been stopped about 7 or 8 times (mostly in the first couple of years). I've not been stopped at all in the past 3-4 years.

I've driven through numerous police stops - I'm always waved through.

In fact - I believe so firmly that the BiB are not out to specifically scam the Foreign driver that I have low tint on my windscreen so when I'm at a Police check point they can see a Westerner driving... they barely give me a second glance.

At most we are treated with an equal indifference. When involved in an incident the BiB simply attempt to take the path of least resistance and if that is through a weak Foreigner who yields so easily then so be it... they don't really care one way or another just so long as conclusion to the issue at hand is reached as quickly as possible.

There are also other social factors which come into play i.e. the poorer party usually gets paid, but even this can be refused if you are in the right.

The Dash cam and first class insurance are a must, not only in Thailand, but in any country these days.... i.e. UK with numerous fake 'rear-end' scams where the car in front breaks suddenly or reverses into you and clams injury and compensation against your insurance.

Common sense is protecting yourself with some level of balance. Completely avoiding having a car because there is an element of risk is a little excessive, where do we draw the line? some are happy on a bike without a helmet in Thailand others have stated that all road related problems can be avoided by not having car - Food poisoning can be avoided by not eating !!!.... there needs to be balance when making these decisions.

I was just in an accident in the north. I was on a two lane highway. A bicyclist was heading the same direction as I was. I was going about 80-90 KMPH. The bicyclist swerves into my lane then I swerved into incoming traffic lane as he ended up in the middle of the road. I didn't have time to slow down just swerve. I would have hit him for sure if there were cars coming the other way! I clipped his handlebars avoiding a head on collision with this (about 70 year old thai guy). He only fell off his bike truly avoiding a complete disaster for both of us I'm sure. There is no possible way this guy would have lived if I hit him going full speed head on. It would have been very bad. I pulled over and gave him 2000 baht he was not interested in going to the hospital and very happy with the money. Said he didn't see me (even though I had my full lights on) I always dri9ve with my lights on. He also denied a ride home.

Let's just say I did hit him and (God forbid) I did kill him. What would have happened to me? I had a dash cam in the car and it was on and recorded the event but would I still be at fault? I felt horrible after that and am very thankful it wasn't worse. I still have visions of the moment right before I clipped him. What would most people do? My passengers (Thai) insisted he was okay with out me stopping. Yes I did stop!

[AnotherOneAmerican]

I was hit by a motorcycle who tried to undertake me as i was turning left into my service station , of course "it was my fault and money was wanted" i just said no ,in the end after about an hour ,my insurance guy had not turned up ,but my wife had "you dont want to get on the wrong side of her" anyway long story short ,i ended paying for my own repairs , i got rid of my insurance company and too get rid of the girs ,who by now i felt sorry for ,i gave them 1000 baht. waste of time here relying on anyone from the police to the insurance ,sort it out yourself. but stand your ground.

Straight ahead has right of way in Thailand.

If you turn and hit someone (on your left or your right) you are in the wrong.

Don't assume the traffic laws from your country are the same as the traffic laws in a foreign country.

@OP,

Did you email the Insurance company in Thai, the language used in Thailand is Thai, English emails to a Thai company are often deleted unread.

[yougivemebaby]

I was hit by a motorcycle who tried to undertake me as i was turning left into my service station , of course "it was my fault and money was wanted" i just said no ,in the end after about an hour ,my insurance guy had not turned up ,but my wife had "you dont want to get on the wrong side of her" anyway long story short ,i ended paying for my own repairs , i got rid of my insurance company and too get rid of the girs ,who by now i felt sorry for ,i gave them 1000 baht. waste of time here relying on anyone from the police to the insurance ,sort it out yourself. but stand your ground.

Straight ahead has right of way in Thailand.

If you turn and hit someone (on your left or your right) you are in the wrong.

Don't assume the traffic laws from your country are the same as the traffic laws in a foreign country.

@OP,

Did you email the Insurance company in Thai, the language used in Thailand is Thai, English emails to a Thai company are often deleted unread.

I just don't want to drive anymore.

[richard_smith237]

Let's just say I did hit him and (God forbid) I did kill him. What would have happened to me? I had a dash cam in the car and it was on and recorded the event but would I still be at fault? I felt horrible after that and am very thankful it wasn't worse. I still have visions of the moment right before I clipped him. What would most people do? My passengers (Thai) insisted he was okay with out me stopping. Yes I did stop!

Interesting question: In this hypothetical situation I guess you may be arrested because a death is involved. As I understand it you will automatically be charged with Manslaughter, again as I understand it this a formality.

You will hold your nerve and keep your cool, you will show the evidence and make sure you keep a backup of the digital video files. You will have absolute proof that this is not your fault, you have nothing to worry about.

Following processing you will be let go but expected to leave contact details, you may have to post a bail.

In similar situations a Thai may offer money to the bereaved family, if when this is combined with absolute proof you are not at fault you would be considered kind etc and be treated respectfully.

Given your situation in clipping the guy - I would have stopped to ensure he was ok. If he's ok, I'd simply carry on after checking.

