Thai killing Westerner, Westerner killing Thai. Difference in outcome?

[Happy Grumpy]

I just read about a Canadian man that collided with a scooter with 3 Thais on it. One Thai died, the other 2 were injured, he is in hospital with numerous serious injuries. No details of the collision have been released. He has been told that he has to pay 3 million baht by the police, the Thai family and his Thai lawyer, and will not be allowed to leave until he does. His family at home are trying to sell his two vehicles to help pay.

A month or two ago a Westerner on a scooter was killed by a Thai driving a Fortuner, it was late at night and the Fortuner was speeding on the wrong side of the road at the time. This was lied about by the driver and in the police report. No arrests were ever made.

Why such a difference in outcome?

[Rooo]

Many a topic about the same subject. Please appreciate that this is not an open topic for Thai bashing.

Moved to motoring in Thailand Forum.

11) You will not post slurs, degrading or overly negative comments directed towards Thailand, specific locations, Thai institutions such as the judicial or law enforcement system, Thai culture, Thai people or any other group on the basis of race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

[moose7117]

because he is a Canadian in Thailand not Canada.

thailand is for thai people , not foreigners.

if foreigners don't like it foreigners can go home !

its annoying as hell but its the truth.

we are not wanted or welcome to stay here, just spend your money and go home !

[ChaangNoi]

I think you pointed out the difference here. One of the times one of the injured paid a lawyer to get involved. There is nothing stopping the family of the farang from getting a lawyer as well.

My lawyer here in Thailand has a very good relationship with my family that is not in Thailand. If something like this happens to me, my lawyer and family knows what to do.

The legals system in Thailand is not like the west. The police do not act unless they need to do so. This is both very good and very bad. Just understand the system if one wants to live in this system. If one does not like the system stay out of it.

[Howitzer]

In before someone starts to complain about western countries like canada open for everyone. Is this true? Well even if it is it has nothing to do with thailand's own laws. It's like you open up your house and let strangers and bums from the street sleep in yours and then complain when i don't do the same as you? Sounds stupid.

[ChaangNoi]

because he is a Canadian in Thailand not Canada.

thailand is for thai people , not foreigners.

if foreigners don't like it foreigners can go home !

its annoying as hell but its the truth.

we are not wanted or welcome to stay here, just spend your money and go home !

Being Canadian is not the key thing in this. It is being without a lawyer. Any Thai who did not have a lawyer would get just as . Farang are not special.

This is not a race thing, it is a class thing.

Edited April 25, 2015 by ChaangNoi

[simple1]

Sounds like the Canadian guy did not have First Class insurance.

[NanLaew]

This has got bugger all to do with motoring in Thailand IMHO. Just another thread to attract the usual suspects, full of anecdotal tales of people being treated differently than they would expect to be treated back home.

The OP hasn't even bothered to provide links to his two cases in question so more speculation, ranting and bashing.

Bugger this, I'm off to check the 'new Fortuner' thread... or my tire pressures.

[lostoday]

If I was a supervisor in a Thai office this would be a good topic to ask your employees about to establish rapport with them and ease the transition from Western to Thai management techniques and styles.

It shows the knowledge and smooth operator status of the OP and demonstrates he has a firm handle on things Thai and how to get Thai people on his side.

[angiolo]

My biggest fear in Thailand is to be involved in an m/c accident. I drive most carefully in the way I was taught in England , but I know that whatever happens it will be my fault

[umbanda]

Happens for the same reason that is double pricing.....and that's is why I do not drive in Thailand. Just my wife buy and drive.

Edited April 25, 2015 by umbanda

[i claudius]

My biggest fear in Thailand is to be involved in an m/c accident. I drive most carefully in the way I was taught in England , but I know that whatever happens it will be my fault

Wrong, no it will not be,this is just scaremongering,I was involved in an accident in my car with a motorbike, they got their English speaking mother to try it on ,it was not my fault,I had ist class insurance ,told her to speak to them,they backed down,my wife also came to the scene of the accident and told them to forget it they were getting nothing.

I admit it does help to have

The insurance and

A wife who is quite well educated

[Happy Grumpy]

Sounds like the Canadian guy did not have First Class insurance.

He was a tourist that arrived a few days before and rented a scooter. Perhaps he paid the extra 100-200b rental places charge for 'full insurance' perhaps he didn't.

Any scooter that is used for rental purposes should have full insurance paid for by the owner.

As a tourist within his first 3 months (or is it 6 months) would, I believe, his foreign DL allows him to drive legally within Thailand for this period. Thus not N/A the vehicle insurance because he did not have a Thai DL.

[arthurwait]

I've had 3 accidents here all with Thai (sorry one Laos) motorbikes not looking where they are going and driving straight into me while I and already mid turn.

First one run away on his bike, to be honest think he was scared of me. He got away due to traffic lights queue.

Second one stopped , but was the Laos kid, no insurance no money , no point carrying on. He admitted he was wrong.

