Irishman reports alleged assault by Pattaya Baht Bus Driver

[balo]

He was probably new in town , maybe he even tried to ask the driver for a discount. After all he's irish....

[Andrew65]

Tip of the iceberg. Consider how many similar incidents are not reported to police or so called press.

Baht bus drivers often have short fuses. Yes their jobs probably crush their souls, but so many jobs are like that.

Take care out there.

Do not confront the drivers in any way.

By all means, do not flip the finger at them or say the F word at them! That is taken much more seriously by Thais ... to westerners it is minor.

If you encounter an obviously crazed driver (you can often tell by their driving and braking style) take extra care ... and consider AVOIDANCE of conflict or even engagement with them in any way ... even eye contact.

Yes, be aware that some indeed may be armed in some ways ... such as knives, stun guns, or worse ...

If you get into a conflict with a driver, you can't win. They have friends on the streets which can be summoned on a moment's notice and you are the outsider.

Wow......like it so much when you get angry.................

Just keeping it real ...

...and speculative.

I had a friend in Bangkok who whilst walking near Nana EP brushed past a lady-boy. A confrontation ensued and my friend (who shall remain nameless) struck the LB with his walking stick.

Anyway, five minutes later four Thai guys show up on motorbikes and my friend ended up with a knife in his ribs, treatment at B'Grad and then the US for a punctured lung etc . This happened about ten years ago.

Whenever possible, count to ten and walk away my friends.

[Clutch]

That reminds me, did you hear the one about the Irishman, the baht bus driver and the BIB?

[JoeBlowFromUSA]

The Irish man is 54!

Must have had a hard life.

As for the Irishman got angry who knows what really happened but those drivers will bash u for nothing.

A lot of songtaews are owned by police as are many of the bars so you have no chance in Pattaya against the locals.

" A lot of songtaews are owned by police "

that figures

from the article..................

" Police contacted the Pattaya Baht Bus Cooperative after a search for the Baht Bus was unsuccessful. "

Yep. Another scamming enterprise supported by Thai Police. Whats new?

A few years ago, a fellow I know driving a SUV with his family on board had a minor incident with a baht bus.

Bumped the guys mirror, no damage.

The taxi driver of course sees an opportunity to scam him or go violent so my friend raced off and went directly to Soi 9 and parked at the police station.

He was followed by the lowlife Thai taxi scammer. The Thai taxi scammer then bashed in his windshield, right in the police station parking lot!

The scummy Thai police didn't seem to notice.

[craigt3365]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

If you have spent the night drinking then be wise enough to keep your mouth shut.

Raising your voice and giving orders to a bus driver is not going to get you home any quicker anywhere in the world.

The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation.

Unfortunately, we don't have real metered taxis here in Pattaya. A huge problem for many.

[GAZZPA]

if the tourist offered to pay the 100 or 150 baht fee to get to his destination asap,and the baht bus driver stopped in front of the mall to pick customers......i am by the tourist side

if the tourist pretended to get to his destination asap just with 10 baht....i am by the driver side

Do you pay baht bus drivers 150 baht for rush deliveries?

baht bus drivers around Pattaya also behave in much the same way a taxi. You can rent them to take you home and agree a fee in advance, it doesn't say whether he did that or not in this case.

[Briggsy]

One does get the feeling based on their behaviors that many drivers feel they are not "touched" the "law"

It seems virtually everybody here feels their not touched by the law.

You've got to be poor, unconnected, say like a garbage man, to feel the full weight of the law for hideous crimes like selling CD's recycled from someone's rubbish; or picking wild mushrooms.

The law here is simply a veneer, a facade (Thais are very good at those). The fundamental structure of Thai society is the patronage system. It is through the patronage system that conflicts are settled here. It makes me wonder sometimes when foreigners who have been a long time express incredulity at the inaction of police or flagrant ignoring of the law or go on and on about the minutiae of the law.

Whether somebody gets away with things here depends on who they are up against and who is higher up in the food chain.

[darhut]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

.

Clutchclark I'm guessing you are not familiar with Pattaya? If you are in a hurry not sure you will find a taxi, but you will certainly find a baht bus.

[bunuel]

Tip of the iceberg. Consider how many similar incidents are not reported to police or so called press.

