I hit someone today

[Anthony5]

he was merely overtaking you, that is perfectly legal,

And to overtake on a normal roadway on the right is also probably pretty right,

You may not be able to argue the legality of it,

And your defense can only be you did not see them and turned ,

So in a way it looks like you did not take reasonable care by not seeing them,

Therefore you may well find as it was caused by you not knowing they were there,

You may well be seen as in the wrong,

But, I am not an expert in Thai traffic law.....

It is going to be difficult.

If the OP was turning right he would have signal ON and be in the CENTRE of the road, the bike was obviously on the wrong side of the road to try and overtake, the bike should have passed on the inside. I have had similar happen to me but been lucky......

I see on a daily base a lot of people turning right in Thailand who DON'T have the signal ON.

This includes Thai and foreigner.

You have amazing eye site if you can clock nationalities of drivers when passing...

Maybe you should visit an eye doctor if you can't see the difference between a Thai and a foreigner, because cars have windows, and when attempting to make a turn they usually drive at very low speed.

By the way is foreigner an nationality these days?

[DLock]

If the traffic was backed up behind the car turning right, chances are the bike did not see the indicator and just assumed traffic was backed up and he could split lanes and slide down the middle.

Sounds like the bike was at fault, but as many have said, it will be up to the Police to determine "responsibility".

Be sure...his story will change to suit his desired outcome.

[Seastallion]

I was on my bike, slowed to a stop to turn right, waiting for a break in the oncoming traffic......as was the impatient song taew coming up behind me without slowing down....he overtook me just as I started to turn...I averted death by instant reaction to the sound coming barreling up from behind me.

Lesson learnt: ALWAYS check my mirrors before turning, even when I have right of way. Only an idiot overtakes a right-turning vehicle.

The sort of opposite also occurred to me recently...I was as far to the left as possible and as I passed a soi on my left a motorbike overtook me TO TURN LEFT into the soi! I was moving at a decent speed, so if he had come up behind me he would only have lost less than 100th of a second. As it was, I hit him as I had zero time to react. He then took off down the soi, stopped 50 m down, turned around and wai'ed me, then carried on. Idiot.

I'm pretty sure the OP is not in the wrong, and as a matter of principle, I would not accept 50/50 blame.

[zeichen]

"You must not have looked in your mirrors as you said it clipped your front"

I know that you are not deliberately confusing things but please use some logic.

If a car is stopped with traffic behind him waiting to turn. Where else would the motorcycle hit but the front right bumper.

The simple fact is that the motorcycle was passing traffic illegally.

Just because a motorcycle can weave in and out of traffic it actually isn't legal to do so.

However, instead of speculating and condemning, fear mongering, why not just be supportive.

Illegal riding does not automatically equate being at fault.

You advice against speculation (good advice), but are speculating yourself.

Without knowing the exact circumstances and only hearing one side it is not possible to decide who is at fault. As I said, don't say or do anything and wait for the insurance rep to sort it out.

Actually can you please highlight where I speculate anything. I actually stated in the beginning of the conversation that it is the police who will decide who is at fault. I did nothing but clarify the facts. The motorcycle was doing something illegal. He also hit the side of the truck ripping off its bumper so technically the motorcycle hit him even though the title says otherwise.

As I have stated many times as did other posters police usually make it a 50/50 split because they just don't want to deal with the hassle no matter who technically is at fault.

[zeichen]

"

namatjira, on 03 Jun 2015 - 21:34, said:

he was merely overtaking you, that is perfectly legal,
And to overtake on a normal roadway on the right is also probably pretty right,
You may not be able to argue the legality of it,
And your defense can only be you did not see them and turned ,
So in a way it looks like you did not take reasonable care by not seeing them,
Therefore you may well find as it was caused by you not knowing they were there,
You may well be seen as in the wrong,
But, I am not an expert in Thai traffic law.....
It is going to be difficult."

Actually please read the OP's description. He stated as a fact that traffic was stopped and that there were cars behind him. When a traffic jam is in place a motorcycle who tries to bypass this is either driving very quickly sneaking the side of traffic or weaving in and out. It would be next to impossible even if the OP checked carefully. It is one thing to check traffic if you are in the left lane merging right, but if you are in the right lane turning right, there really shouldn't be anyone trying to pass you on that side at all.