Third one was a motorbike taxi ,drove straight into me undertaking at high speed while I was already turning into the wifes petrol station. He didn't know this and tried it on telling me money, money pointing at his scratched foot. Told him to F*** off. Told the staff to get my wife, when he realised what was going on he shut up and admitted it was his fault (said he wasn't looking although he also said he saw my indicator ) as he had no chance due to the money and influence thing that someone already pointed out. Insurance rep came asked for my photos that I took which show what he did and they handled it. He did have insurance and they paid.

[lostinisaan]

Sounds like the Canadian guy did not have First Class insurance.

He was a tourist that arrived a few days before and rented a scooter. Perhaps he paid the extra 100-200b rental places charge for 'full insurance' perhaps he didn't.

Any scooter that is used for rental purposes should have full insurance paid for by the owner.

As a tourist within his first 3 months (or is it 6 months) would, I believe, his foreign DL allows him to drive legally within Thailand for this period. Thus not N/A the vehicle insurance because he did not have a Thai DL.

Is it possible that there're some issues nobody knows about? The Canadian could have been drunk, without a driver's licence, or without an insurance.

The coppers try to "solve such problems", before anything's going to court. Even if the rented scooter had insurance, they'll only cover 12 K for hospital bills for the injured driver.

The most important question would be how did the accident happen? I truly hope the Canadian has a good health insurance and the right Thai friends.

What many people here don't know is that you can really get a whole police report changed into something that it was a particular guy's fault, by paying money to the investigating officer.

Please be aware that I'm not making any assumptions that the Canadian was intoxicated, but something is missing here.

Of course are the families trying to blame the foreigner, but he'll need a real good lawyer to get a "fair" deal.

My ex neighbor, a teacher was intoxicated, crashed into a motorbike, where the driver was also drunk. Both vehicles had to be brought to the police station.

The teacher's mother, whose daddy was a big shot at the coppers then did her best, paid 70 K to the investigating officer and the whole story was completely changed.

All in a sudden, it was only the drunk guy on the motorbike who did something wrong, the teacher could bring his Nissan to a garage, where they fixed his car, having 1st class insurance.

The damage was more than 70 K and no consequences for driving drunk were much better for him. I really felt sorry for the motorbike driver, but that's how it works here.

I remember a court order from Pattaya, about 15 years ago. A foreigner driving a car, not drunk ,not speeding,driving on the right side and with a driver's license, collided with a speeding Thai guy, who then passed away.

The court ten ruled that the accident wouldn't have happened, if the foreigner wouldn't have been there. Makes sense, or?

Edited April 25, 2015 by lostinisaan

[stevenl]

Sounds like the Canadian guy did not have First Class insurance.

He was a tourist that arrived a few days before and rented a scooter. Perhaps he paid the extra 100-200b rental places charge for 'full insurance' perhaps he didn't.

Any scooter that is used for rental purposes should have full insurance paid for by the owner.

As a tourist within his first 3 months (or is it 6 months) would, I believe, his foreign DL allows him to drive legally within Thailand for this period. Thus not N/A the vehicle insurance because he did not have a Thai DL.

What 100-200 Baht extra for comprehensive insurance? That is hardly ever is ever an option.

Regarding DL: in order to be legal he'd need to be in possession of a Canadian motorbike license.

[stevenl]

" The court ten ruled that the accident wouldn't have happened, if the foreigner wouldn't have been there. Makes sense, or?"

Urban myth story.

[seedy]

One Post Discussing Moderation Removed.

[surangw]

better chance for Thai families to cash in if its a farang

[Tomtomtom69]

OK here's my story to discount some of these urban myths and while the outcomes were mixed, they certainly weren't bad like some of what was mentioned above.

April 2007. Was driving my then 3 month-old 4x4 Triton from Nong Khai with a male Thai friend (after having re-entered Thailand from Vientiane, but I parked my truck on the Thai side) to Phichit via the "scenic" Mekong River Tha Bo-Sri Chiang Mai-Pak Chom route. It was around 5.30pm or so, so still plenty of daylight and everything, slowed down as we were entering a town and then the unthinkable happened. A 3-year old kid ran across the road and despite my beeping hit my right front bumper. No damage to the car apart from some minor paint scratches.

I was shocked and in disbelief. My Thai friend then took over the driving, mainly because I was too distraught by what had just happened. But this story actually has a happy ending. We picked up the kid and his parents, who were very worried and drove them to the nearest hospital. They didn't even know, nor care who the actual driver was. The kid only mad minor injuries, a broken tooth and some flesh wounds. Still, after we left the provincial hospital, 17km from the scene we decided to go to Nong Khai to get the kid checked out for any internal injuries. After an overnight stay at a local hospital for the kid and his mother and father, with the rest of the family staying in a nearby hotel with us, we checked out and after the x-rays were done at the main private hospital, the insurer came and paid us back for the 300 Baht fee from the first hospital and then proceeded to pay all the other expenses at the second hospital, courtesy of the Thai third party insurance (although I also had 1st class insurance on my truck).

