How to recover motorbike after accident and hospitalization?

[buddhaland]

I moved to Chiang Mai from Ao Nang about a month ago. On the 20th I was involved in a near head-on collision with a minivan, and have just been released from the hospital. The bike glanced off the right front fender of the van, so I was lucky and my injuries and damage to the van and driver were relatively minor. Now that I am out of the hospital, I need to locate the motorbike (which is insured by the way) to recover it and see if it can be repaired. First, where are bikes taken after crashes like this? The accident happened across the river from the Night Bazaar area between the bridges. I am hoping to learn how to locate the bike. I assume it's at one of the police stations nearby - and to find out if anyone can tell me what to expect in terms of fees and/or charges; if they will release the bike to be picked up by the repair shop performing repairs on it, if it is repairable; what I can do with it if it is totaled; etc. Any advice that will make this whole process more painless (my body hurts enough as it is!) will be much appreciated. Also - can I expect to be contacted by the other driver? An attorney? How will fault be determined? Will I be fined if it is determined that the accident was my fault? I am not supposed to be stressing right now, but I AM stressing about how the rest of the follow-up to the accident will play out. I am between jobs just now, and hope this won't be costing me much more money. The hospital bill was bad enough! Many thanks for any insights you can share.

[rakchaingmai]

first you need to sit down with the person you had an accident with then you need to pay money or they pay you money then clear the money with the police then you will get your bike back the police station will more then likely be the main one in the middle of chiang mai near the 3 kins monument .

ask for Somkit he normally deals with most of them .

[buddhaland]

I have an insurance policy on the bike, which I am told will cover the other driver's repair costs, and he had no injuries. I will probably have to pay for all of my expenses out of pocket. I guess I just show them the policy?

[Mestizo]

Why not call up your insurance company and ask them what the next steps are? Call it a hunch, but I'm sure they have dealt with accidents before...

-Mestizo

Sent from my iPhone using ThaiVisa app

[Oscar2]

having been almost killed in a motorcycle accident last year in Sansai i can tell you that [to the best of my knowledge] motorcycles are taken to the Mae Ping Police Station in Nong Hoi. There are hundreds of them there. this is also where you will have the meeting conducted by the police with yourself present, the other party, witnesses, and representatives of all the insurance companies. surely the police came to speak with you at the scene or at the hospital, no? they came to see me in the hospital and the officer gave me his card with the case number written on it and he contacted me about 2 weeks after the accident again to follow up on my condition and ask my permission for my medical records and billing statements. on the day of my conference (which lasted about 2 1/2 hours by the way and overall i spent close to 5 hours at the police station), the police already had the evidence box for our case sitting on the table when we arrived. inside was they keys to my motorcycle, my license, the other guys license, photos of the accident scene, witness statements, and the diagram of how the investigating police officer believed the accident happened. i was asked to offer my medical records and all my bills and estimates of future medical bills.

i have to say that even though i was a farang and the guy who hit me with his car was a Thai guy, the police were in my corner 100%. they were very tough on the other guy. after the first hour they called in a senior officer who reviewed everything and made the determination the other guy was at fault 100%, at times banging their fists on the table and shouting at the other guy. the senior officer didn't like the attitude of the adjuster for one of the insurance companies and called his boss in Bangkok and spoke with the boss for at least 30 minutes. then, the officers along with the insurance adjusters wrote up the settlement and laid out how much compensation i would receive, which insurance company would be liable for what, and how much additional cash the guy would pay me and and on what day of the month. they also arranged to have my motorcycle [which i've never driven since then] picked up and taken to the shop which does most of the work for insurance companies here in C.M. they are located in Suan Pi Sua and are an excellent shop. they went through and replaced everything with Honda factory parts, checked the frame, completely disassembled and re-assembled the motorcycle, really it was like new the day it was returned to me about 2 1/2 months later. i found the police to be very helpful and very professional and very caring.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Oscar2

[Oscar2]

i forgot to add that the driver of the car was fined about 1500 Baht plus he had to pay 400 Baht for something - i forget now, about 1900 total.

[fcgprg]

Look This up this from AA Insurance regarding "CTPL Third party insurance for Motor Bikes" on this forum. I think it will be an help to you regarding your insurance

[buddhaland]

Thank you all for lots of good advice. I guess after all, it will come down to calling my insurance agent in a bit and let him call the plays from there. To Oscar2 - wow - your whole experience couldn't have been more different than mine so far. Police were at the scene of the accident, looked at my passport and driver's license (they gave my license back - it's in my wallet right now), told me that they were going to test me for alcohol (I honestly don't remember that ever happening, either at the scene or at the hospital. The driver of the van I hit (I'm pretty sure we will both be considered to be partly at fault) actually did appear in my hospital room, looking very concerned - but he spoke no English and left after a few minutes. He was by himself - still no police, forms, cards, etc. Maybe some of these things will happen when I show up to see my bike. I am calling my insurance agent shortly, and hopefully he will sort some of this out for me, including finding my bike (I got three different sets of instructions here as to where the bike might be. But regardless, I found your very thorough response very comforting. I've been trying not to add stress to my other symptoms, and have been imagining all sorts of horrible scenarios. Thank goodness I at least have insurance! One thing that may cause a problem: I know this was a bonehead move, but I only got the bike recently, and I have been driving around with a Washington State Enhanced ID, which is in no way a license. I've been meaning to remedy that and get a Thai license but I just moved here about ten days ago and have been busy getting settled in. It has worked so far, because it looks exactly like a Washington license, except for that magic word "License." I have had to show it many times, and Thais have been just fine with it. But I hope it doesn't trip me up somewhere in the upcoming process, however it plays out.

Anyway - thanks again for your very thorough response to my plea for help!

[stoli]

I have an insurance policy on the bike, which I am told will cover the other driver's repair costs, and he had no injuries. I will probably have to pay for all of my expenses out of pocket. I guess I just show them the policy?

I had an accident one year ago that was just my bike and no one else involved. I only had that coverage that they make you buy before you can register your bike. I went to their office here in Pattaya near Pattaya Nua and Sukumvit. As it turns out, that insurance only covers injuries. I gave them my hospital bills, 5800 baht, and they said I was covered up to 7,000 baht. Within 5 minutes they gave me a check for the entire 5800 baht, and told me to come back if there was any other cost for injuries. Since there was no other vehicle involved, I did not have a police report, or even know the name of the street in Jomtien where it happened. Another passing family were kind enough to take me to the hospital. The service at the Insurance office was the best of any company in the world.