Baht bus drivers often have short fuses. Yes their jobs probably crush their souls, but so many jobs are like that.

Take care out there.

Do not confront the drivers in any way.

By all means, do not flip the finger at them or say the F word at them! That is taken much more seriously by

Thais ... to westerners it is minor.

If you encounter an obviously crazed driver (you can often tell by their driving and braking style) take extra care ... and consider AVOIDANCE of conflict or even engagement with them in any way ... even eye contact.

Yes, be aware that some indeed may be armed in some ways ... such as knives, stun guns, or worse ...

If you get into a conflict with a driver, you can't win. They have friends on the streets which can be summoned on a moment's notice and you are the outsider.

Very wise advice, which I would extend to ANY dispute with Thai males. As poster says, you can't win.

Unless of course, you do it the local way - find a well armed Thai, preferably with army connections, and ask him to solve the problem. And stay out of the way.

Happily enough, it has been my experience that this show of force has sufficed to defuse any conflict, and

even might gain you some resoect, since it shows you truiy understand " Thainess"!

[garrya]

One thing we have to understand that these baht buses operate by their own rules. When they are empty, they drive as slow as a snail and stop everywhere to wait for passengers. However, when they are full, they drive like an F1 racer to drop their passengers off quickly and get new customers again. It angers me how they do it but this is just the way it is.

[Tolley]

if the tourist offered to pay the 100 or 150 baht fee to get to his destination asap,and the baht bus driver stopped in front of the mall to pick customers......i am by the tourist side

if the tourist pretended to get to his destination asap just with 10 baht....i am by the driver side

Do you pay baht bus drivers 150 baht for rush deliveries?

baht bus drivers around Pattaya also behave in much the same way a taxi. You can rent them to take you home and agree a fee in advance, it doesn't say whether he did that or not in this case.

I think it is likely it was a private hire because his destination is not on the route from Central and the fact that he told the driver where he wanted to go all point to a private hire.

[Rimmer]

Nonsense post removed

[JoeBlowFromUSA]

I suspect most Thais that come to Pattaya for "work" are shameless scammers looking for a foreigner to cheat.

They don't like living here. They are here on a mission.

I know this and don't often get cheated but the novice traveler is targeted all day long.

[Daniel Boon]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

If you have spent the night drinking then be wise enough to keep your mouth shut.

Raising your voice and giving orders to a bus driver is not going to get you home any quicker anywhere in the world.

The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation.

We don't what he said or the way he said it ... money is tight for the Bhat taxi Drivers ... the first time I went there (Pattaya) and caught one, I had no idea where we were or how far we had to go, but the Driver had his wife and their child in the front seat and they were polite and helpful ... and took us home for a pitiful amount (when we got our head around the conversion rate) ...

[abitmiffed]

Who cares? i mean really?? some OAP sexpat ( i meant expat) living in Pattaya gets a slap for shouting at a Thai because he cant get his ride home quick enough to get more cash for under aged kids to fiddle with ( i meant for under aged kids to feed).or whatever floats his boat.

[morrobay]

I suspect most Thais that come to Pattaya for "work" are shameless scammers looking for a foreigner to cheat.

They don't like living here. They are here on a mission.

I know this and don't often get cheated but the novice traveler is targeted all day long.

Right On : Appreciate new forum members like you and Leviathan. I cant tell if ya all have been in Thailand a long time or just quick studies ?

[Tycoon]

Its the luck of the Irish!!

Stupid boring post, not even funny. 1973 called and want their joke back.

[Strangebrew]

I don't know about any one else but I never had problem anywhere in Thailand. But that might be because I don't go looking for it too. If I'm in hurry The baht speaks louder than words.

[arminbkk]

A baht bus is not a taxi. The driver probably followed his usual route and stopped at the shopping mall to wait and pick up more passengers.

From the OP it does not read as if the Irish man hired the baht bus exclusively for himself.

The Irish man probably did not realize this and thus ordered the driver which did not go down well with him.

[Carnlough]

You should learn to Relax Paddy....