If he was hurt, I'd have no choice but to take the humane option and take him to a government hospital, or alternatively wait for some Thais to arrive and ask them to call an ambulance from the nearest government hospital. If anyone got a little shirty, I'd show them the evidence that the accident wasn't my fault.

If people started getting pushy and threatening, I'd drive off to the nearest police station and return with the BiB.

[GuestHouse]

I had a road accident in Pattaya about 18 months ago.

An elderly couple were crossing the road in heavy traffic in front of me, I slowed to let them cross in front of me and 'bang' a pick-up truck ran into the back of me.

This in front of a restaurant with a terrace full of foreigners gawping at the spectacle.

I got out of my vehicle and went to check the driver who had slammed me. I opened her door to find her head between her knees trying to retrieve the phone she'd been using as she crashed into me. The phone still connected, what turned out to be her daughter screaming in panic on the other side of the disrupted conversation.

Next to the Thai driver a foreign guy.

I returned to my car and called my insurance who instructed me not to move the car unless instructed to do so by the police.

The insurance rep was at the scene in less than ten minutes. He arrived before the police but not before a number of foreigners told me to flee the scene 'They'll gang up against you... you are going to be ripped off'.

A long story short.

The driver of the vehicle who rammed me, did indeed try to get my insurance rep to side with her "Help the Thai person" she also tried to get the police to try and help her out 'Help the Thai person".

The son-in-law of the driver who rammed me, turned up and tried to convince me to move my car 'you are blocking the traffic'.

The daughter of the driver who rammed me used some very choice language as I told my insurance rep (in Thai), 'Either she [the driver who rammed me] signs to accept responsibility in the next three minutes or I'm going to make a report to the police'.

End result.

The police officer at the scene stayed out of the issue, beyond marking the road before our vehicles where moved.

The insurance rep did his job professionally

The woman accepted responsibility (Despite not having insurance)

My insurance paid for the repairs to my vehicle

The people advising me to flee where wrong

The foreigner in the other driver's car did indeed flee the scene

No back handers, not pulling strings, no name dropping - simple professionalism from the Insurance Rep and Police at the scene.

Things might have been different had I been drunk, overstaying a visa, driving without a license, tax or insurance.

The trick is obey the law yourself - and don't assume the law is against you.

Edited June 21, 2014 by GuestHouse

[losworld]

I was hit by a motorcycle who tried to undertake me as i was turning left into my service station , of course "it was my fault and money was wanted" i just said no ,in the end after about an hour ,my insurance guy had not turned up ,but my wife had "you dont want to get on the wrong side of her" anyway long story short ,i ended paying for my own repairs , i got rid of my insurance company and too get rid of the girs ,who by now i felt sorry for ,i gave them 1000 baht. waste of time here relying on anyone from the police to the insurance ,sort it out yourself. but stand your ground.

Insurance is one of the biggest ripoffs around and corrupt govts have made it mandatory. Now in Thailand it is even more the case. You will find out more when you have to make a claim.

Reminds me of the time a friend in Canada who had a perfect 15 year driving record and had purchased premium insurance lowest deductible for both his vehicles all this time making the insurance company great profit filed for a small claim on one of his vehicles. The insurance rep told him don't claim the cost will push up your policy charges more than the damage.

Insurance is great as long as you don't collect.

Edited June 21, 2014 by losworld

[farang000999]

Dashboard Camera.

[yougivemebaby]

Dashboard Camera.

Yes I have one. Fortunately I just got one about a month ago. It could have been worse and I did record it. SOme freaky stuff I tell you.

[evadgib]

I had a road accident in Pattaya about 18 months ago.

An elderly couple were crossing the road in heavy traffic in front of me, I slowed to let them cross in front of me and 'bang' a pick-up truck ran into the back of me.

This in front of a restaurant with a terrace full of foreigners gawping at the spectacle.

I got out of my vehicle and went to check the driver who had slammed me. I opened her door to find her head between her knees trying to retrieve the phone she'd been using as she crashed into me. The phone still connected, what turned out to be her daughter screaming in panic on the other side of the disrupted conversation.

Next to the Thai driver a foreign guy.

I returned to my car and called my insurance who instructed me not to move the car unless instructed to do so by the police.

The insurance rep was at the scene in less than ten minutes. He arrived before the police but not before a number of foreigners told me to flee the scene 'They'll gang up against you... you are going to be ripped off'.

A long story short.

The driver of the vehicle who rammed me, did indeed try to get my insurance rep to side with her "Help the Thai person" she also tried to get the police to try and help her out 'Help the Thai person".

The son-in-law of the driver who rammed me, turned up and tried to convince me to move my car 'you are blocking the traffic'.

The daughter of the driver who rammed me used some very choice language as I told my insurance rep (in Thai), 'Either she [the driver who rammed me] signs to accept responsibility in the next three minutes or I'm going to make a report to the police'.

End result.

The police officer at the scene stayed out of the issue, beyond marking the road before our vehicles where moved.

