Just witnessed a horrifying accident in Pattaya Sunday afternoon

[Tmymaimee]

Hard to put into words but I was stopped at the Sukhumvit Road light where u come off from the main highway from Bangkok. Sort of daydreaming waiting for the light to turn green when all I heard was a loud, sickening THUMP. Looked up to see a scooter being t-boned by a Honda Civic and fly about 40 feet. The bike broke into big chunks with plastic scattered all over the highway. The bike driver was lying on the road and just sort of twitching. The passenger slowly staggered up like a zombie, crying hysterically with her arm all weird.

The Honda driver was in shock, walking around and then trying to help the bike driver and calling for help. Contrary to what you read here, many people went to try and help and an ambulance arrived in a minute. Until you witness something so horrible as this, there are no way to understand the sounds of the bike hit, the crying and the anguish on everyone.

I have no idea what caused it as it happened in a split second. After seeing this though, I would really question parents who allow their kids to ride scooters. In this case, everyone was middle aged but the images still stay with you a long time.

[Briggsy]

If it is the junction of the Motorway and Sukhumvit with a T-junction with a flyover ahead, there are 4 speciifc dangers of these lights.

1) Both North bound and South Bound traffic on Sukhumvit tend to jump the red light more than usual as there is often nothing coming off the motorway.

2) Motorbikes sometimes do a very illegal and dangerous turn to get from the West side of Sukhumvit to the East side. That is totally illegal.

3) Red light jumpers on the Northbound Sukhumvit fail to appreciate cars are coming from the Motorway and then turning into the petrol station.

4) Cars taking the legal U-turn 100m north of this junction quickly cross 4 lanes to get on the Motorway.

Stay safe. Try to anticipate and learn the dangers.

[I knew this would happen]

Thank god I never saw a fatal bike accidnet like this happen, only saw the remains of such accidents which I passed. Those sceneries were horrible enough already.

But unfortunately they don´t seem to scare others enough, in some places it seems to happen almost everyday. I don´t know if the scooter drivers will ever become sane.....mostly it is their own fault.

Shortly after midnight while driving home I saw many death candidates riding around and some might have not survived New Years´s Eve. My favourite were the unlit high speed ghost drivers coming my way holding a bottle of I guess Blend 285. No helmets of course and ignoring my half finished left turn.

Stay on red alert every second.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Thank god I never saw a fatal bike accidnet like this happen, only saw the remains of such accidents which I passed. Those sceneries were horrible enough already.

But unfortunately they don´t seem to scare others enough, in some places it seems to happen almost everyday. I don´t know if the scooter drivers will ever become sane.....mostly it is their own fault.

Shortly after midnight while driving home I saw many death candidates riding around and some might have not survived New Years´s Eve. My favourite were the unlit high speed ghost drivers coming my way holding a bottle of I guess Blend 285. No helmets of course and ignoring my half finished left turn.

Stay on red alert every second.

It was so bad on NYE night, I parked my moto and walked. Kids riding at breakneck speed with 2 passengers down Klang toward the beach, were flying by in droves. Far more than you'd see on an ordinary night. In one case, a guy on a souped up 125 wheelie-ed down Klang with a passenger hanging off the pillion. Crazy, stupid and young. And will probably never be old.

Be careful out there!

[wellred]

Not a nice start to the new year.

[1ma]

Rules for your children in Thailand.

Not allowed in a car without their seatbelt on.

No access to a scooter, never on one.

Riding around the Moo Bahn on their bicycle they must have a helmet on.

Travel is done with the mother and/or father in a family car, with their seatbelt on. They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws.

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

[lakecross]

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

I think it's healthier to let them make their own way in life after a certain age. Too much wrapping in cotton wool in all areas of their existence and they don't have any life experience.

[mogandave]

Crazy, stupid and young. And will probably never be old.

Be careful out there!

Old riders and bold riders, but not many old, bold riders...

[BSJ]

It's never going to change. Well it might if the riding driving tests were tougher and enforcement of laws became tougher. It's never going to change.

[jimmybcool]

Sucks to see that. I have witnessed a bad accident in Pattaya too. I was driving on 3rd road one morning going to golf. I passed a motorbike taxi stopped in the middle where he belonged with his turn signal on awaiting a break in traffic to turn right. Suddenly I look up and a motorcycle cop is IN MY LANE moving at high speed and I have to swerve almost off the road to avoid being hit head on by him. He did not have a siren or lights flashing and had no need to be in my lane. His lane was empty.

I knew what was coming and looked in my rear view and sure enough the guy turning right started across and the motorcycle cop t-boned him doing at least 70-80 KMH. Both riders went flying and bike parts were sent in every direction. At this point it was far in my rear view mirror and I admit I did not go back.

I felt doubly bad for the motorcycle taxi guy. He was hurt, bike damaged, and assuming he lived he would be blamed by the copper on the bike despite doing nothing wrong.

[Wong!]

Seen quite a few because these f**kwits are too stupid to stop on a red light at a junction.

[manarak]

OP seems to still be in shock.

I agree with Wong!

No need to confine your children to inside the house!

Edited January 1, 2014 by manarak

[vtjforyou]

What is horrible ? Seen hundreds like this and hope to see thousands before I die (so it means that I am still alive!)