[longstebe]

A5, your waffling..............

Plus my eyes are on the road, NOT checking out who's inside a ride.......

Exactly my thoughts.

[losworld]

Forget about what is logical or correct here the fact is a Thai and a Farang had an accident. You can bet that it will be 50/50 at best but they will probably conclude the foreigner is at fault. I am actually surprised more Thais don't fake accidents to collect from Farangs as the system is rigged.

[longstebe]

Forget about what is logical or correct here the fact is a Thai and a Farang had an accident. You can bet that it will be 50/50 at best but they will probably conclude the foreigner is at fault. I am actually surprised more Thais don't fake accidents to collect from Farangs as the system is rigged.

Let hope their not reading your post then :-)

[Anthony5]

A5, your waffling..............

Plus my eyes are on the road, NOT checking out who's inside a ride.......

Exactly my thoughts.

Alert drivers have noticed everything that happens beside the road as well, to be forewarned for possible events like this. So when I pass a vehicle I will see if some other vehicle is behind the one I pass, and if there is a possibility that it will appear in my driving lane.

You clearly don't belong to that category of drivers.

Now before you and Transam continue trolling, my statement was that I see a lot of drivers on a daily base making a turn who DON'T have the turning signal activated.

The mention that it concerns Thai and foreigners doesn't hold any importance, since the status of indicator is the important factor here, unless you want to claim that foreigners are faultless in Thai traffic.

[manly100]

Yes get out of the country quick.

[seajae]

If the OP was turning right he would have signal ON and be in the CENTRE of the road, the bike was obviously on the wrong side of the road to try and overtake, the bike should have passed on the inside. I have had similar happen to me but been lucky......

I see on a daily base a lot of people turning right in Thailand who DON'T have the signal ON.

This includes Thai and foreigner.

You have amazing eye site if you can clock nationalities of drivers when passing...

Maybe you should visit an eye doctor if you can't see the difference between a Thai and a foreigner, because cars have windows, and when attempting to make a turn they usually drive at very low speed.

By the way is foreigner an nationality these days?

considering nearly all thai cars have darkened glass in their windows that you cannot see through you must have xray vision. Besides that what idiot would take their eyes off the road so they can look into someones window to see the nationality of the driver, I think you have simply painted yourself into a corner and are clutching at straws

[FritsSikkink]

They weren't in oncoming traffic. They came up behind me and tried to pass me as I was turning

You were at fault. You don't turn if there is traffic nearby.

[craigt3365]

Off topic posts have been removed. Please show respect to other members.

[stevenl]

If the OP was turning right he would have signal ON and be in the CENTRE of the road, the bike was obviously on the wrong side of the road to try and overtake, the bike should have passed on the inside. I have had similar happen to me but been lucky......

I see on a daily base a lot of people turning right in Thailand who DON'T have the signal ON.

This includes Thai and foreigner.

You have amazing eye site if you can clock nationalities of drivers when passing...

Maybe you should visit an eye doctor if you can't see the difference between a Thai and a foreigner, because cars have windows, and when attempting to make a turn they usually drive at very low speed.

By the way is foreigner an nationality these days?

considering nearly all thai cars have darkened glass in their windows that you cannot see through you must have xray vision. Besides that what idiot would take their eyes off the road so they can look into someones window to see the nationality of the driver, I think you have simply painted yourself into a corner and are clutching at straws

Really not important since that was just a byline.

His main point was: "I see on a daily base a lot of people turning right in Thailand who DON'T have the signal ON."

[seajae]

really have to wonder how many of the people in here have a licence or even know the road rules. A car turning right from the centre of the road with their indicator on should not be overtaken plus motor bikes here are supposed to stay in the left hand lane so in both cases the motor bike is at fault, Saying this here it will probably be 50/50 as several others have stated. I have had a motorbike come flying up on my left hand side as I was turning across a road to go around corner and try to do a U turn in front of me as I was moving, luckily I reacted in time and hit the horn, seemed to just upset the bike rider that I didnt let her turn across the front of me. Unfortunately in Thailand very few know the road rules including the police, this is another reason for so many accidents, the idiot drivers/riders think they can do as they please and do not have to obey the laws of the road. Definitely get a legal opinion from a good lawyer and not a hack.

[seajae]

This includes Thai and foreigner.