The insurance rep did his job professionally

The woman accepted responsibility (Despite not having insurance)

My insurance paid for the repairs to my vehicle

The people advising me to flee where wrong

The foreigner in the other driver's car did indeed flee the scene

No back handers, not pulling strings, no name dropping - simple professionalism from the Insurance Rep and Police at the scene.

Things might have been different had I been drunk, overstaying a visa, driving without a license, tax or insurance.

The trick is obey the law yourself - and don't assume the law is against you.

She admitted liability and you paid?

[Neeranam]

It's not discrimination against the foreigner. If two foreigners are in an accident, do you think they'll get the same treatment as they would in their own country? This is Thailand and things work differently here. Say a sexpat/tourist who had been here for a month ran into me on my my motorbike and I was drunk on the wrong side of the road. Who do you think would have to pay?

[farang000999]

I had a road accident in Pattaya about 18 months ago.

An elderly couple were crossing the road in heavy traffic in front of me, I slowed to let them cross in front of me and 'bang' a pick-up truck ran into the back of me.

This in front of a restaurant with a terrace full of foreigners gawping at the spectacle.

I got out of my vehicle and went to check the driver who had slammed me. I opened her door to find her head between her knees trying to retrieve the phone she'd been using as she crashed into me. The phone still connected, what turned out to be her daughter screaming in panic on the other side of the disrupted conversation.

Next to the Thai driver a foreign guy.

I returned to my car and called my insurance who instructed me not to move the car unless instructed to do so by the police.

The insurance rep was at the scene in less than ten minutes. He arrived before the police but not before a number of foreigners told me to flee the scene 'They'll gang up against you... you are going to be ripped off'.

A long story short.

The driver of the vehicle who rammed me, did indeed try to get my insurance rep to side with her "Help the Thai person" she also tried to get the police to try and help her out 'Help the Thai person".

The son-in-law of the driver who rammed me, turned up and tried to convince me to move my car 'you are blocking the traffic'.

The daughter of the driver who rammed me used some very choice language as I told my insurance rep (in Thai), 'Either she [the driver who rammed me] signs to accept responsibility in the next three minutes or I'm going to make a report to the police'.

End result.

The police officer at the scene stayed out of the issue, beyond marking the road before our vehicles where moved.

The insurance rep did his job professionally

The woman accepted responsibility (Despite not having insurance)

My insurance paid for the repairs to my vehicle

The people advising me to flee where wrong

The foreigner in the other driver's car did indeed flee the scene

No back handers, not pulling strings, no name dropping - simple professionalism from the Insurance Rep and Police at the scene.

Things might have been different had I been drunk, overstaying a visa, driving without a license, tax or insurance.

The trick is obey the law yourself - and don't assume the law is against you.

She admitted liability and you paid?

I don't think you understand how insurance works lol.

[moe666]

OP you give up really easy maybe there is nothing to report yet, from you report no one has asked you for anything. Whats with the rush at least the lady is alive.

[bonobo]

One of my falang office colleagues was hit by a Thai motorcycle rider in front of the office with 3 of our security guards watching. My falang colleague is a lawyer and very aware of protocol with anything documented. He was in the far lane with turn indicator on and just starting to turn across the oncoming lane. The Thai motorcycle rider was approaching from behind and decided to gun it and try and pass in front of my colleague in the oncoming traffic lane. The motorcycle bounced off of his right front fender and the rider and bike lost balance and came to a crashing halt in 2 places further down the oncoming lane. The police were called and an ambulance took the rider to the hospital. The rider had a broken wrist and some road rash.

My colleague was brought to the cop shop and he gave his statement. One of our security guards and an HR staffer also went and the cops agreed it was the riders fault.

Not so. A week later, my colleague is called to the cop shop again. The rider insists it was the falangs fault. The cops say, the rider is very poor, falang pay hospital bill and lost wages now that rider is at home recovering. My colleague insists that all agreed already that it was clearly the riders' fault and nothing to do with the rider's poverty.

The HR staffer takes him aside and says, this will not go away and will get worse unless it is closed out today. My colleague says, he will pay no money for this! The HR staffer tells the police, our company will give Bht 1,000 and my colleague will agree to 50/50 fault.

Case Closed!

This is almost exactly what happened to me. I was waiting to turn right, had my turn signal on, and a motorcyclist tried to pass me in the oncoming traffic lane, hitting my door. This was at night, and he didn't even have his lights on. He broke his ankle. When the cop got to the scene, he told the rider on the bike that the driver was at fault, which was obvious from the accident scene. When he found out that the dirver was unlicensed and had no insurance, and I was licensed with insurance, he told my then g/f that he was going to report that I was at fault so that the moto driver could get his hospital bill paid for.

I took photos of everything to prove I was in the right, but my insurance company just told me to forget it.

[JournalistsAreLiars]

Why did you stop? You have a first class insurance and she wanted to die, so just do as the Thai, just escape !!!

[JournalistsAreLiars]

Anyway the penalty is not worst later if they catch you, what will of course never happen...

Edited June 24, 2014 by JournalistsAreLiars