I hit someone today

[evadgib]

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.

Thanks, The moral of this and any other thread about traffic is purchase a dash/helmet camera & check for any CCTV which is increasingly covering Thai roads.

Edited June 4, 2015 by evadgib

[NoshowJones]

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.

How do you know they don't? But your probably right, I don't think they would have the brains to think it up.

[Jenny Adara]

For one - motorcycles ARE NOT supposed to over take cars, they are supposed to stay in the left lane.

Secondly if the car in front has indicators on to turn right, then who in their right mind over takes a car turning right - the bike is supposed to be in the left lane and undertakes cars, not permitted to overtake usually.
And even if he was permitted to overtake - NOT WHEN a vehicle is turning right!

Some muppets on this forum that dont have a clue, or just love trolling.

Finally - Never say sorry after an accident - in Thailand you say that you may as well say ill pay for everything even though your wrong. Stand your ground!

I was in a bizarre accident in Bangkok a few years back - a truck was doing a U Turn and couldnt maker it all the way around so ended up blocking the road. I wasnt going to wait around so i started to overtake the truck far right lane, however the truck started to reverse, i braked, the truck didnt see me and reversed over my car with me still in it. We both blocked the entire 3 lanes and it was chaos. The driver and his wife got out and both started threatening me - we went to the police station with me feeling i wasnt going to win this, as i probably should have been more patient and waited for this truck to finish his 3 point turn in the middle of the express way.

Anyways, i ended up winning the case, police decided it in the police station, and truck had to pay to fix my car which only had government insurance, not even 3rd part insurance. The reason i won is because i kept quiet was polite never said sorry, and the police came to the conclussion the truck was bigger than me, so he should have been more careful to smaller vehicles.

That last line is what the OP should be careful about, when a car hits a bike they are bigger vehicles and some police regard that as a penalty against you.
Goodluck!

[SattahipBri]

The bike is at fault. You should have called your insurance guy and he would sort it out with the police.

I have had a couple of accidents over the years and I never went to the police station until the insurance

guy had turned up and I had explained what had happened, he will try his best to help you. This is of course

assuming you have first class insurance, not sure how it would play out with just the compulsory insurance.

[dotpoom]

Balls ,the bike is in the wrong, passing a car turning right, stick some camera on after this crap, I did front and rear hd.

Absolutely. only an idiot would overtake a car on it's outside if that car is starting a right turn maneuver and has it's indicators on to let people know what it is doing. The only thing I would have done differently is...."I wouldn't have apologized".....I would have given all the assistance I could but an apology is as good as admitting you were in the wrong.

[mmh8]

I have seen enough driving here to know you were probably in the right. Drivers have no sense of their own safety and danger. Much like a toddler of 3 or 4 wrt lack of awareness for danger. They will be willing to trust your judgement to break, ignoring your indicators, making that lane change on a whim. I sympathise for you, they are stupid fugglywugglyers.

Just today I moved away from the junction on the green light, one car ahead of me already crossed the junction, moving promptly to avoid upsetting the traffic behind ( as if it matters in Thailand) all of a sudden motorbike and passeger on back appear in periferal slam on breaks, emergency stop, see the motorbike on front wheel wheelie, the fugglyers, admittendly they were both wearing helmets, but it would not have helped if I had not emergency stopped, they jumped the red even though traffic was already moving.

In the nicest possible way I hope tv drivers wipe a few of the ignorant off the roads and off the planet or at least get the drivers here to think of their own safety in future. what aboslute fugglyers

[novo58]

I always thought there were ONLY 2 road rules here in Thailand.

Rule 1 : Do not hit anything or anyone

Rule 2 : Do not let anything or anyone hit you .

In order to comply with these 2 rules ...................my style of driving is vastly different from back home .

[arkom]

One thing a lot of people seem to ignore is that when the motorcycle overtook the OP he crossed lanes into opposing traffic, which would be illegal so in this case motorcycle would be wrong.

Something similar happened to my GF, she was at a stop light waiting for light to turn green, motorcycle was lane splitting and when the light turned green she accelerated and didn't seem him and hit the motorcycle. Guy on motorcycle blamed her because he was hit, insurance and police was called and both placed the blame on motorcycle because lane splitting in Thailand is illegal.

[gchurch259]

Some facts missing here, Two lane or multiple lanes each way, were you sitting still with turn signal going, in a turn lane ?? The problem here is Motorcycles think the own the road and drive anywhere and anyway and with a tag like that I would request alcohol test or see if hospital did a blood test.

Hope you have insurance, because ole "THAPISSDRUNX" sure will not !!

[vogie]

This happens all the time here. If you indicate to turn right or left it will be ignored. In fact if you indicate to move into another lane,they will exccelerate as not to let you in. Thai cuture again

This is my space fxxk off.

I wish you luck,and i am sure all will be oka

And the considerate British drivers will let you in, NOT. Can't comment on our friends across the pond. Still a great opportunity to Thai bash.

