What if I Kill Run Over A Songkraner?

[Neeranam]

I don't like what Songkran has become lately and don't take part in the silly, dangerous water throwing. I do, however, take my wife and kids to take part in it.

Coming home last night there were nearly a couple of Songkraners hit by me as they had moved into the middle of the road and the path of my car. I managed to swerve and miss them although in a different mood, in the car alone i might not swerve.

My question, what would be the law if a drunk person jumped in front of my car and I killed them?

What if my daughter was riding her motorbike and someone threw water in her face and she crashed, hurting herself - could i sue the Songkraner?

What if a Songkraner threw mucky water over my windscreen when I was travelling through a market area and I ploughed into a crowd of people as I couldn't see - who would be to blame?

[Kaalle]

Depends on who it is and if you manage to get in the good graces of the police and later the court. This is Thailandia.

[steven100]

Your a farang in Thailand during one of the countries most celebrated occasions and your asking :

My question, what would be the law if a drunk person jumped in front of my car and I killed them? Jail

What if my daughter was riding her motorbike and someone threw water in her face and she crashed, hurting herself - could i sue the Songkraner? Not likely

What if a Songkraner threw mucky water over my windscreen when I was travelling through a market area and I ploughed into a crowd of people as I couldn't see - who would be to blame? You

happy songkran !!

[richard_smith237]

Get a dash-cam.... This would / should / may protect you somewhat in the event of an accident... in your example it would show that the pedestrian Songkran-er jumped out in front of you.

The level of protection you would receive as a result of evidence provided by your dash-cam is debatable. In most cases it would clearly show you were not at fault and you'd be treated fairly. In other cases the BiB, Family of the injured may attempt to extort a little money from you. I don't subscribe to the thoughts that foreigner is always held accountable, but others do. This is currently being discussed and debated in another thread.

With regards to 'could you sue someone who hurt your daughter' i.e. by splashing water at her and forcing her to fall off her bike. You could try but without evidence it would be quite tricky.

Your final question - Mucky water over the windscreen, plowing into a crowd because you couldn't see..... That would be your fault - Driving too fast that you can't stop when someone blocks your vision.

[berybert]

Just imagine in years to come your daughter might go to songkran, get a little drunk, and sway out in front of a car.

You could be the driver of that car and this time you will be on your own.

Will it bother you after you have killed your daughter who was to blame. And all because you wasn't very happy.

[samsensam]

was sitting in a restaurant having dinner on a smallish soi and watching the proceedings. the way children were being encouraged by adults to throw water at people on motorcycles was truly irresponsible and scary; a motorcyclist could fall off or could drive into other road users or pedestrians so easily. madness.

[FritsSikkink]

" although in a different mood, in the car alone i might not swerve."

I will certainly hope they jail you for a very long time if this happens. You shouldn't be allowed in a car.

Yes, there are a lot of drunk and stupid people around with sonkran but you still have to drive carefully.

[gerry123]

this subject is bordering on the boring with

• 12,757 posts i think you should know the likely outcome of that one

[SoiBiker]

In a different mood, you might just deliberately kill someone?

Wow.

[Shurup]

That's silly, for all of your questions I can say you're driving too fast and you're very unlikely to sue any songkranians even if you could find or identify them.

[Happy Grumpy]

Come on OP, get in the spirit <deleted>. It's a fun time of year.

If they're jumping into the middle of the road, slowly steer around them and shoot them in the eyes with your pistol full of vinegar.

[dutchisaan]

Stay home and don't drive for a few days.

[Beetlejuice]

The simple answer to all the OP`s questions and others who may have the same concerns, is that if you are worried about the higher risks of accidents if out and about during the Songkran festivities, is to stay indoors until about Thursday. It is common knowledge that driving during Songkran holds extra dangers and if in the event of an accident where people sustain serious injuries or killed, the attitude of the police is that the onus lies with drivers who should be taking extra care and cautions to avoid accidents during Songkran, including not to drive unless absolutely necessary.

Those who venture out on the roads during Songkran, do so at their own risk and discretion.

[Jingthing]

I have an academic legal question.

Suppose on one of the supposed "Songkran days" which in Pattaya can be as long as 10 days that you go out later at night, say 9 PM, clean/dry/dressed decently and not prepared for or interested in water play. Suppose also it is a cooler weather evening.

Then suppose some evil batard throws a large volume of icy dirty water all over you.

Throw in some white powder for good measure.

Your nice clothes are now soiled/smelly/stained, you are all wet, your wallet and cell phone are compromised, you are now cold and in no condition to continue to your intended destination.

Also your ears and eyes are at risk of infection ... or perhaps your expensive eyeglasses have been broken.

Then suppose you strike back at them in some kind of non-watery violent expression.

Or suppose a cop is around and saw the the incident ... can you demand arrest?

While I'm assuming under Thai law, vigilante action is not legal, is that kind of water throwing well beyond the limits of any kind of imaginable civility LAWFUL or not under Thai law during the Songkran period (10 days in Pattaya)?

Not saying it would be enforced, just curious to know if it is legally a violent assault, which is how I do see it.

BTW ... yes I have been attacked that way personally at 10 PM at night and not on the peak day in Pattaya either ... just another random day out of ten.

Edited April 14, 2015 by Jingthing

[Neeranam]

<> I can never find that upside down v

It's no secret that the Thais in Pattaya really detest or perhaps resent the hand that feeds them - the farang.

They are allowed a few extra days to get their bottled up hatred out in the guise as a "friendly act" - then it's back to giving old Helmut head, getting pumped by smelly old Norwegian seamen, selling the bloody rude farang idiots pineapple for 50 baht or whatever.

