Life Is Cheap In Asian Countries -is This A Western Myth?

[stuxv]

Not really knowing as much about LOS as you lot but having spent time in the East, it is not really a Thai thing. I am sure people grieve as much as we do but there does seem to be an acceptance of danger in all of the east that westerners don't have.

Different culture, I don't think we should try to impose our standards on the rest of the world.

Health and Safety has gone mad in the west, the ideal world would be a meeting of east and west to my mind.

[kayo]

i once knew of a money family thai who, the story goes, was killed in a hospital three weeks after a serious motorcycle accident.

Apparently his life was worth 89 million baht.

Kind of makes this thread redundant, if you ask me.

[barryofthailand]

When I'm on a motorbike in Thailand, I swear my life is as cheap as dirt.

Buses, trucks and SUVs pass me within centimeters. Sometimes I'm sucked towards the passing vehicle. Other times I'm nearly blown off the road. (What's the physics, here?) Other vehicles pull directly into my path at the last moment. Larger vehicles tail-gate me at about one meter when traffic slows down in a crowded area. A sudden stop by me, and I would become a road pizza. In three years, I've been hit four times (three times from behind, and once side-swiped). Yup, still kickin' too. Incredibly lucky. After dumping me to the asphalt, two of the four drivers hit the accelerator and kept going, never to be found.

Further, judging by the alarming number of other stories I hear about hit-and-run drivers which victimize motorcyclists and bicyclists here, it seems to confirm my deepest fears about the matter.

Why is it, in over 35 years of driving in my home country, I never experienced or saw this level of vehicular violence? Not once did I see or experience a hit-and-run. Of course we know it happens, but I'm talking about frequency, here.

Interestingly, I just had two Thai university students spend the summer in the USA. They were amazed at how traffic gives wide berth to motorcyclists/bicyclists going the same direction. They were also delighted at how considerate drivers seem to be (and these kids were visiting NYC and L.A.--in my opinion, the worst of American drivers!). They joked that they were so relaxed on calmer, more considerate USA roads, that they could hardly stay awake! (ok, another problem created).

I don't know how much this is about common courtesy/manners or more deeply-imbedded values/non-values concerning the lives and welfare of other people.

All I can observe is from personal experience and emotion: I feel pretty cheap on Thai roads.

P.S. As soon as finances permit, I'm wrappin' more metal around me.

First of all, you cannot drive the same way you drive in the states. If you do not want to be run over when you are on a motor bike, then drive in the extreme left lside of the road. This is for slow traffic. Also in the states you can drive a motorcycle in the middle of the lane. Here in Thailand that would be dangerous. I've been driving in Thailand for three years and have never had an accident touch wood.

Barry

[thohts]

Supposedly, Thailand has 1.1529 deaths per 1 million when it comes to a motorcyclist collision with car, pickup, van (per capita) - that would put it at position #32. [see Nationmaster]

I believe this could be a mis-reporting. Never in my life have I witnessed so many traffic accidents in a short span of time.

Does anyone here know a Thai person (who rides motorbikes) who hasn't been in an accident?

[sramkok-pratum]

i used to take green bus in bangkok , scariest ride ever..

[LivinLOS]

Supposedly, Thailand has 1.1529 deaths per 1 million when it comes to a motorcyclist collision with car, pickup, van (per capita) - that would put it at position #32. [see Nationmaster]

I believe this could be a mis-reporting. Never in my life have I witnessed so many traffic accidents in a short span of time.

Does anyone here know a Thai person (who rides motorbikes) who hasn't been in an accident?

I am told that road deaths in Thailand means someone killed on the road / at the scene... If the person is brough t into a hospital alive but dies from thier injuries its not a road death statistic !!

Is life cheap ?? When a person is killed in a road accident the family can usually be bought off for some money, even with sons who have businesses (the highest bills) thats usually less than 500k or so I hear.

My mates niece was killed on the road here by a drunk Thai driver.. The Thai involved and the whole police side seemed surprised and mildly annoyed that the UK family wouldnt just ask for compensation and drop the matter after fixing a money amount.

A Nakhon si Tammerat hitman (ex army pro, not some motorbike taxi punk) asking price for a thai hit was 50k.. I am sure a farang hit would be more.

A BG was killed by a farang here on Phuket a couple of years ago, the farang was caught at the airport and despite strangling her and then stabbing her it was self defence ?!?! I was told that cost 1mil baht.. Cheap ??

The whole concept of having a price assigned to a life seems pretty alien to us westerns (or me anyway) I mean am I supposed to meet the grieving parents and haggle over what thier son was worth after a traffic accident.. When is the appropriate time to point out that the deceased was a bit of a drunk and didnt have a regular job etc ??

[thankuverybig]

ive seen a few road accidents here & i am a nervous motorcycle passenger in thailand.i am perfectly happy riding a bike by myself.

it always seems to me that thais seem a bit too laid back sometimes to be on the roads.

also they generally,when consuming whiskey dont have the one drink ,a generalisation maybe,but one that has a ring of truth.

mix the two together on national holidays.not a good combination.

[Charma]

Surely this is a matter of economics as much as culture. Safety costs money. Money to enforce the law, provide better equipment, better training etc etc. Health and safety is big business in the west and it is all driven by money - or the fear of losing it! If you don't get on the health & safety bandwagon, someone will sue your ass! We have not always placed much value on life in the west. Look at the millions who were sent to die during the great war - a war of attrition which was fought on the basis of who had the most people to sent to their deaths! Only recently does the death of a small number of soldiers cause concern back home (probably since media reports showed the real horror from Vietnam onwards). We do place monetary value on life - ask any lawyer. There are scales for every concievable death or injury. If ever the Thai legal community develops in the way it has in Europe and the US and suing becomes a sport for all to enjoy, things will change. The ambulance chasers will move in, insurance companies will sell their goods and all the locals will join the great health & safety goldrush.

[opothai]

surely safety is brought upon us by natural progress and education,

20 years ago in the uk not many people wore seat belts, only through education and law did this change.

i do not know when the crash helmet became law, maybe in the last 40 years or so.

again driving standards, in 1969 when i was but a nipper my next door neighbour had a driving liscence because he drove a milk float

all of these things are brought about by awareness and progress alongside education ie the green cross code.

now do the poor countries have the resources to spend on educational campaigns, law enforcement etc. i would hazzard a guess thailand could afford to do more but it would be in there eyes a waste of public funds because of the funds being used for the ever important and impending crackdowns.

[Sakeopete]

Supposedly, Thailand has 1.1529 deaths per 1 million when it comes to a motorcyclist collision with car, pickup, van (per capita) - that would put it at position #32. [see Nationmaster]

I believe this could be a mis-reporting. Never in my life have I witnessed so many traffic accidents in a short span of time.

Does anyone here know a Thai person (who rides motorbikes) who hasn't been in an accident?

I agree I would take stats from Thailand with a grain of salt, like in past Sonkran celebrations there was the mysterious "lightning kills entire family" yet there pickup and bodys look much like a traffic accident. Or minister declares "Thailand doesn't have bird flu" then a week later it does and there have been deaths. Civil servents seem keen on keeping their boss happy no matter what it.