British national charged for road fatality in Phuket

[webfact]

British national charged for road fatality in Phuket
Phuket Gazette


In an attempt to evade the car, the 17-year-old Mr Patiphan crashed into a utility pole. Photo: Thawit Bilabdullar

PHUKET: -- A British national was charged with reckless driving causing death after she allegedly forced a 17-year-old student on a motorbike off the road into a utility pole.

According to witnesses, Faye Louise Taylor, 39, made a left-hand turn from Thepkasattri Road toward Nai Yang Beach at just past midnight today, cutting off Patiphan Lawan.

The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet, lost control of his motorbike in an attempt to evade Ms Taylor’s car. Mr Patiphan then crashed into a nearby utility pole, explained Lt Chatree Chuwichian of the Thalang Police.

Mr Patiphan was rushed to Thalang Hospital with a serious head injury. He was later moved to the better equipped Vachira Phuket Hospital. However, doctors were unable to save him, said Lt Chatree.

“About 20 meters from the crashed motorbike, we found Ms Faye inside her car in a state of shock,” said Lt Chatree.

Source: http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2013/British-national-charged-for-road-fatality-in-Phuket-22738.html


-- Phuket Gazette 2013-11-08

[NomadJoe]

The article should note that charging the driver with reckless driving causing death in an accident like this is standard procedure until an investigation can be completed. It's one of the reasons why people flee accident scenes here.

[Mister Fixit]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Edited November 8, 2013 by Mister Fixit

[Kilgore Trout]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet'  - and had he been drinking too?  Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet  ...

 

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Was the motorbike driver in a lane proper or trying to squeeze by in the same lane occupied by the car? If the latter HE was driving recklessly

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[chooka]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

was he overtaking a left turning vehicle on the left which seems to be a standard practice in Thailand. I have lost count of the close calls I have had when making a left hand turn even after giving plenty of signals to indicate my intention they still come down on your left. My wife tells me if you hit a bike with your car then you are in the wrong.

[daiwill60]

Will be interesting to see what penalty she is given as a farang rather than the situation being a reverse , ie a farang killed due to stupid thai drivers pulling a left in front of a motor bike ridden by a farang. A couple of weeks ago while doing 80 Km/hr on my bike an idiot just pulled over into the cycle lane and came to an abrupt stop right in front of me, no indicators and no particular reason why either, he just could not be bothered to slow down a bit then pull in behind me, Luckily I was also able to slam on the brakes and just about swerve around him . Through my rear view mirrors, I think I saw a police car we had passed 500mtrs back pull up to him , but i did not hang around to see what they did and just went on my merry way. But if I had hit him what would his penalty have been???? or would it have been my penalty ???

[hanno]

Ah, the Thai rider must be at fault.........

Edited November 8, 2013 by hanno

[stevenl]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

[chooka]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

Generally charges come after the investigation.

[stevenl]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

was he overtaking a left turning vehicle on the left which seems to be a standard practice in Thailand. I have lost count of the close calls I have had when making a left hand turn even after giving plenty of signals to indicate my intention they still come down on your left. My wife tells me if you hit a bike with your car then you are in the wrong.

That's why when turning left you have to make sure you are completely on the left hand side of the lane.

[Nov 13]

17, so no driving license and no helmet.

Car was making a left turn, so not crossing over any lanes.... where was the bike. Without doubt I would say it was in one of two places:

Under cutting the car before it turned, or in the lane the car was turning into, thus on the wrong side of the road.

The people here have no concept or clue of how to properly turn onto/into a road, they typically first cut across the oncoming lane to make their turn shorter, I would guess that this young illegal driver was doing just that when the car turned onto that road and he was in the wrong lane about to turn on to that main road.

[stevenl]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

Generally charges come after the investigation.

No, not here.

[Paangjang]

17, so no driving license and no helmet.

Car was making a left turn, so not crossing over any lanes.... where was the bike. Without doubt I would say it was in one of two places:

Under cutting the car before it turned, or in the lane the car was turning into, thus on the wrong side of the road.

The people here have no concept or clue of how to properly turn onto/into a road, they typically first cut across the oncoming lane to make their turn shorter, I would guess that this young illegal driver was doing just that when the car turned onto that road and he was in the wrong lane about to turn on to that main road.

How do you know he had no license? Can get a bike license at 15...

[jamiejoel]

Actually there is a reason drivers may not know the road laws. Whilst taking the Thai drivers theory test, which was translated into English, the question was. You are travelling along a road and wish to turn into a road on the left. Who do you give way to? the multiple guess answers were. A. Cars coming from the left hand side. B. cars going straight on. C cars approaching and right turning into the road...

When I pointed out all answers were incorrect they marked a wrong answer correct.

IMHO I don't think anyone who refuses to wear a helmet has any claim for damages. This poor chap died from Head injuries, which surely would be prevented with a helmet. It is akin to someone claiming damages when they don't wear a seat belt. rip young man, but maybe more publicity should be raised about helmets again. Yes if she was in the wrong persecute but not wearing a helmet was maybe the cause of death..

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[KarenBravo]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

I think Faye is a female name.

[andreandre]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Ms Faye inside her car..

According to you who knows all..who is he??

Nuff said,,,,

[stevenl]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

I think Faye is a female name.

You're right, thanks.

Does of course not change anything: the accident is being investigated, that's why she is arrested. People claiming 'arrested because a foreigner' are talking about something they don't know anything about and have a major attitude problem.

