Thai-English actress 'Anna Reese' kills cop in car crash

[saltandpepper]

The fact that she soiled herself and remains at the site, weeping and cradling the dead body of the police guy leads me to feel she is genuinely upset and traumatised by this incident.

Don't know her from Adam, but its obviously a tremendously sad incident.

Some of the TV posters might like show a bit more self respect and stop sniggering.

I don't think she soiled herself. We could see her sitting on the side of the road. I think this the reason why her pants are dirty

A valuable contribution to this debate.

Thank you Sir! It is always pleasant to be congratulated by a specialist!

By the way, your contribution is quite valuable too.....

[smutcakes]

I have a theory that the bike was attempting to overtake and that she accelerated to quite a high speed to prevent this. Then as the bike completed the overtake, she was either unable to handle the speed attained or too busy spitting her dummy because some "cheap" bike had overtaken her Benz.

Having done a lot of riding here, the theory is based on far too many past experiences.

Yep; just another unfounded theory and about as accurate as most of the others.

My theory is that she was going for the well liked but dangerous undertake or passing manoeuvre down the hard shoulder, and due to another vehicle was unable to see the stationary police car stopped when she pulled out at high speed from behind a larger vehicle. This manoeuvre is particular dangerous in Thailand given the speeds they drive, and being right hand drive, if you do have a large vehicle in front of you, you can only see things in the hard shoulder possibly a little late once pulled out.

[connda]

A few hundred thousand THB fee for those medical tests and I'm sure they will come back as clean as a whistle.

[halloween]

I have a theory that the bike was attempting to overtake and that she accelerated to quite a high speed to prevent this. Then as the bike completed the overtake, she was either unable to handle the speed attained or too busy spitting her dummy because some "cheap" bike had overtaken her Benz.

Having done a lot of riding here, the theory is based on far too many past experiences.

Yep; just another unfounded theory and about as accurate as most of the others.

My theory is that she was going for the well liked but dangerous undertake or passing manoeuvre down the hard shoulder, and due to another vehicle was unable to see the stationary police car stopped when she pulled out at high speed from behind a larger vehicle. This manoeuvre is particular dangerous in Thailand given the speeds they drive, and being right hand drive, if you do have a large vehicle in front of you, you can only see things in the hard shoulder possibly a little late once pulled out.

A theory easily disproved by the lack of a large vehicle, unless it was a VERY big bike.

[Artisi]

I have a theory that the bike was attempting to overtake and that she accelerated to quite a high speed to prevent this. Then as the bike completed the overtake, she was either unable to handle the speed attained or too busy spitting her dummy because some "cheap" bike had overtaken her Benz.

Having done a lot of riding here, the theory is based on far too many past experiences.

Yep; just another unfounded theory and about as accurate as most of the others.

If you understand scientific method, a theory is valid until evidence disproves it, which then leads to postulation of a better theory. Your post would be more informative if it contained such evidence, rather than an unsupported opinion.

And if you understood scientific theory, you would surely know that you don't twist facts to suit theory however valid you might like to think your theory is.

[halloween]

I have a theory that the bike was attempting to overtake and that she accelerated to quite a high speed to prevent this. Then as the bike completed the overtake, she was either unable to handle the speed attained or too busy spitting her dummy because some "cheap" bike had overtaken her Benz.

Having done a lot of riding here, the theory is based on far too many past experiences.

Yep; just another unfounded theory and about as accurate as most of the others.

If you understand scientific method, a theory is valid until evidence disproves it, which then leads to postulation of a better theory. Your post would be more informative if it contained such evidence, rather than an unsupported opinion.

And if you understood scientific theory, you would surely know that you don't twist facts to suit theory however valid you might like to think your theory is.

If you think facts have been twisted, don't just make unspecified claims, point them out. ie Put up or shut up.

[Bung]

As one poster pointed out the week wait for alcohol tests will give them time to negotiate with the family first. Then it is settled no matter the results. I imagine one of the first calls made by her helpers in the video were to call in a favour of a high ranking policeman who then orchestrated the polices response like the letting her go home "mistake". A lot of it would have to do - in their eyes - the need to get her away from the media frenzy and protect here image (read face) and dignity. Its possible one or more of her helpers who arrived was her lawyer and she may have had a film and tv boss handling the initial negotiations as well. There mist have been some frenzied planning and phone calls from her team before the 1.30pm appearance at the police station.

