Carnage on Koh Samui's Roads

[moonseeker]

Exactly same in Pattaya. Thais driving like maniacs, old foreigners and often their "ladies" behind the wheel of an over-sized truck in narrow Sois driving like morons. On top of that tons of Indian single male travelers in groups walking along Sois & Roads as if it was a sidewalk.

Seen a guy on a wheelchair stuck in middle of 2nd. Rd. halfway across....Th bloody bikes and cars not stopping and driving around him until some courageous bike-taxi guy from the sidelines came to his rescue. Disgusting. MS>

[Tropicalevo]

Personally I have no problem with gore. Either the written word or photographs. Unfortunately it is a fact of life. (Or even death!) However I do understand that some readers of a more delicate disposition may find it disturbing.

But......

I am seeing motorbike accidents (or the aftermath) on Samui's roads almost every day now.

Whilst there are no official statistics on the daily/weekly death rate of the unfortunate victims, we all know that it is pretty high!

My view is that - if we can save just one life by showing the gory details of what may happen to the motorbike riders - I believe it to be worthwhile.

(Just my 25 setang's worth )

[evadgib]

Dashcams suffice elsewhere but here we need these...

I wish I was joking!

[Rooo]

Dashcams suffice elsewhere but here we need these...

I wish I was joking!

Not a joke,you need eyes in the back of your head.

[oldsailor35]

7 things why things go wrong - horribly! Combine any two of the latter line up and changes grow drastically. Three and things get very worrying. Four to seven - pure luck if you made it home...

Too much speed

Distance to drive

Drunkenness

Location of the island

Time of the day

Day of the week

Awareness of what is going on

To add...

Driving with due care and attention....

Don't use a mobile phone while driving ...it's amazing how many people one sees, doing that.. and not just Thai's ....

Use rare view mirrors...

Do NOT use front hand brake when cornering your click , on sandy surfaces. Saw it happen right in front of me yesterday. But this can be expected when inexperienced riders can rent a motorcy at any time.

[ArfurMaggot]

I have seen a dead baby lying on the road in samui , the mother had carried it while driving a bike , no helmet so the baby's head is like an orange .. Extremely distressing to view .. There is nothing I haven't seen on the roads on samui , legs missing , squashed skulls , young / old , Thai / foreigners .. Most motor bikes , but a few car crashes while the driver has been drunk .. Untill samui upgrades it's road safety , nothing will ever Chand

Sent from my iPhone 6

using ThaiVisa app

You must admit (assuming you have lived here for a while) that the roads have, in fact, improved dramatically over recent years. What hasn't improved is the driving.

You are quite right, Boater, the road safety needs to improve and that is not just infrastructure; it includes driver training, vehicle maintenance, licencing, policing, law enforcement........ yeah, OK! We can all see that the problems are not just the road surfaces......

Edited April 5, 2014 by ArfurMaggot

[riverchapel]

I was thinking of buying a bike but I feel much safer in car..when I see the whole families on bikes,I feel sorry for them...it's just too dangerous:-((

[CaptainS]

I think since the road surfaces improved the people drive even faster. I saw it at the house where I lived before, they fixed the road around there 2 years ago and suddenly it became a racetrack.

[ShadowDweller]

Just passed what looked like a fatality on Ghost Rd. It was dark, but looked like a Thai guy got clipped. Bunch of people standing around a mangled bike and body, no one giving assistance.

It's a holiday weekend, please play safe and wear your helmets.