Cycling Accidents

[CNXBKKMAN]

There was an interesting thread started by fdimike about a month ago about cycling deaths and danger on thai roads. That thread was closed before it had run its course. I have been a cyclist since age 12 first with my BMX in the UK around 1982. Mountain bikes in 1985, racing bikes a bit after and on and on..

I have never had any road accidents in the UK ever, bike or motor vehicle. Plenty of slamming the brakes on when doors open, cars over take then immediately brake etc etc all the normal stuff but i have never hit the concrete or gone sliding over a bonnet. Its a different story in Thailand though. I don't feel massive danger when i am out on thai roads which is good or it would spoil my cycling enjoyment but here is a list of actual accidents. I am going to include motorcycles also. Basic details i can't remember all the correct dates.

2000 at a U- turn on Hangdong Road Chiang Mai. Stationary in a small queue of cars waiting to use the u-turn. Sat on a motorcycle. Car behind drove into me and the stationary traffic. I went up into the air, motorbike was rammed under the car in front. Happened during the day, dry roads good visibility. I survived with abrasions and a couple of stitches. Amazing. Drivers insurance sorted it and all reported at the police station.

2001 a 15 year old was speeding around a corner on the wrong side of the road on a small soi In CM old city. Hit me, i went over the handlebars but was fine except for abrasions on my arm. Honda Tena had some plastic bit smashed. Kid tried to flee but i stopped him. His dad came and had my motorcycle repaired immediately and bought me beer whilst waiting! Police didn't record it as the kids dad was happy to sort it all asap and i was ok with that. Police happy not to do the admin. Kids dad said his son was always having accidents.

2005? i was walking my bike across a green man pedestrian crossing on the moat in CM. Cars all stopped and even though i am aware these crossing are very dangerous a young lady on a retro Honda 70 came flying through. I jumped out of the way but she caught my MTB and it was "twanged" up the road. Bent rear derailleur, drop out, chain set chainrings. She crashed along the floor but was ok. She tried to flee but i put my U-lock through her back wheel and locked it. Police were called they ensured the lady paid up when she got payed a few weeks later. Accident never recorded officially at the police station.

2006 i had been touring in the South and was cycling to Morchit bus station to take the bus to CM. Lights turned to green on Rachadamnern Nok road and i set off. It was early in the morning with light traffic. A speeding pick up ran the red light and hit me side on. I went flying, amazingly nothing broken but the bike. I was carried off the road by motorcycle taxi drivers put on the pavement. The person who sped through the red light was a school teacher late for school. Since the junction was manned by Police operating the red lights the guys insurance paid for everything, hospital, bike etc with no arguments. I survived with cuts and abrasion and the the worst deepest bruises i have ever seen.

Nothing since then only witnessing the normal madness on the roads and slamming the brakes on. Nothing in the UK during my whole life and a list of accidents over here. None of them my fault. Where insurance has paid out its been for repairs, hospital costs and joke amounts for pain and injury.

Do we all have a list of accidents like this?

[DogNo1]

So are you going to roll the dice again? How about walking instead? After two bad accidents, I'm a walker!

[CNXBKKMAN]

I have been rolling the dice since then. Cycling pretty much everyday either here or in the UK.

[cornishcarlos]

So are you going to roll the dice again? How about walking instead? After two bad accidents, I'm a walker!

What makes you think you are safe walking ? Seems like a couple of the OPs accidents could have happened to a pedestrian just as easily ?

[chiangmaiexpat]

It's no surprise, really. Thais are staggeringly bad drivers. Some never go through any training at all. Road planning is a mess in Thailand, which means bad driving habits are complemented by dangerous roads. There is lax law enforcement. So, it's no surprise that Thailand leads the global road fatality statistics.

Seriously, I would neither engage in road biking, nor in riding a motorcycle in Thailand. Not with all these loonies on the road. I cycle offroad.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[chiangmaiexpat]

That being said, offroad cycling has its dangers, too.

While I was out mountain biking yesterday, I ran into a pretty impressive cobra. Zipping along Mae Rim singletrack, I saw something quite large moving on the trail. Slamming on both brakes, I came to a halt less than two metres away from the reptile. A moment later I saw its reared head moving into the shrubs. I could even make out the diamond-shaped scales on its skin, before I jumped off my bike and put some distance between me and the snake. Fortunately, this cobra wasn't interested in mountain bikers. It went its way unhurried and majestically as it befits a 3m long reptile.

A few hundred metres down the trail, I saw yet another cobra crossing the trail. It was also right in front of me. This time it was a juvenile, just above a metre in length and it looked like it wanted to get out of my way as quickly as possible.