I truly hope that policemans little girls are taken care of financially at least and loss of income once tallied up is paid in full, a quick million is not going to cut it, it was a 2 or 3 million baht car was it not?

They usually happily report what the compensation is here so stay tuned. Thats about the time the story will die and we'll never hear about it again.

[Equalizer]

I was coming from the airport to Patts at night once. As is still the case today, no lights on large stretches of the 7 motorway. Luckily my front seat passenger saw it, On a right bend In the outside lane a broken down truck with a guy waving a tree branch. Pitch black. I am doing about 100km per hour in the fast lane and he was just right there in front of me. ABS, lots of tire screeching and a pile of crap in my pants later i managed to swerve around it. Whoever is responsible for authorizing major road lighting to be turned off for the sake a money saving needs throwing in jail.

Why were you obstructing the fast lane by doing only 100 kph?

Try to minimize the risk of causing accidents by going back to another lane more on the left when you are done overtaking.

Read what i wrote ''from the airport to Patts at night once'' The road was empty and i may have been doing more than 100km per hour. Besides the speed was not the topic of the post was it! It was the fact large sections of lights are out saving money at the expense of peoples lives. You have almost 6000 posts, if all of them are as stupid as this it certainly proves you talk a load of crap doesn't it?

[kannot]

I have a theory that the bike was attempting to overtake and that she accelerated to quite a high speed to prevent this. Then as the bike completed the overtake, she was either unable to handle the speed attained or too busy spitting her dummy because some "cheap" bike had overtaken her Benz.

Having done a lot of riding here, the theory is based on far too many past experiences.

Yep; just another unfounded theory and about as accurate as most of the others.

My theory is that she was going for the well liked but dangerous undertake or passing manoeuvre down the hard shoulder, and due to another vehicle was unable to see the stationary police car stopped when she pulled out at high speed from behind a larger vehicle. This manoeuvre is particular dangerous in Thailand given the speeds they drive, and being right hand drive, if you do have a large vehicle in front of you, you can only see things in the hard shoulder possibly a little late once pulled out.

it was 3 am how likely all 3? lanes were blocked?

[Equalizer]

Not much left of the police car.

This pic shows a head on collision. I can see the full engine and front in tact on the video.

[Colabamumbai]

Sorry I have nothing positive to say about either person, nor the Thai legal system, pay the family, end of story. You life has no value in this country.

[Equalizer]

I was coming from the airport to Patts at night once. As is still the case today, no lights on large stretches of the 7 motorway. Luckily my front seat passenger saw it, On a right bend In the outside lane a broken down truck with a guy waving a tree branch. Pitch black. I am doing about 100km per hour in the fast lane and he was just right there in front of me. ABS, lots of tire screeching and a pile of crap in my pants later i managed to swerve around it. Whoever is responsible for authorizing major road lighting to be turned off for the sake a money saving needs throwing in jail.

Why were you obstructing the fast lane by doing only 100 kph?

Try to minimize the risk of causing accidents by going back to another lane more on the left when you are done overtaking.

Read what i wrote ''from the airport to Patts at night once'' The road was empty and i may have been doing more than 100km per hour. Besides the speed was not the topic of the post was it! It was the fact large sections of lights are out saving money at the expense of peoples lives. You have almost 6000 posts, if all of them are as stupid as this it certainly proves you talk a load of crap doesn't it?

Perhaps you were driving toooooooooooooo fast for your brain perception to deal with stuff...Street lights have feeerk all to do with anything, whats between your ears does........

No i managed to swerve around it and saved my bacon in the pitch black, soooooooooooo i must have been doing something right. This is not about street lights is it clown, these are major motorway lights. When someone breaks down in the fast lane and his lights are not working those ''lights that have feeerk all to do with anything'' are one of only two possible advantages to safeguard a bad accident. How can your brain process something that your eyes do not see? Change your brand of alcohol blogger, your coming across like a blathering buffoon.

[Gweiloman]

Seems like you're the one with the limited experience on Thai roads.

