Don't Stop for an Accident!

[sgtsabai]

elektrified, Appreciate your support of the Rescue people. This ambulance came from one of the local hospitals, it was not a pick-up truck. No, they were not well trained. I know more than they about trauma injury treatment in the field, although I'm a bit out of date and thankfully really out of practice. I have a very close friend back in the states that was the top EMT in New Mexico. We had damn well trained volunteers, both fire (she and I helped build one of the best volunteer departments in the state) and EMT. She later became an assistant DA (scared hell out of the EMT service-she knew where the skeletons were buried, so to speak) and is now a prominent attorney spending much of her time traveling doing seminars etc. for EMT type people and medical attorneys. She would have flat come unglued at what happened that night and take my word for it, kicked ass and took over. I understand it isn't easy to train and to have the right equipment here, but these people were flat incompetent. Here if you get to the ER alive, you have a fighting chance, in the field, time and incompetence will kill you. I lived for many years in a remote mountainous area of northern New Mexico working for the state. All of us in law enforcement had great confidence in our local volunteer EMTs, but we always said, just throw me in the truck, radio for (no cell phones up there) Life Flight and get me the hell out of here, there was too long of a wait for help to arrive and too long of a trip to a medical facility. I understand the complexities of medical care in the field. Thailand has, from what I have see- I may be wrong, not much in the way of EMTs. Thailand needs better trained personal and a "Good Samaritan" law.

[elektrified]

You have to realize that the Thais are so afraid of confrontation and any adverse social scene, that just leaving the scene would be pretty easy.

The chances of a cop being right there are almost nil, and I suspect you may have to wait around quite awhile for them to even show up. An ambulance? Fudged about it.

I suppose an enterprising bystander may jot down your plate and report it, but it would really be a minor miracle if they had a pen and paper (and could write the letters).

When I was in a bad accident, about 5 different people stopped to help and perhaps another 20 people came out from businesses, bars, etc. (all Thais). When I looked up I must have seen at least 10 people calling for an ambulance. Within less than 5 minutes an ambulance was there with a Rescue member and a R.N. It took the police longer to get there, in fact I was already at the hospital when they came. At least 5 different people took care of the motorcycle and made sure the driver of the car didn't take off. One person came to the hospital to give the keys to the police while another brought my wallet with about 7K THB inside it. So my experience was that people are very kind and caring in the event of a bad accident. I would indeed stop to help someone.

[rinteln]

Hard one to judge as each situation could be different but from my years of experience both with attending a few accident scenes but more from hearing stories I would not be inclined to stop at the scene of an accident and would take the advice of your girlfreind.

Yes I agree that in many situations it would be doing the right thing and im sure no wrong doing will go down but I have heard too many stories of foreigners being blamed and made responsible for the purposes of money and an easy case close for the police. Generally speaking Thais will stick together against the foreigner irrespective of the situation or what really happened and you will be at a disadvantage with the language barrier. And then what are you going to do once your there ?! You try to help the vitctim and things get worse or the victim doesnt surivive and someone says you messed up. Or a wound or injury is worse because you took a gamble and it didnt pay off. There are just so many angles to this its scary.

Its a shame because morally and ethically back home i would stop without a second's pause but here I would not and will not be stopping myself. I would call an ambulance and if with a Thai then she can go but no way I am.

Edited November 4, 2013 by rinteln

[Fullstop]

So my wife, sister-in-law (both Thai)and I

TWO Thais ... ONE Farang. Got it.

Their argument was that since I was the foreigner, even though I had absolutely nothing to do with the guy's accident, he could claim I caused the accident and no one would believe the foreigner.

Versus ONE Thai.

I don't get it.

[richard_smith237]

In contrast to the paranoid rumours its nice to read a handful of positive first hand stories - this is the Thailand I live in...

[Hardie]

It's not always the farang's fault, in fact or law. When a 13 y.o. kid and his 3 y.o. sister cut in front of me on a tiny Honda, I laid my 750 c.c. down rather than smash them. They paid.

[mad mary]

It's not always the farang's fault, in fact or law. When a 13 y.o. kid and his 3 y.o. sister cut in front of me on a tiny Honda, I laid my 750 c.c. down rather than smash them. They paid.

Answer that then you "expletive deleted"?

[ajs500]

I stepped into the road (having only looked left), where there was/is? a contra lane going west on the dual carriageway (sukhumvit area BKK) A m/c wiped me out. woke up in Bumrungrad, was transferred to BPH (Pattaya).

The motorcyclist and gf turned up a few days later, (extremely concerned), and asked me to sign it was not their fault. I signed , I thought it was me that was at fault.

[Morakot]

Opt for home cooking, reduces your chances of seeing accidents and possibly increases your life expectancy.

Edited November 8, 2013 by Morakot