I guess it is hatching season again.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[CNXBKKMAN]

Thats pretty cool. I have come across snakes whilst off road but never a cobra. They have all darted away fast. I have a small fear when i am descending off road, moving fast and not very noisy, i will come across some huge python that had no time to escape. Could this happen?

[MESmith]

note to self: do not ride with cnxbkkman

[chiangmaiexpat]

I have a small fear when i am descending off road, moving fast and not very noisy, i will come across some huge python that had no time to escape. Could this happen?

Yes, but the Python is a snake one should not be too afraid of. You could bunnyhop it.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[villagefarang]

Since we all know the dangers of driving in Thailand, isn’t it in our own best interest to change how we ride instead of pointing fingers and insisting that 60 million other people change? I have driven cars, ridden motorcycles, mountain bikes and a road bike without incident in Thailand.

I have ridden with others and watched them stubbornly insist on doing things the way they did them somewhere else and suffer the consequences. Having to pick up the pieces when a friend gets in an avoidable accident is not fun. That is a major reason I ride alone.

Being in the right doesn’t keep bones from breaking or blood from spilling. Off road or on road you have to adjust your riding style. It is just not safe to zone out and go into autopilot when you are on Thai roads or trails.

No one is going to look out for you here, so it is not a great idea to rely too much on rules or what you think is right or wrong. Anticipate and maintain enough distance so you have time to react when someone does something stupid because sooner or later they will. In my opinion it is up to me to avoid them, not to try to change them.

[chiangmaiexpat]

@villagefarang, the problem is that even very cautious and skilled riders are exposed to careless driving on the road. One is not always given the chance to avoid vehicles. I am not pointing my finger at 60 million other people, BTW, only at about 10 million total blockheads. Enough to spoil it for everyone. And I am not insisting that they change, but I am simply avoiding them.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[tempthai]

Maybe wrong tread but a friend of mine was intentionally pushed into a ditch by a tour bus this morning that tried to overtake him moments before on a narrow stretch of road. Yep, that's the situation here now in Phuket. Luckily he escaped with only a flat tire. I can't recall the number of near misses I've had recently with tour buses and airport taxis overtaking waiting traffic in front of traffic lights, more often than not at full speed, over the motorbike/bicycle lane. Absolutely zero tolerance towards us (slow traffic?) cyclists anymore.

[CNXBKKMAN]

Maybe wrong tread but a friend of mine was intentionally pushed into a ditch by a tour bus this morning that tried to overtake him moments before on a narrow stretch of road. Yep, that's the situation here now in Phuket. Luckily he escaped with only a flat tire. I can't recall the number of near misses I've had recently with tour buses and airport taxis overtaking waiting traffic in front of traffic lights, more often than not at full speed, over the motorbike/bicycle lane. Absolutely zero tolerance towards us (slow traffic?) cyclists anymore.

Yeah this is the kind of stuff you have no control over. The only way to avoid it is not to be on the road but that limits your life. One of my accidents above was a guy who just drove into a stationary line of traffic at a u-turn with no obvious attempt to brake. I asked him what he was doing? On his phone, messing with the sound system, chatting with people on the back seat not looking at the road? He wouldn't answer and neither would his wife.

[Assurancetourix]

Villagefarang is the " Voice of Reason " ;

I do as he does ..

I was a professionnal driver - coaches and big trucks - during 13 years all over Europe from 1971 to 1983 ;

I went to nearly all european countries ;

Spain under Franco , we needed a passport to go to Spain !

I went to East Germany ; behind the wall

I remember the first time I arrived at the border on the motorway between the two Germany ..

I went to Italy so many times, I cannot remember how many times ;

to Portugal , Begium, Netherland Switzerland

and the best country for driving : Great Britain !!

Yes, I loved to drive everywhere there in GB ;

I did about 15.000 km a month with my different trucks or coaches ; 15.000 x 11 x 13 = 2,145,000 km

And I was also a cyclist when I had enough time to cycle ;

I began to cycle at about 13 or 14 y old ;

now I'm 66 old ;

I can count on the fingers of one hand the " accidents" I had ;

two with a big truck , one in France one in Italy ; only sheet metal crumpled ;

zero with a coach

and two with my bicycle;

one in France inside Paris with my road bike on Sebastopol bld and the best one in Thailand ,

downhill Doi Suthep in the forest - I love this " off road pist ", but I begin by climbing Doi Suthep on the road - not in a red Chiang Mai baht bus - ( 11 km from the zoo in 35 minutes , last year ) ;

I was on the " off pist " I stopped for a photo;

and when I wanted to continue I falled down at zero km/h ; my front wheel was stopped by a big root !!