I've seen many lorries driving against the traffic.

It's easy to state the fact that many road users are under the influence of alcohol, simply read the news reports on the many accidents that happen across Thailand every day.

The types of accidents are wide and varied, and this one certainly wouldn't be the first and only one on that particular day of a vehicle being rear ended. Only a few days ago a guy in a Toyota rear ended a couple of motorbikes in Pattaya, killing one of the riders.

IMHO which is based on my personal experiences and through reading many media outlets, Caroljadzia is pretty much spot on!

Do over 100,000 km per year on Thai roads, have been doing so for over 5 years, both cars and bikes. I reckon I have sufficient experience on Thai roads to know what causes most of the accidents.

Artisi had kindly posted a chart of causes of accidents (see earlier post). It seems that driving against the flow of traffic hardly causes any accidents. Also, contrary to popular belief drunk driving accounts for only a very small percentage. I have encountered many, many road blocks and the actual number of motorists pulled over for DUI is very small.

My experience on Thai roads is that a lot of Thai motorists are just basically unqualified to be in charge of a motor vehicle, due to last of training, knowledge, road craft, dangerous and reckless driving and plain old common sense. Added to this are the unsafe nature of Thai roads (U-turns, potholes etc).

The death toll figure of 44 or whatever is also unproportional to the number of accidents. This number is inflated due the the circumstances. For eg, a pickup with 8 people in the back meets with an accident. Chances are that a few of them will be killed. Or a bus full of passengers crashes down a ravine. Again, the death toll is artificially inflated as compared to Western countries, very simply because such accidents are much more rare in the West.

Also, a large percentage of fatalities are motorcyclists without proper gear (helmets etc). We all know how often bikes will pull out from the side sois without slowing down and checking if it's safe to do so. This is just down to plain stupidity, not drunkeness.

So yes, whilst the "facts" presented by CJ do happen frequently in Thailand, I doubt that they are the main reasons for the high fatalities.

[manarak]

I was coming from the airport to Patts at night once. As is still the case today, no lights on large stretches of the 7 motorway. Luckily my front seat passenger saw it, On a right bend In the outside lane a broken down truck with a guy waving a tree branch. Pitch black. I am doing about 100km per hour in the fast lane and he was just right there in front of me. ABS, lots of tire screeching and a pile of crap in my pants later i managed to swerve around it. Whoever is responsible for authorizing major road lighting to be turned off for the sake a money saving needs throwing in jail.

Why were you obstructing the fast lane by doing only 100 kph?

Try to minimize the risk of causing accidents by going back to another lane more on the left when you are done overtaking.

Read what i wrote ''from the airport to Patts at night once'' The road was empty and i may have been doing more than 100km per hour. Besides the speed was not the topic of the post was it! It was the fact large sections of lights are out saving money at the expense of peoples lives. You have almost 6000 posts, if all of them are as stupid as this it certainly proves you talk a load of crap doesn't it?

no crap - 100 kph is definitely too slow for the fast lane in light traffic, especially on a road that has 4 or 5 lanes depending on the stretch.

[Equalizer]

I was coming from the airport to Patts at night once. As is still the case today, no lights on large stretches of the 7 motorway. Luckily my front seat passenger saw it, On a right bend In the outside lane a broken down truck with a guy waving a tree branch. Pitch black. I am doing about 100km per hour in the fast lane and he was just right there in front of me. ABS, lots of tire screeching and a pile of crap in my pants later i managed to swerve around it. Whoever is responsible for authorizing major road lighting to be turned off for the sake a money saving needs throwing in jail.

Why were you obstructing the fast lane by doing only 100 kph?

Try to minimize the risk of causing accidents by going back to another lane more on the left when you are done overtaking.

Read what i wrote ''from the airport to Patts at night once'' The road was empty and i may have been doing more than 100km per hour. Besides the speed was not the topic of the post was it! It was the fact large sections of lights are out saving money at the expense of peoples lives. You have almost 6000 posts, if all of them are as stupid as this it certainly proves you talk a load of crap doesn't it?

no crap - 100 kph is definitely too slow for the fast lane in light traffic, especially on a road that has 4 or 5 lanes depending on the stretch.