Edited November 18, 2014 by Rimmer
English only please, thank you

[murphya33]

If he ranted and raved at the driver but didn't offer him extra money to take him to his specific destination, then he is completely in the wrong. Hopefully he will see the error of his ways. In Thailand , a good rule is jai yen yen

[JoeBlowFromUSA]

If he ranted and raved at the driver but didn't offer him extra money to take him to his specific destination, then he is completely in the wrong. Hopefully he will see the error of his ways. In Thailand , a good rule is jai yen yen

Agreed. Bashing someone if the face is the best way to settle a dispute.

Especially if you are Thai and know a gang of countryman will make a 100 yard dash to come join you to get a few good kicks in.

[NoshowJones]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

If you have spent the night drinking then be wise enough to keep your mouth shut.

Raising your voice and giving orders to a bus driver is not going to get you home any quicker anywhere in the world.

The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation.

"The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation."

How do you know that the Irishman certainly created the situation?

Based on the article:

"...which angered Mr. Boyle who then told the driver to proceed to his intended destination."

Mr Boyle, himself, admits to becoming angry and to giving the Thai driver orders. Which is why I say he created the situation.

Had Mr Boyle not become angry and given the Thai driver orders, then there is no reason to believe the Thai bus driver would have hit him. Unless you are aware of a precedent for Thai bus drivers to just spontaneously rise from their seats and go smack a farang in the face.

This very well could be common practice of Thai Baht bus drivers--its entirely possible I am simply caught unawares.

In hindsight, I should have said he "likely" created the situation rather than "certainly". Thanks for pointing that out.

I would say that if the bus was just sitting there waiting for passengers, and other buses were driving past (which I have experienced myself though not in Pattaya) then the Irish guy was right to ask the driver to drive on, as long as he was not nasty about it.

[nahkit]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

If you have spent the night drinking then be wise enough to keep your mouth shut.

Raising your voice and giving orders to a bus driver is not going to get you home any quicker anywhere in the world.

The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation.

"If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi."

I haven't been to Pattaya for a year or two, do they now have metered taxis operating alongside the baht buses?

[VINCENT2012]

Baht Bus are absolutly not like a taxi, they work normally with a number and have a precise line or road;they stop when you ring the bell....easy no? the difficult thing for a foreigner is that you need to know where you go and where you want to stop, otherwise it is your problem....!there is no point at all to argue with the driver who work all day long for a few baths .....so if you dont have a clue dont take that kind of local cheap transportation.

i hope that fellow will learn from his mistake, i think he deserved that eye, to many foreigners dont speak the local language, dont know s.h.i.t from the country they visit and after all they want to be understand and treated specially.

come on man! give them a break....for sure some locals i in these hudge tourist places must be really fedup of these stupid farangs behavior too.

[sawadee1947]

Its the luck of the Irish!!

can you please explain to me (Irish) what you mean by this ????

[JoeBlowFromUSA]

If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi.

If you have spent the night drinking then be wise enough to keep your mouth shut.

Raising your voice and giving orders to a bus driver is not going to get you home any quicker anywhere in the world.

The Irishman didn't deserve to get bashed but he certainly created the situation.

"If you are in a hurry to get home then take a taxi."

I haven't been to Pattaya for a year or two, do they now have metered taxis operating alongside the baht buses?

If you are in a hurry, or carrying a big parcel or need to get to the hospital in an emergency, be prepared to be ripped off.

The predators in the transport system have no mercy.

[kamahele]

I'm not condoning the violence but we farang also need to learn not to confront Thai people in the same way as we do our own countrymen. Different country, different culture, different reaction to being confronted. Showing how upset we are to Thai people usually does not get us anywhere except a hospital stay. Keep calm, speak nicely or turn around and leave.

[Rimmer]

A potentially Libellous post has been removed also a troll post in very bad taste

[greenchair]

I get so tired of people putting a crime back on the victim.

He shouldnt have been sat at the park.

She shouldnt have been out late.

The parents should have been more watchful of their child.

She was wearing a short skirt.

He should not have been drunk.

He should not be angry.

The blame must be squarely on the shoulders of those who commit the crime.

We have the right to be out in public.

We have the right to let our children out to play.

We have The right to complain.

We have the right to express anger in a non violent way. Raising a voice is non violent.

In a court of law the one who hit first is guilty.

Stop giving violent criminals a right of way.