[Beetlejuice]

I have an academic legal question.

Suppose on one of the supposed "Songkran days" which in Pattaya can be as long as 10 days that you go out later at night, say 9 PM, clean/dry/dressed decently and not prepared for or interested in water play. Suppose also it is a cooler weather evening.

Then suppose some evil batard throws a large volume of icy dirty water all over you.

Throw in some white powder for good measure.

Your nice clothes are now soiled/smelly/stained, you are all wet, your wallet and cell phone are compromised, you are now cold and in no condition to continue to your intended destination.

Also your ears and eyes are at risk of infection ... or perhaps your expensive eyeglasses have been broken.

Then suppose you strike back at them in some kind of non-watery violent expression.

Or suppose a cop is around and saw the the incident ... can you demand arrest?

While I'm assuming under Thai law, vigilante action is not legal, is that kind of water throwing well beyond the limits of any kind of imaginable civility LAWFUL or not under Thai law during the Songkran period (10 days in Pattaya)?

Not saying it would be enforced, just curious to know if it is legally a violent assault, which is how I do see it.

BTW ... yes I have been attacked that way personally at 10 PM at night and not on the peak day in Pattaya either ... just another random day out of ten.

Unofficially over the period of Songkran, participants during the festivities are given more or less a free hand to play their games, and others just going about their normal business are expected to be tolerant within reason. Also it is expected that those carrying items such as, cameras, phones and so on or wearing clothing they want to keep clean, should try and avoid areas where participants are playing their water games.

But if for example a participant commits an act that causes serious injury to someone else, regardless whether someone else is another participant or not, through negligence or deliberate with intentions of causing harm, than that person can be prosecuted under criminal law. The problem is defining what constitutes as being negligent.

As I said previous, those who venture out during Songkran, do so at their own risk and discretion.

[impulse]

Ya think you'd even survive to make it to court if you plowed through a crowd of drunk, slap happy revellers already primed by the water fight?

[weegee]

Ya think you'd even survive to make it to court if you plowed through a crowd of drunk, slap happy revellers already primed by the water fight?

LOL....read the OP Title , then looked across and saw you're user name.....made me laugh, they sorter fit together hey?

[h90]

I know many Thais who don't leave house during Sonkran.....It got just madness

[slipperylobster]

Went to the festivities in Old CM....and I got to tell you.

There were thousands in the street. You would be best advised to go around, and not through them.

I think you would come up on the short end of the stick.

We parked our car at Huay Kaew shopping mall and walked to Loi Kroh...earlier in the day. Not a problem. However, at 5 p.m. we were unable to get a Songtaew back to the mall. We were partied out...but had never anticipated the crowd. Believe you me...traffic was at a stand still. There would be ..literally...no way...you would need to swerve. People were walking freely in an around the traffic.

If I only knew the "gauntlet" of water throwing pedestrians we had to pass, I would of never have attempted to go down there. The walk back to the car drained me, totally.

Actually, I was the drain for all the water in every single bucket/toy in town.

Edited April 14, 2015 by slipperylobster

[Happy Grumpy]

Come to their country.

Get rabid and want to sue them over their culture.

The good ol' White man.

[redandyellow]

You'll be sent back to India the U.S. of A.

[slipperylobster]

Headlines the next morning would not be good.

"A road rage attack by a foreigner (with bad skin) resulted in a thorough bashing by several hundred Songkranians."

Photo of you sitting on the curb with serveral medics treating the lumps on your head. One old lady pointing a finger at you...the perpetrator.

[Beetlejuice]

Headlines the next morning would not be good.

"A road rage attack by a foreigner (with bad skin) resulted in a thorough bashing by several hundred Songkranians."

Photo of you sitting on the curb with serveral medics treating the lumps on your head. One old lady pointing a finger at you...the perpetrator.

I doubt there would be any need for medics. The outcome would probably be a mob lynching followed by forensics trying to identify the victim from the pools of blood and remaining body parts scattered along the side-walk.

[benalibina]

Headlines the next morning would not be good.

"A road rage attack by a foreigner (with bad skin) resulted in a thorough bashing by several hundred Songkranians."

Photo of you sitting on the curb with serveral medics treating the lumps on your head. One old lady pointing a finger at you...the perpetrator.

I doubt there would be any need for medics. The outcome would probably be a mob lynching followed by forensics trying to identify the victim from the pools of blood and remaining body parts scattered along the side-walk.

Yes and after short and thorough investigation by the RTPF, their conclusion will be....suicide.....

[HeijoshinCool]

<> I can never find that upside down v

It's no secret that the Thais in Pattaya really detest or perhaps resent the hand that feeds them - the farang.

They are allowed a few extra days to get their bottled up hatred out in the guise as a "friendly act" - then it's back to giving old Helmut head, getting pumped by smelly old Norwegian seamen, selling the bloody rude farang idiots pineapple for 50 baht or whatever.

.

then it's back to …. getting pumped by smelly old Norwegian seamen...

Spellchecker has its limitations, huh?

[jamesjohnsonthird]

You need a dash cam and pocket recorder. And keep it secret.

The police, lawyers and family will try to milk you dry of course. They will lie, lie, lie....even in court.

Stand firm, don't pay, hold your ground. If they take you to court...BAM pull out the tapes.

[manly100]

If your in a 4x4 just plow on through. No problem.

[Bluetongue]

The OP has been around for ages as has the other main whinger on this thread, I just put it down to their being grumpy about putting their respective schedules out of whack for a few days, they surely know what to expect. Talk about mowing people down, cops, lawsuits, sheesh.

[Rod Wallop]

I know someone that ran over a cop, while drunk, then drove off after handing over his driver's licence. He didn't go to jail.