[buckoy]

A few years back I was riding up the second road in the middle lane when there was a car coming the wrong way down in the far right hand lane, just before kiss food, as it passed me I looked over my shoulder and bang, an American with a Thai girl on a cbr smashed straight into the front of the car. The American died instantly, but the girl was thrown off and landed in the road, injured but nothing more serious than a broken arm. Nearly made me sick on the spot. Horrible avoidable incident.

[bdw]

an American with a Thai girl

Was he wearing a stars & stripes shirt or something?

[buckoy]

No I spoke to the girl a few days later

[IMHO]

Rules for your children in Thailand.

Not allowed in a car without their seatbelt on.

No access to a scooter, never on one.

Riding around the Moo Bahn on their bicycle they must have a helmet on.

Travel is done with the mother and/or father in a family car, with their seatbelt on. They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws.

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

Sounds like you're re-creating the nanny state you left behind.

What's next I wonder? Mandatory gas masks when outside the safety of your 4 walls? Full bacteria analysis of all food consumed? Portable water purifiers? Colostomy bags and/or pampers so no need to use public toilets? GPS tracking of their every move? CCTV recording every action? DNA testing and full background and financial checks on all prospective fans?

Actually, I have already made it clear to my girls I will be doing the last one

Edited January 3, 2014 by IMHO

[sjonburi]

I would say this is pretty much common-sense (farang point-of-view) regarding personal safety of your loved ones.. staying in Thailand long enough to witness terrible accidents that resulted in serious injury or worse by not wearing a helmet, seat belt.

Rules for your children in Thailand.

Not allowed in a car without their seatbelt on.

No access to a scooter, never on one.

Riding around the Moo Bahn on their bicycle they must have a helmet on.

Travel is done with the mother and/or father in a family car, with their seatbelt on. They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws.

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

Sounds like you're re-creating the nanny state you left behind.

What's next I wonder? Mandatory gas masks when outside the safety of your 4 walls? Full bacteria analysis of all food consumed? Portable water purifiers? Colostomy bags and/or pampers so no need to use public toilets? GPS tracking of their every move? CCTV recording every action? DNA testing and full background and financial checks on all prospective fans?

Actually, I have already made it clear to my girls I will be doing the last one

[manarak]

Rules for your children in Thailand.

Not allowed in a car without their seatbelt on.

No access to a scooter, never on one.

Riding around the Moo Bahn on their bicycle they must have a helmet on.

Travel is done with the mother and/or father in a family car, with their seatbelt on. They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws.

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

Ridiculous, especially: "They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws."

Humans aren't immortal.

Such rules would cost more hours of "life" in average than taking the risk.

[funcat]

Rules for your children in Thailand.

Not allowed in a car without their seatbelt on.

No access to a scooter, never on one.

Riding around the Moo Bahn on their bicycle they must have a helmet on.

Travel is done with the mother and/or father in a family car, with their seatbelt on. They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws.

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

Ridiculous, especially: "They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws."

Humans aren't immortal.

Such rules would cost more hours of "life" in average than taking the risk.

manarak,and how old are you?....saying,that applying safety rules take to much time of your 'life'...that's ridiculous !!!...IMO

[Tomtomtom69]

Rules for your children in Thailand.

Not allowed in a car without their seatbelt on.

No access to a scooter, never on one.

Riding around the Moo Bahn on their bicycle they must have a helmet on.

Travel is done with the mother and/or father in a family car, with their seatbelt on. They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws.

Create a World where they do not need any of them, and they will not suffer from being told no.

Ridiculous, especially: "They never go in a Taxi, school bus, minivan, or songteaws."

Humans aren't immortal.

Such rules would cost more hours of "life" in average than taking the risk.

No living being is immortal but who wants to die in a motor vehicle accident? What an absolutely ridiculous thing to say that it's OK to take risks on the road - yes 1ma made some good suggestions, many of which are already followed by lots of Thai families (and no foreigners told them to act this way, the parents already have such rules in place). In fact,believe it or not but many Thais, especially in Bangkok DON'T allow their children to ride motorcycles even as passengers and they DON'T allow their children to stay out late at night and drive their cars back home late either. In fact, my own girlfriend is still prohibited from riding as a pillion passenger on my motorcycle outside of our moo baan. Whenever she does go with me, it must remain a secret to her family members. And how old is my girlfriend? She's in her twenties. So there you go, there are plenty of Thais with the sort of common sense that many westerners have in regards to road safety too.

Edited January 4, 2014 by Tomtomtom69

[Tomtomtom69]

And guess what else? At work today my work colleagues were discussing amongst themselves if they are "able to ride as pillion passengers on the back of motorcycle taxis" to buy some food for lunch nearby; in other words, it is assumed that many of my work colleagues don't or have never ridden as passengers on a motorcycle before. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Thailand starts riding motorcycles when they're 10. Some people refuse to ride them all their lives and that includes people in the provinces. I happen to know plenty of Thais to which this applies.

[manarak]

And guess what else? At work today my work colleagues were discussing amongst themselves if they are "able to ride as pillion passengers on the back of motorcycle taxis" to buy some food for lunch nearby; in other words, it is assumed that many of my work colleagues don't or have never ridden as passengers on a motorcycle before. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone in Thailand starts riding motorcycles when they're 10. Some people refuse to ride them all their lives and that includes people in the provinces. I happen to know plenty of Thais to which this applies.

ask them if they feel able to be a passenger in a taxi (car) and see if they can keep serious