[lounger]

Previous comment is right. The insurance guy visits the scene and decides. Was the insurance guy there? By now the legal trail will be cold, alcohol gone etc too late.

I have seen a guy lie in the road bleeding until the authorities had decided who was to blame

Not so long ago the M/c had right of way over a vehicle. This is changing slowly so depends where your district is in this

A rule of thumb is the Thai has no insurance or money whereas the farange does. Blame therefore falls on the farange as there is no point making the impoverished Thai responsible. Its all about who can pay....

[stevenl]

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.

How do you know they don't? But your probably right, I don't think they would have the brains to think it up.

Maybe they would, but since they and everybody else knows, except for a few on Thai visa, that the statement 'foreigner always gets the blame' nonsense is, they don't do this.

[johnj]

I can't believe what I'm reading by some of the commenters on this. The Thai commenter I can believe because there's no logic in the way Asian drivers think, but some of the expat comments are astounding. .I'm British and the Thai highway code is as far as I'm aware pretty much the same as the British one. It is against the law to overtake any vehicle when approaching a road junction, be it a main road or side road junction. The RULE 167 below, is taken from the British Highway Code. I had a similar incident many years ago when returning home on my motorcycle. I was approaching a right turn into the housing estate where I lived. There is a solid yellow line in the main road across the right turn junction and approximately fifty meters either side. Approaching the junction I checked my right hand mirror, indicated to turn right. There was a pickup behind me, who had slowed and was waiting for me to complete my manoeuvre so he could continue on. Just before I was to turn right, I checked my right hand mirror again and as I did another pickup overtook the one following me and passed me just as I was about to turn right. If I"d started my right turn I wouldn't be here writing this now. The fact is that when approaching any road junction you should not try to overtake. The pickup immediately behind me was going straight on after I'd turned right, therefore he didn't and was not required to indicate anything, but the fact that he'd slowed down whilst behind me and the fact that there was a junction to the right he was correct in his driving. If the following second pickup driver had been trained to drive correctly and followed the Highway Code, he would of known that you don't try to overtake when there is a road junction either to the right or left of the road you are traveling on. Not difficult to see why there are so many deaths on the roads, not only in Asia, since I came back to the UK., after 15 years away I'm astounded at the poor driving standard here now. In Thailand it is understandable, although not defensible with corrupt officials taking backhanders to give out driving licences willy nilly, but in the UK., where I've previously passed 5, yes 5 driving tests years ago, I find it hard to believe the amount of lawlessness of drivers. There's no excuse for it in the UK., or there shouldn't be. I've reported several cars to the police for driving through Red lights, down one way streets the wrong way and one guy who when I was riding my bicycle and approaching a keep left bollard in the middle of the road, decided he couldn't wait for me to exit the bollard, so drove around the other side of it, which is against the law. Well he got nicked and fined a hundred quid. People should put their brains into gear and not just their cars when they go out to get from A to B.

Rule 167

DO NOT overtake where you might come into conflict with other road users. For example

• approaching or at a road junction on either side of the road.
• I'd advise all the commenters on this subject to read up on the Thai Highway Code, before they get in trouble themselves.

[Fullstop]

You DO NOT OVERTAKE right turning vehicles. Simple as that. Why all the confusion here?

[Fullstop]

I'd advise all the commenters on this subject to read up on the Thai Highway Code, before they get in trouble themselves.

I'd advise them to develop a little common sense as well.

[catman20]

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

they will say 100% that you were not making a signal to turn right, your a farang I think you will end up paying but b 4 you do ask to see the bike drivers license and insurance he properly dose not have insurance which in turn could get you out of paying.

[stevenl]

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

they will say 100% that you were not making a signal to turn right, your a farang I think you will end up paying but b 4 you do ask to see the bike drivers license and insurance he properly dose not have insurance which in turn could get you out of paying.

No. The motorbike not having insurance will not get the car out of paying. If anything it will work the other way into getting the car to pay. Edited June 4, 2015 by stevenl

[RigPig]

So what was the object of this post?

Did he OP have 1st class insurance?

Was the OP unsure of his rights or the law?

Was the post so that people can compare driving experiences in Thailand?

If you haven´t figured out how it works here yet you are about to get a lesson one way or another!

GOOD LUCK anyway, let us know the end result, it will be interesting to compare what actually happens to some of the supposition here....

[ukrules]

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

Sounds about right to me.

If the car involved in the accident this thread is about (not yours) was turning to cross to the other side of the road then the motorbike involved in this accident must have been driving on the wrong side of the road at the point of collision, even if it was only for a few seconds - he was in the wrong place.

[richard_smith237]

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.

Not in my experience.... there are numerous reports / comments in other threads from ThaiVisa members who have been treated very fairly when faced with unfortunate events.

That said, there are also a handful of reports where posters have been treated unfavourably....

I suspect each situation is handled on its individual merits and how the Foreigner handles them-self.