You have amazing eye site if you can clock nationalities of drivers when passing...

Maybe you should visit an eye doctor if you can't see the difference between a Thai and a foreigner, because cars have windows, and when attempting to make a turn they usually drive at very low speed.

By the way is foreigner an nationality these days?

considering nearly all thai cars have darkened glass in their windows that you cannot see through you must have xray vision. Besides that what idiot would take their eyes off the road so they can look into someones window to see the nationality of the driver, I think you have simply painted yourself into a corner and are clutching at straws

Really not important since that was just a byline.

His main point was: "I see on a daily base a lot of people turning right in Thailand who DON'T have the signal ON."

yes he put his foot in his mouth and is now trying to hide, good cover shot for him there but the op has already stated his indicator was on so what a5 stated was something that had nothing to do with the article at all, really needs to learn to read

Edited June 4, 2015 by seajae

[Borzandy]

They weren't in oncoming traffic. They came up behind me and tried to pass me as I was turning

Its absolutely normal for Thais. How many times have they tried to pass behind me when my car is moving back.

[oneday]

he was merely overtaking you, that is perfectly legal,

And to overtake on a normal roadway on the right is also probably pretty right,

You may not be able to argue the legality of it,

And your defense can only be you did not see them and turned ,

So in a way it looks like you did not take reasonable care by not seeing them,

Therefore you may well find as it was caused by you not knowing they were there,

You may well be seen as in the wrong,

But, I am not an expert in Thai traffic law.....

It is going to be difficult.

IT IS NOT LEGAL TO OVERTAKE SOMEONE IF the OP's turn signal was on or if the center line was solid yellow.

However, after 6 years in Thailand I have learned to look behind me before I make a right turn. In making a left turn I gradually move as far over to the left as possible so no one can squeeze between me and the curb. In this country you must look 360 degrees around you; you can make no assumptions.

[masuk]

It is so important in this idiot country to watch your mirrors constantly.

How many times it has happened to me I can't even remember, that I stand still near the middle line of of a 2 lane road with the indicator on, waiting for upcoming traffic to pass before turning right.

Seeing a motorbike in the rear view mirror also standing still behind my truck, right behind the <deleted> flashing indicator, and as soon as upcoming traffic has passed he will pass me on the right side.

At those times you really want to drive over the idiot to teach him a lesson

I've had this happen to me. However, I was on a m/bike, in the centre of the road, indicators on, about to turn right and a thumping big truck pulls over to the wrong side of the road and roars past me.

The left side was totally empty.

I was told that this is quite common in Thailand.

In normal circumstances I'd have expected the truck to pass on my left. That is the norm where traffic drives on the left. But T.I.T.!

[maidee]

you were not scared that thais might gang up on you for hurting this poor innocent motosay ?

sarcastic note

[jossthaifarang]

Traffic going straight ahead has right-of-way to traffic that is turning-off.

You should have:

1. Seen them of course, check mirrors and look over your shoulder into the dead spot.

2. Given them right of way.

You living in a dream world mate..

[sikishrory]

"I yelled at the driver too, I couldn't help it." What a dumb westerner thing to say. I know in some situtations Thais can go from calm to stabby in a few seconds but when it comes to this stuff most of them are jai yen yen.

I will never forget watching a vigo ute ram a motorbike from behind causing damage and almost killing the rider in bkk. They both pulled over and I looked on waiting for somebody to kill somebody but they calmy exchanged details and left.

Yelling at the person you just ran over isn't going to help anything. Yelling at Thai people in general is a bad idea. Not just because they might stab you in the face but also it makes you look like an idiot in their culture.

[Vogele123]

I know this refers to UK Law, but it is worth reading if you believe that the motorcycle is in the wrong.

http://www.principia-law.co.uk/scenarios.aspx

and....

http://www.newlawjournal.co.uk/nlj/content/rights-wrongs

[Gandtee]

If he passed you on the right your responsible, cause you shouldn't turn right before the road is clear.

If he passed you on the right from the rear and you were indicating right, I would suggest that he was in the wrong. A few times it has happened to me and when they try to pass on the left even though you are indicating left. One of the mysteries of the Orient, or just Thai drivers?

[jossthaifarang]

being the front bumper was ripped off, meaning the bike was right beside him, this makes it much worse.....