After lunch with the family and taking everyone back home, we gave them 300 Baht since the insurance agent offered 4200 Baht in compensation but that would take 2-3 days to arrive in the account of the father. We kept in touch by phone with the family for a couple of more weeks, and it turns out everything went well with a full recovery made by the child within days.

October 2012. We were driving a Lao registered truck from Vientiane to Mae Sot via Phitsanulok. About 50km east of P'lok, my friend was driving and then we encountered a rear end collision by another driver, a local woman with her boyfriend, both of whom apparently work at the university hospital in P'lok. My mistake was not getting the insurance involved, but the driver immediately handed over a 1000 Baht note for what would be 2200 Baht for re-painting the rear bumper that was only scratched. The car involved in the collision, a black Honda Civic (a previous generation model) had a major warped hood/bonnet. Apparently the owner paid 2500 Baht to get it fixed. The guy was a bit of a dick, even after initially promising to pay the extra amount that was needed to re-paint my bumper but since he thought it was only worth 1000 Baht and since I didn't take him up on his offer of re-painting the bumper for "free" at his friend's workshop in P'lok, he got upset and didn't pay the rest.

But even so, as we can see here, I learned my lesson in the second case, since I was in a bit of shock not wanting to get the insurance involved, that probably wouldn't have paid given it was a Lao vehicle with probably only 3rd party coverage BUT since it wasn't my fault they probably would have paid and secondly, for something so minor I didn't want to waste extra time and money waiting for the insurance or not making it to our pre-paid hotel that night.

[WarpSpeed]

This has got bugger all to do with motoring in Thailand IMHO. Just another thread to attract the usual suspects, full of anecdotal tales of people being treated differently than they would expect to be treated back home.

The OP hasn't even bothered to provide links to his two cases in question so more speculation, ranting and bashing.

Bugger this, I'm off to check the 'new Fortuner' thread... or my tire pressures.

In large part why I'm seldom seen posting here these days. I'm amazed your protest was even allowed to be displayed frankly, see how this post goes?

[taninthai]

if you have not got insurance over here then don't drive simple as that really ,would you drive in your own country with out insurance .

[BudRight]

My biggest fear in Thailand is to be involved in an m/c accident. I drive most carefully in the way I was taught in England , but I know that whatever happens it will be my fault

Wrong, no it will not be,this is just scaremongering,I was involved in an accident in my car with a motorbike, they got their English speaking mother to try it on ,it was not my fault,I had ist class insurance ,told her to speak to them,they backed down,my wife also came to the scene of the accident and told them to forget it they were getting nothing.

I admit it does help to have

The insurance and

A wife who is quite well educated

This is not a very reassuring story.

[seedy]

One off topic post removed

[i claudius]

My biggest fear in Thailand is to be involved in an m/c accident. I drive most carefully in the way I was taught in England , but I know that whatever happens it will be my fault

Wrong, no it will not be,this is just scaremongering,I was involved in an accident in my car with a motorbike, they got their English speaking mother to try it on ,it was not my fault,I had ist class insurance ,told her to speak to them,they backed down,my wife also came to the scene of the accident and told them to forget it they were getting nothing.

I admit it does help to have

The insurance and

A wife who is quite well educated

This is not a very reassuring story.

Why not? as soon as they realized i had ist class insurance they backed down as they knew the insurance agent would see immediatly that they had hit me while undertaking , my wife coming was just a bonus (you dont mess with her who must be obayed ) just joking.

[Happy Grumpy]

7500 baht fine and no jail for a Thai killing a Chilean.

Wonder what the cost would be for a Chilean killing a Thai.

[Ace of Pop]

Run over a Nigerian Drug Pusher,and get a free Thai Visa Elite Card.

[Tomtomtom69]

I've had 3 accidents here all with Thai (sorry one Laos) motorbikes not looking where they are going and driving straight into me while I and already mid turn.

First one run away on his bike, to be honest think he was scared of me. He got away due to traffic lights queue.

Second one stopped , but was the Laos kid, no insurance no money , no point carrying on. He admitted he was wrong.

Third one was a motorbike taxi ,drove straight into me undertaking at high speed while I was already turning into the wifes petrol station. He didn't know this and tried it on telling me money, money pointing at his scratched foot. Told him to F*** off. Told the staff to get my wife, when he realised what was going on he shut up and admitted it was his fault (said he wasn't looking although he also said he saw my indicator ) as he had no chance due to the money and influence thing that someone already pointed out. Insurance rep came asked for my photos that I took which show what he did and they handled it. He did have insurance and they paid.

I doubt it was a Laos registered bike but rather a Lao rider driving a Thai registered bike. I have never once seen a Lao registered motorcycle in Thailand, because small Lao scooters are not allowed to enter the country, only cars, buses and trucks are. Even larger Lao bikes aren't seen in Thailand as they are presumably also not allowed to enter the country.