That one now edges you closer to 6000 crap posts. Blabber blabber blabber

[Si Thea01]

Speed kills. And she must have been motoring. Hope they spend that poor copper's life for something.

Speed doesn't kill , lack of attention signals and awareness kills.

Sorry to disagree but speed is a major contributing factor in both the number and severity of crashes. I'll try and keep it simple so you will understand. Now, as speed increases so does a driver's reaction time to stop and the distance to stop also increases.

Also, higher the speed, the greater the amount of kinetic (moving) energy that must be absorbed by the impact of the crash. I suggest you look this up and understand it's relationship to speed and that the higher the speed the more likely hood of death occurring at impact. The equation used to determine the amount of energy is KE = 0.5 * mv2. M stands for mass (weight) whilst v stands for velocity. (speed)

In various investigations carried out, speed has been determined as the causal factor in 40% of fatal crashes, as well as an aggravating factor in the severity of all crashes. At higher speeds vehicles also become more difficult to manoeuvre, therefore increasing the risk of losing control, in particular, if evasive action is necessary.

I am not trying to be smart just pointing out that what you have indicated is incorrect. And I know this, as prior to retiring I was a Police crash investigator and upon leaving the force established my own company which was contracted by numerous insurance companies to investigate catastrophic motor vehicle crashes that resulted in death or serious injuries.

[giddyup]

Speed kills. And she must have been motoring. Hope they spend that poor copper's life for something.

Speed doesn't kill , lack of attention signals and awareness kills.

Sorry to disagree but speed is a major contributing factor in both the number and severity of crashes. I'll try and keep it simple so you will understand. Now, as speed increases so does a driver's reaction time to stop and the distance to stop also increases.

Also, higher the speed, the greater the amount of kinetic (moving) energy that must be absorbed by the impact of the crash. I suggest you look this up and understand it's relationship to speed and that the higher the speed the more likely hood of death occurring at impact. The equation used to determine the amount of energy is KE = 0.5 * mv2. M stands for mass (weight) whilst v stands for velocity. (speed)

In various investigations carried out, speed has been determined as the causal factor in 40% of fatal crashes, as well as an aggravating factor in the severity of all crashes. At higher speeds vehicles also become more difficult to manoeuvre, therefore increasing the risk of losing control, in particular, if evasive action is necessary.

I am not trying to be smart just pointing out that what you have indicated is incorrect. And I know this, as prior to retiring I was a Police crash investigator and upon leaving the force established my own company which was contracted by numerous insurance companies to investigate catastrophic motor vehicle crashes that resulted in death or serious injuries.

Well put. I don't know why anyone has problems grasping the concept.

[manarak]

Speed kills. And she must have been motoring. Hope they spend that poor copper's life for something.

Speed doesn't kill , lack of attention signals and awareness kills.

Sorry to disagree but speed is a major contributing factor in both the number and severity of crashes. I'll try and keep it simple so you will understand. Now, as speed increases so does a driver's reaction time to stop and the distance to stop also increases.

Also, higher the speed, the greater the amount of kinetic (moving) energy that must be absorbed by the impact of the crash. I suggest you look this up and understand it's relationship to speed and that the higher the speed the more likely hood of death occurring at impact. The equation used to determine the amount of energy is KE = 0.5 * mv2. M stands for mass (weight) whilst v stands for velocity. (speed)

In various investigations carried out, speed has been determined as the causal factor in 40% of fatal crashes, as well as an aggravating factor in the severity of all crashes. At higher speeds vehicles also become more difficult to manoeuvre, therefore increasing the risk of losing control, in particular, if evasive action is necessary.

I am not trying to be smart just pointing out that what you have indicated is incorrect. And I know this, as prior to retiring I was a Police crash investigator and upon leaving the force established my own company which was contracted by numerous insurance companies to investigate catastrophic motor vehicle crashes that resulted in death or serious injuries.

True, yet the roads that have the most traffic and where vehicles drive the fastest (i.e. highways) are also the safest per passenger/km driven.

I would agree to say that speed that is excessive considered the road's circumstances is the most dangerous.

Under the right circumstances, a speed of 200 Kph can be safe.