[biggles45]

"The people here have no concept or clue of how to properly turn onto/into a road, they typically first cut across the oncoming lane to make their turn shorter"

Very true, I have lost count of the number of times I have got to an intersection and had to avoid a thai driver who is in my side of the road when he is turning.

[KarenBravo]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Maybe, but we don't know that yet.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Nuff said, the foreigner feels disgruntled without any facts.

For the moment he is charged so the accident can be investigated, that is why he is charged. Nobody is blamed as of yet.

Ms Faye inside her car..

According to you who knows all..who is he??

Nuff said,,,,

Re-read the article. It plainly says she has been charged. He is dead. You don't charge dead people.

In fact, there's a subtle clue in the title, "British national charged", and that national happens to be a woman called Faye.

May I suggest a trip to an optometrist?

Nuff said

Edited November 8, 2013 by KarenBravo

[lensta]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Was the motorbike driver in a lane proper or trying to squeeze by in the same lane occupied by the car? If the latter HE was driving recklessly

Sent from my GT-I9300T using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

My thoughts exactly

[firestar]

Car was making a left turn, so not crossing over any lanes.... where was the bike. Without doubt I would say it was in one of two places:

Under cutting the car before it turned, or in the lane the car was turning into, thus on the wrong side of the road.

OR she simply didn't look to the right when turning, he was in the correct lane but she came out in front of him. happens to me all the time/

[unanimosity]

The article should note that charging the driver with reckless driving causing death in an accident like this is standard procedure until an investigation can be completed. It's one of the reasons why people flee accident scenes here.

But the drivers nearly always turn themselves in or are tracked down, so can you further explain your reasoning that this is why people flee scenes here, exspecially if it is just standard procedure until an investigation?

Edited November 8, 2013 by unanimosity

[chrissables]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

Must know if he was wearing a helmet the accident would not have happened!

[IrishIvan]

I just drive faster than everyone else, that way when I reach an intersection I am 90% sure there is no one in my turning circle

[chrissables]

Actually there is a reason drivers may not know the road laws. Whilst taking the Thai drivers theory test, which was translated into English, the question was. You are travelling along a road and wish to turn into a road on the left. Who do you give way to? the multiple guess answers were. A. Cars coming from the left hand side. B. cars going straight on. C cars approaching and right turning into the road...

When I pointed out all answers were incorrect they marked a wrong answer correct.

IMHO I don't think anyone who refuses to wear a helmet has any claim for damages. This poor chap died from Head injuries, which surely would be prevented with a helmet. It is akin to someone claiming damages when they don't wear a seat belt. rip young man, but maybe more publicity should be raised about helmets again. Yes if she was in the wrong persecute but not wearing a helmet was maybe the cause of death..

Sent from my iPad using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

IMHO I don't think anyone who refuses to wear a helmet has any claim for damages. Why? Please explain that stupid statement. A person could be riding a bike at 30mph in a safe way and if some di#k head smashes into them breaking both legs, but no helmet, its tough sh#t? Surely it is time that the cause of accidents were looked into, not all this seat belt and helmet nonsense!

[Zodaka]

If you've just come to Thailand you may not know that it's normal to overtake on the left side. Whether that's the case in this accident or not, could be helpful to inform tourists renting vehicles.

[Ulic]

Cant tell who is at fault from the article. Did she signal? etc... etc As for wearing a helmet. A bit of a red herring.

99% of helmets here will not save you from anything, and no helmet will save you from everything.

They will keep your head relatively in tact for your funeral. I feel sorry for both. He paid the ultimate price,

she did not do it on purpose and will be dealing with it for some time regardless of fault.

[mikebell]

'The 17-year-old Mr Patiphan, who was not wearing a helmet' - and had he been drinking too? Bloody idiot, he must know the score riding a bike in Phuket without a helmet ...

'Nuff said, but the foreigner gets the blame ...

was he overtaking a left turning vehicle on the left which seems to be a standard practice in Thailand. I have lost count of the close calls I have had when making a left hand turn even after giving plenty of signals to indicate my intention they still come down on your left. My wife tells me if you hit a bike with your car then you are in the wrong.

Unless it's a Thai driving the car. My Dutch friend was run off the road by a pickup. After hours of debate no blame allocated to the Thai driver despite a suspicion that he was drunk. My friend's hospital bills are over one and a half million (some covered by insurance); he's been in pain and immobile for three months and counting. He's ridden motor bikes for 40 years without accident.

[thaicbr]

17, so no driving license and no helmet.

Car was making a left turn, so not crossing over any lanes.... where was the bike. Without doubt I would say it was in one of two places:

Under cutting the car before it turned, or in the lane the car was turning into, thus on the wrong side of the road.

The people here have no concept or clue of how to properly turn onto/into a road, they typically first cut across the oncoming lane to make their turn shorter, I would guess that this young illegal driver was doing just that when the car turned onto that road and he was in the wrong lane about to turn on to that main road.

How do you know he had no license? Can get a bike license at 15...

True ... but only for motorcycles under 110cc. Over 110cc you have to be over 18.

[thaicbr]

Cant tell who is at fault from the article. Did she signal? etc... etc As for wearing a helmet. A bit of a red herring.

99% of helmets here will not save you from anything, and no helmet will save you from everything.

They will keep your head relatively in tact for your funeral. I feel sorry for both. He paid the ultimate price,

she did not do it on purpose and will be dealing with it for some time regardless of fault.

Sorry but what a stupid statement "99% of helmets here will not save you from anything"

Helmets can and do save lives... offcourse there are good , medium, bad and pathetic helmets.. but they will ALL provide more protection than non at all.