The system most certainly is not rigged - however, the path of least resistance is often taken.

[janpharma]

Let it be a lesson...Thai never think ( even not when they drive...). You have to think for them...all the time...Look in front of you, behind, left and right...and allways expect the "unexpectable"...

[richard_smith237]

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

they will say 100% that you were not making a signal to turn right, your a farang I think you will end up paying but b 4 you do ask to see the bike drivers license and insurance he properly dose not have insurance which in turn could get you out of paying.

Not So...

Its word for word.... Under very similar circumstances I claimed I had indicated to turn right, I used the point that being British we are trained to very high driving standards... the Van driver (who hit me as I was turning right) claimed I hadn't indicated.... the BiB took my word over his.

My experience here is that Op will not find he faces blame because he is a Foreigner. However, the BiB may try and take the easiest solution and suggest he is to blame because he was driving the car, has insurance and can more readily access funds whereas the bike is unlikely to be insured and likely to be poorer. IF the Op folds easily its his fault. He is well within his rights to politely maintain his innocence forcing the BiB into a legal decision or a compromise which has no impact on the Op (i.e. 50:50 the Ops insurance pays for the damage to his own car).

[captspectre]

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

Are you joking? The motorcycle tried to pass him on the right, which he shouldn't have done if the driver had his directionals on. Perhaps if the OP checked in his side view mirror more carefully before turning, it could have been avoided but most likely the motorcycle was driving quickly and wasn't careful.

Only the police can say who is at fault but my guess it is the motorcycle. As long as the OP has a Thai driver's license, insurance in his name and no witness challenges his side, he should likely be free of blame. However to make things simple police usually make it 50/50 blame unless one person confesses to wrong doing.

I am glad that you and your son wasn't hurt. I wouldn't do it any different but never loose your temper at the scene of an accident.

Good luck and get a lawyer

wanna bet? no matter how stupid or ignorant the motorcycle driver is, it always the auto drivers fault! ask the cops! that's the way it is in this country. time will tell but in the end the driver of the car will have to pay. bet on it! this is not confined to falangs although the falang is automatically guilty, i know a thai teacher who had the same type accident, she had to pay because she was driving a car, so the police told her.

[akentryan]

I have had numerous problems of this kind. I go to Tony's Gym at Wanasin Market. I put my turn signals on and wait for on coming traffic to clear.before turning in to park About half the time one or more cyclists will ignore my blinkers and pass me on the right. I have learned to make that final check before I turn.

[dunque]

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.

Depends if a signal was given by the turning vehicle if not 50-50 for the UK http://www.principia-law.co.uk/scenarios.aspx

This thread link has some interesting things to consider which seem related to your dilemma

http://www.rac.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?19030-Car-turning-right-collision-with-motorcycle-overtaking-stationary-traffic

[Gerard052]

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

In my country or any civilised country, motorbikes are like cars, they don't bunch up they stay in line like cars. Here in Thailand, they think they own the roads and they can do whatever they want. I have seen many accidents involving motorbikes and most of the time they are the cause, so I don't feel sorry for them at all. Good boys.

[Anthony5]

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

In my country or any civilised country, motorbikes are like cars, they don't bunch up they stay in line like cars. Here in Thailand, they think they own the roads and they can do whatever they want. I have seen many accidents involving motorbikes and most of the time they are the cause, so I don't feel sorry for them at all. Good boys.

Indeed the bikes in Thailand do as they want, the problem however is that motorbikes are considered the weak road user, and always have a step ahead when judgment is made by the police about who's in the wrong. And even the insurance tend to take the side of the bike, because in mean they have to pay out less.

[Frogmountain]

Thanks again everyone. Very enlightening to read everyone's stories and opinions. I did call the insurance company and an agent met me at the police station with my property manager to translate. Police seemed sympathetic but they still have my license.

Insurance says we almost certainly won't have to pay and if we did, the maximum would be 2,000 baht.

But they won't fix the car until they complete their "investigation." I don't know what there is to investigate because the motorbike was clearly wrong.

We have class 2 insurance, which was the best we could get because our car is so old.

[namatjira]

Good luck frog mountain, I hope common sense prevails.

[stevenl]

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

In my country or any civilised country, motorbikes are like cars, they don't bunch up they stay in line like cars. Here in Thailand, they think they own the roads and they can do whatever they want. I have seen many accidents involving motorbikes and most of the time they are the cause, so I don't feel sorry for them at all. Good boys.

Indeed the bikes in Thailand do as they want, the problem however is that motorbikes are considered the weak road user, and always have a step ahead when judgment is made by the police about who's in the wrong. And even the insurance tend to take the side of the bike, because in mean they have to pay out less.

Sorry to correct, but no.

If insurance takes side if the motorbike they have to pay for car and bike and driver/rider, otherwise car only or even nothing, depending on financials rider.

That is presuming first class insurance, which we now know is not applicable.