[deepcell]

"Later in the day, Anna cooperated with police to undergo tests to determine if she was on drugs or alcohol. Tests showed no signs of drug abuse, but it will take about a week to determine if she had consumed alcohol."

humm huh I know. This case will show us how much thb worst a life in Thailand. Sick!

[ukrules]

People seem to be getting a little too carried away with the whole speed issue here - 100 KM/hour is only 62 MPH - that's not very fast.

[Thai at Heart]

The road toll in Thailand is ridiculous. And i am not sure how many posters actually drive. It seems like for some they release the genie when they hit the highway but the genie gets back into the proverbial bottle when they see the scene from the seat.

I have expressed a point of view that in Thailand the speed is unsafe. Unsafe for the roads, and the drivers' skills and the public in general. You can be super aware but that wont save anoeone if travelling tooo fast.

Can you get these general tendencies, excessive speed to slow down?

I can only comment on the current research into this in the UK, totally different in many ways. But statistically 'speed' on it's own does not kill. Speed in the wrong place kills.

UK motorways are the safest roads in the country yet that's where you find the majority of speeders.

Most pedestrians are killed by people who are abiding the legal speed limit and are normal safe drivers.

When a pedestrian steps into the stopping distance of a car or lorry there is very little or nothing that the driver can do to avoid it.

I totally agree speed is a contributory factor here. The whole idea of no surprise no accident is to understand that. But not just use it to find guilt.

Learn from it so the same thing does not happen to you.

Easy one this one. We have a car badly placed, a speeding other vehicle and a potential third party biker kicking it all off.

Easy to point the finger and move on.

Another 16 tomorrow then.

On the point that fatalities are people hitting pedestrians, yes speed does kill, hence the push to change limits in very built up residential areas to 20mph in the UK. Stopping distances will improve, closing impact speeds will reduce and they reckon will reduce the road toll massively.

Motorways, whilst providing the most spectacular TV, do not present the most dangerous roads. Unfortunately, Thailand has motorway speeds with built up area obstacles and distractions. Why are people parked on a road where people are doing 100kmh?

If she had been doing 60, she might well have still killed him, but she may never have had the accident. So, speed does kill in that it is a defining factor in causing the incident in the first place.

[oldsailor35]

I think that it not an offence to drive into the back of another car in Thailand, because whilst i was stopped at traffic lights a car slammed into the back of my new Toyota VIOS doing Bht 140.000 damage. The police told me "You not worry, you have insurance" they saw the sticker on my windscreen. Allowing the guilty driver to go free.

[Eli1]

Why on earth is she wailing in the middle of the road an not sat cuffed in the back of a cop car ?

Pal have you every thought that she tried to avoid the bike and swerved into the cop car by trying to miss the bike, that was the account that was given by a security guard that was nearby you old fart? SO DID YOU WITNESS THE ACCIDENT YOURSELF...MMMMMMMM.....WHAT WAS A COP DOING A SLEEP ON THE HYWAY ANYWAYS....PAL THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THAT.... I'M SURE SHE DIDN'T GO OUT OF HER WAY TO KILL THIS COP OK, please pal stop with your pathetic illogical comment....

[giddyup]

Why on earth is she wailing in the middle of the road an not sat cuffed in the back of a cop car ?

Pal have you every thought that she tried to avoid the bike and swerved into the cop car by trying to miss the bike, that was the account that was given by a security guard that was nearby you old fart? SO DID YOU WITNESS THE ACCIDENT YOURSELF...MMMMMMMM.....WHAT WAS A COP DOING A SLEEP ON THE HYWAY ANYWAYS....PAL THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED AN ACCIDENT BECAUSE IT WAS JUST THAT.... I'M SURE SHE DIDN'T GO OUT OF HER WAY TO KILL THIS COP OK, please pal stop with your pathetic illogical comment....

Yours is the pathetic comment. She should have been taken to a police station immediately and drug and alcohol tested, not allowed to flee the scene and report to police when she felt like it, no doubt after any alcohol was gone from her system. In any major accident (and even minor ones) drivers should have blood taken to gauge their culpability, that's as obvious as the nose on your face. So where you get off shouting (that's what capital letters indicate) at someone's quite valid comment is totally out of order.