Now I'm retired in E-San so I can cycle every day if I want or if I can ..because it's raining much since 4 days ..

My last four months :

April 2015 = 1113 km

May 2015 = 1337 km

June 2015 = 1140 km

July 2015 , not yet finish = 1030 km

and ZERO accident ;

It's like that since 8 years I'm living there ...zero accidents with the bicycle and also zero accident with my Isuzu truck ( 110,000 km ) .

Rain has stop, so I'm cycling a little bit ...

[chiangmaiexpat]

downhill Doi Suthep in the forest - I love this " off road pist ", but I begin by climbing Doi Suthep on the road - not in a red Chiang Mai baht bus - ( 11 km from the zoo in 35 minutes , last year ) ;

Congrats, 35 min from the zoo to Doi Suthep is phenomenal, even on a road bike.

We used to do the slog from the zoo all the way up to Doi Pui, because there are more downhill options from there. It takes approx. 2.5 hours for 1200m altitude gain on a knobby tyre MTB. The problem is that you arrive tired, probably used up all of your water, and you often have to ride in heavy traffic.

These days, I prefer to take the red Songthaeo, so I can concentrate on downhill practice on Doi Pui. For endurance training, I go elsewhere.

Cheers, CM-Expat

[Assurancetourix]

Last year I did twice in the same morning ;when we like we don't count, isn't it ? I was at Holiday Garden ( a fantastic breakfast ) , not far from Maya Complex .

I overpassed many road bikes with my old MTB Wheeler and my heavy but indestructible Schwalbe Marathon Plus 26 x 1.75

I remember a young man with his road bike, when I arrived and passed him, he wanted to follow me but cannot;

arriving at the entrance of Doi Suthep , the place where big buses do a U-Turn , he came to me and asked me about my age and didn't believe me when I said 65 old .

Edited July 27, 2015 by Assurancetourix

[MaeJoMTB]

downhill Doi Suthep in the forest - I love this " off road pist ", but I begin by climbing Doi Suthep on the road - not in a red Chiang Mai baht bus - ( 11 km from the zoo in 35 minutes , last year ) ;

Congrats, 35 min from the zoo to Doi Suthep is phenomenal, even on a road bike.

We used to do the slog from the zoo all the way up to Doi Pui, because there are more downhill options from there. It takes approx. 2.5 hours for 1200m altitude gain on a knobby tyre MTB. The problem is that you arrive tired, probably used up all of your water, and you often have to ride in heavy traffic.

These days, I prefer to take the red Songthaeo, so I can concentrate on downhill practice on Doi Pui. For endurance training, I go elsewhere.

Cheers, CM-Expat

35mins is pretty amazing, takes me 1 hour (11Km 600m rise) and another 40mins to Puping (4.5Km 400m rise).

Not made it all the way to San Goo ........ so far.

[Puwa]

I had two relevant experiences yesterday.

In the morning, on the bike, I just managed to swerve and miss (I think) about 20cm of snake tail lying in my path. I don't know what kind of snake it was attached to or how big it was. What I do know is that the adrenaline boost shot me down the next 100m like I was sprinting for the finish line. If I could bottle and sell that effect I could put Red Bull out of business, and make the heir ride a tricycle for the rest of his life. I see a snake probably one-in-three rides, but close calls are rare.

By the way, if you have a strong stomach and don't wish to sleep tonight, check out the Downhill Vietnam FB page, Aug 4, for photos of a very large snake mangled in a brake rotor.

And then yesterday afternoon, driving in the car with my wife, we saw a Ford Ranger pickup truck traveling in the oncoming lane force a woman on a motorbike off the road in order to pass, bearing down about 6 inches from her back wheel. She didn't crash, and wisely pulled onto a soft shoulder and stopped. The pickup driver was incredibly impatient, selfish, and reckless.

I haven't had a road accident here, unless you count the time I took my old hardtail out of storage for a spin, stopped at a red light, realized I couldn't clip out, and keeled over in full view of all traffic waiting for the light to change. I bruised my ego pretty badly.

[CNXBKKMAN]

I couldnt find that mangled snake photo? I often have wondered what i would do if when descending off road i swoop down some path and i surprise a cobra or massive python! Hopefully if it went to strike me it would go for the bike frame? Getting caught up in the front wheel and flying over the handlebars wont be fun.

My theoretical strategy for this situation is to pull the front wheel up and roll over the snake and hope it doesnt connect with my leg. So far lots of snakes have been seen but they have all darted off.