Were you more in the middle or pulled over a little to the left........you must have nearly come to a stop to make the acute turn, he had no choice but to overtake you or come to a stand still himself, so he did what anybody would do and proceeded to overtake the slowing car, when, boom, the driver did not see him and turned into him.

Get a lawyer

Absolute bullshit, the bike hit him!

[twix38]

I have the answer for you 100%

it is not50/50. The motorbike is at 100% fault.

I know this because I was in an identical situation less than 2 weeks ago.

I was on a motorbike riding down the right side of the lane past cars waiting on a single carriageway, stopped at traffic lights.

No cars were looking to turn or indicating. They were all stationary waiting for the lights to change. As I approached the traffic lights, a car about 3 or 4 cars ahead suddenly decided to pull out and go right to u-turn or just turn right into a shop driveway on the other side of the road!! I blasted my horn and rode further right onto the other side (traffic coming the other way, though there was none) to try to get around him assuming he would brake. He never braked! (my comment here is what a wan*er as he made a collision unavoidable) I hit him and knocked his driver's door mirror off and my head dented his door - I was wearing crash helmit and no problem. My ankle has been a swollen nightmare. We all went to the police station.

imv he caused the accident. He just pulled out without looking or indicating to u-turn AND hearing my frantic bibbing, never stopped so I could get round him and completely avoid any crash at all.

However, as I should not have been riding on the outside. I was 100% wrong and had to pay damages of 12,000 Baht.

I can see the logic and highway code reasoning even though he CAUSED the accident. I was where I sould not have been.

So, the bike was 100% wrong here too

Edited June 4, 2015 by twix38

[gamini]

Get a Thai lawyer, why don't you " ask the lawyer " on Thai visa.....should be a simple reply, and then you will know,

If you have proper insurance with a reputable insurance company, they will handle everything and nothing will happen. They will deal with police and the other party. You do not need a lawyer.

But on the other hand if you don't, I can only say that you are stupid and that you should never drive in Thailand and I would think you deserve no sympathy.

[evadgib]

I have the answer for you 100%

it is not50/50. The motorbike is at 100% fault.

I know this because I was in an identical situation less than 2 weeks ago.

I was on a motorbike riding down the right side of the lane past cars waiting on a single carriageway, stopped at traffic lights.

No cars were looking to turn or indicating. They were all stationary waiting for the lights to change. As I approached the traffic lights, a car about 3 or 4 cars ahead suddenly decided to pull out and go right to u-turn or just turn right into a shop driveway on the other side of the road!! I blasted my horn and rode further right onto the other side (traffic coming the other way, though there was none) to try to get around him assuming he would brake. He never braked! (my comment here is what a wan*er as he made a collision unavoidable) I hit him and knocked his driver's door mirror off and my head dented his door - I was wearing crash helmit and no problem. My ankle has been a swollen nightmare. We all went to the police station.

imv he caused the accident. He just pulled out without looking or indicating to u-turn AND hearing my frantic bibbing, never stopped so I could get round him and completely avoid any crash at all.

However, as I should not have been riding on the outside. I was 100% wrong and had to pay damages of 12,000 Baht.

I can see the logic and highway code reasoning even though he CAUSED the accident. I was where I sould not have been.

So, the bike was 100% wrong here too

Ethnicity might have been a factor in apportioning blame in the above scenario, and would also have been the case if the roles were reversed!

Edited June 4, 2015 by evadgib

[nabbie]

Sorry to hear what happened. This is definitely not your day. Your incident is very similar to what I had about 7 or 8 years ago. Fortunately one rider was not injured but his female passenger was. In order to avoid the bigger problem, I paid the passenger all the cost at hospital. They seem to be understanding me regardless to whose fault and not complaining at all. I hope you can find the sensible solution and be aware you are in Thailand.

[twix38]

evadgib

usually I would agree, but I think driving down the right hand side confers blame here in my situation and the OP's.

It may be different if 2 lanes and the right hand lane is set for turning right. That was not the case for me or the OP.

If the OP has to pay anything it will prove your point of ethnicity, but otherwise I believe it has nothing to do with it in my case as it is illegal to do what so many do daily by riding down the right hand side on a single lane. I fogot to mention I was also charged 1,000 Baht as a fine. They forgot to collect that though.

Edited June 4, 2015 by twix38