Edited June 27, 2015 by giddyup

[CarolJadzia]

A little bit of refreshing humbleness a rare thing on TV. Seems like some good advice here number one being taking responsibility for your own actions and in conjunction with that the written and unwritten rule of the road is you must have control of your vehicle at ALL times. I drove from age 15 (drove for a year with a car but without a license) to 70 with only a couple minor accidents and I also drove 15 of those years on the job summer fall winter and spring. I have never lost any points from my drivers license. I made it a point to drive according to road conditions and was always left in the lurch by others speeding sliding driving way beyond road conditions. The only difference now is there are many more drivers on the road.

Thank you elgordo.

Most of the pages on this thread are filled with people trying to attribute blame. That is not a surprise. It is the normal way these things happen.

There are even research papers that show why this is the case. However if we stand back and look at it the chances are that these people were only doing what they normally do.

Lets start with a basic fact that nobody leaves home with the intention of having an accident.

The Thai Police officer, lost in the city and tired after a long day finds somewhere to pull over and have a rest. Maybe without correct observation for the safety of where he has parked? Minor fault, but these things happen every day.

The actress, ok potentially under the influence of something? But in the absence of evidence for such lets just assume her crime is speeding. Not necessarily that high a speed. I could not say I have never exceeded the speed limit. I ride a motorcycle that can brake the UK national speed limit in first gear. Again she was doing something that is common on Thai roads, in fact it is common everywhere. Again I can point directly at research from the UK that shows speed on it's own is not the killer. It is driving too fast for the conditions that leads to accidents. Was she too fast for the conditions? She was on a road described as a motorway. Would you have been slower? Not to mention the risk compensation factors that you could potentially discuss with her being in her super safe cage insulated from the world around her as there is no evidence of that specifically here, however it has been proved to contribute to accidents happening.

Then there is the potential motorcyclist. Again doing what many motorcyclists have been seen to do in Thailand - swerving in and out of traffic. Sounds feasible? Right or wrong that is what they do.

So we have three people doing what is the normal thing to do in Thailand.

Why is one of them dead?

Hold on a moment. We cannot change that. Should that question be instead how can we avoid the same thing happening to us?

If we accept that these three people where just normal people doing what normal people do in Thailand and then accept that if that is the norm how can we change what we all do to address it then maybe the roads will start to become safer.

Ironically I think lessons from Buddhism should be considered. Christianity and Islam is all about converting others to your beliefs while Buddhism addresses your own ways and actions.

Thais avoid confrontation. But that does not mean they are not willing to learn. Before pointing the finger at others mistakes make sure our own actions are above reproach.

Lead by example rather than just accept the norm.

It is very hard for me to accept fault. It has been my main job to teach other instructors how to teach people to ride for many years. A female standing up in front of a group of Male Experienced Instructors and defending against challenges to our standard teaching practices takes a thick skin and a lot of confidence. Some accuse me of arrogance, especially online where nobody knows me. I am here because some Thai friends asked me to help. I am on a learning curve about the best advice to offer to my Thai friends. It is only since I started researching the application of our British Police System of defensive Riding - 'Motorcycle Roadcraft' in Thailand that I came across the new Thinking of 'No surprise - No accident'.

Although the 'No Surprise' concept challenges the rigidity of Roadcraft Teachings they are both working towards the same aims - teaching best practice so we can all offer the best advice for staying alive as road users.

If everyone wants to continue pointing the finger at who they consider to be the guilty party then the same thing will continue happening at the exceedingly high rate.

If we instead think that this was just TiT and that is the norm, what can we do to avoid the same happening to us? Then maybe things will start to change.

Anyone who drives or rides in Thailand is already doing a good job, experience counts, the longer you stay alive the more experienced you are at knowing what to expect on the roads of Thailand. The sooner we all accept that it is normal people doing normal things that have the most accidents the sooner we can all do something about it.

[2fishin2]

A little bit of refreshing humbleness a rare thing on TV. Seems like some good advice here number one being taking responsibility for your own actions and in conjunction with that the written and unwritten rule of the road is you must have control of your vehicle at ALL times. I drove from age 15 (drove for a year with a car but without a license) to 70 with only a couple minor accidents and I also drove 15 of those years on the job summer fall winter and spring. I have never lost any points from my drivers license. I made it a point to drive according to road conditions and was always left in the lurch by others speeding sliding driving way beyond road conditions. The only difference now is there are many more drivers on the road.