[Puwa]

I couldnt find that mangled snake photo? I often have wondered what i would do if when descending off road i swoop down some path and i surprise a cobra or massive python! Hopefully if it went to strike me it would go for the bike frame? Getting caught up in the front wheel and flying over the handlebars wont be fun.

My theoretical strategy for this situation is to pull the front wheel up and roll over the snake and hope it doesnt connect with my leg. So far lots of snakes have been seen but they have all darted off.

Sweet dreams!

[LarryBird]

I have driven cars, ridden motorcycles, mountain bikes and a road bike without incident in Thailand.

So have I, that doesn't mean it's not dangerous! This is the old 'nothing happened to me, so it must be fine' mentality. Ya, it must be because you're perfect.

[MESmith]

4 close calls yesterday on my ride. Cars / pickups WAY TOO close for comfort. No need as nothing coming the other way, plenty of room

I avoid major highways as cars are travelling fast. At least these cars on my ride were at moderate speed.

[h90]

That being said, offroad cycling has its dangers, too.

While I was out mountain biking yesterday, I ran into a pretty impressive cobra. Zipping along Mae Rim singletrack, I saw something quite large moving on the trail. Slamming on both brakes, I came to a halt less than two metres away from the reptile. A moment later I saw its reared head moving into the shrubs. I could even make out the diamond-shaped scales on its skin, before I jumped off my bike and put some distance between me and the snake. Fortunately, this cobra wasn't interested in mountain bikers. It went its way unhurried and majestically as it befits a 3m long reptile.

A few hundred metres down the trail, I saw yet another cobra crossing the trail. It was also right in front of me. This time it was a juvenile, just above a metre in length and it looked like it wanted to get out of my way as quickly as possible.

I guess it is hatching season again.

Cheers, CM-Expat

I had a very slim snake on street (road bike) which I didn't saw in time, so I think I split in half :-(

Had a big snake I could pass behind her with a lot luck....in that split second I had I got the thought that I must pass past her not in front of her.

Both at higher speed

[h90]

4 close calls yesterday on my ride. Cars / pickups WAY TOO close for comfort. No need as nothing coming the other way, plenty of room

I avoid major highways as cars are travelling fast. At least these cars on my ride were at moderate speed.

Minivans are the most evil, coming at full speed (140 km/h) on relative small streets

[MESmith]

4 close calls yesterday on my ride. Cars / pickups WAY TOO close for comfort. No need as nothing coming the other way, plenty of room

I avoid major highways as cars are travelling fast. At least these cars on my ride were at moderate speed.

Minivans are the most evil, coming at full speed (140 km/h) on relative small streets

I have to admit, the majority of vehicles back off & wait for room to pass, or give me a wide berth when passing. You have to wonder if the "too close idiots" even saw me

[h90]

4 close calls yesterday on my ride. Cars / pickups WAY TOO close for comfort. No need as nothing coming the other way, plenty of room

I avoid major highways as cars are travelling fast. At least these cars on my ride were at moderate speed.

Minivans are the most evil, coming at full speed (140 km/h) on relative small streets

I have to admit, the majority of vehicles back off & wait for room to pass, or give me a wide berth when passing. You have to wonder if the "too close idiots" even saw me

the minivans heading for the ferry to Koh Samui don't slow down, no matter what. Also saw them taking over other cars in total crazy in total crazy ways.

I guess they need a long time to reach full speed, they don't want to loose that.

[villagefarang]

I have driven cars, ridden motorcycles, mountain bikes and a road bike without incident in Thailand.

So have I, that doesn't mean it's not dangerous! This is the old 'nothing happened to me, so it must be fine' mentality. Ya, it must be because you're perfect.

What about the other 10 sentences I wrote?

[mcfish]

In 8 years of living near Sukhumvit Ive never even seen 2 bumpers kiss. I find that kind of strange and can only put it down to Thai drivers being very alert of the surroundings and imagine that would extend to farang bike riders as well

[black fox]

i had a bad accident on 12th february and broke my wrist, on this tuesday i got back on the bikeand did 40 klms yesterday i managed 45 klms but i seem to have lost my nerve and its made me very nervous im 74 years old and im thinking about changing my road bike for one with wider tyres so i can ride closer to the verge,before the accident i was'nt scared at all and reguarly did 120 klms 5 days a week now i just dont feel safe.

[MESmith]

In 8 years of living near Sukhumvit Ive never even seen 2 bumpers kiss. I find that kind of strange and can only put it down to Thai drivers being very alert of the surroundings and imagine that would extend to farang bike riders as well

I find that kind of strange too. see minor accidents or evidence of such (newly painted outlines of cars, motorbikes on road by police) every day. A lot of thai drivers seem oblivious to their surroundings. Maybe you should get out more.....