Thank you elgordo.

Most of the pages on this thread are filled with people trying to attribute blame. That is not a surprise. It is the normal way these things happen.

There are even research papers that show why this is the case. However if we stand back and look at it the chances are that these people were only doing what they normally do.

Lets start with a basic fact that nobody leaves home with the intention of having an accident.

The Thai Police officer, lost in the city and tired after a long day finds somewhere to pull over and have a rest. Maybe without correct observation for the safety of where he has parked? Minor fault, but these things happen every day.

The actress, ok potentially under the influence of something? But in the absence of evidence for such lets just assume her crime is speeding. Not necessarily that high a speed. I could not say I have never exceeded the speed limit. I ride a motorcycle that can brake the UK national speed limit in first gear. Again she was doing something that is common on Thai roads, in fact it is common everywhere. Again I can point directly at research from the UK that shows speed on it's own is not the killer. It is driving too fast for the conditions that leads to accidents. Was she too fast for the conditions? She was on a road described as a motorway. Would you have been slower? Not to mention the risk compensation factors that you could potentially discuss with her being in her super safe cage insulated from the world around her as there is no evidence of that specifically here, however it has been proved to contribute to accidents happening.

Then there is the potential motorcyclist. Again doing what many motorcyclists have been seen to do in Thailand - swerving in and out of traffic. Sounds feasible? Right or wrong that is what they do.

So we have three people doing what is the normal thing to do in Thailand.

Why is one of them dead?

Hold on a moment. We cannot change that. Should that question be instead how can we avoid the same thing happening to us?

If we accept that these three people where just normal people doing what normal people do in Thailand and then accept that if that is the norm how can we change what we all do to address it then maybe the roads will start to become safer.

Ironically I think lessons from Buddhism should be considered. Christianity and Islam is all about converting others to your beliefs while Buddhism addresses your own ways and actions.

Thais avoid confrontation. But that does not mean they are not willing to learn. Before pointing the finger at others mistakes make sure our own actions are above reproach.

Lead by example rather than just accept the norm.

It is very hard for me to accept fault. It has been my main job to teach other instructors how to teach people to ride for many years. A female standing up in front of a group of Male Experienced Instructors and defending against challenges to our standard teaching practices takes a thick skin and a lot of confidence. Some accuse me of arrogance, especially online where nobody knows me. I am here because some Thai friends asked me to help. I am on a learning curve about the best advice to offer to my Thai friends. It is only since I started researching the application of our British Police System of defensive Riding - 'Motorcycle Roadcraft' in Thailand that I came across the new Thinking of 'No surprise - No accident'.

Although the 'No Surprise' concept challenges the rigidity of Roadcraft Teachings they are both working towards the same aims - teaching best practice so we can all offer the best advice for staying alive as road users.

If everyone wants to continue pointing the finger at who they consider to be the guilty party then the same thing will continue happening at the exceedingly high rate.

If we instead think that this was just TiT and that is the norm, what can we do to avoid the same happening to us? Then maybe things will start to change.

Anyone who drives or rides in Thailand is already doing a good job, experience counts, the longer you stay alive the more experienced you are at knowing what to expect on the roads of Thailand. The sooner we all accept that it is normal people doing normal things that have the most accidents the sooner we can all do something about it.

Im sorry I read your post three times trying to understand what you are saying, and I still dont.

But after 19 pages of comments Im easily confused

[Spaniel]

I think that it not an offence to drive into the back of another car in Thailand, because whilst i was stopped at traffic lights a car slammed into the back of my new Toyota VIOS doing Bht 140.000 damage. The police told me "You not worry, you have insurance" they saw the sticker on my windscreen. Allowing the guilty driver to go free.

I think you were rather foolish to let the other driver go free no mater what the police said. If their wasn't any personal injury then you shouldn't have even gotten the police involved. I was rear ended last year coming off the expressway exit onto Sukhumvit. I stopped but the guy behind me didn't. The damage to my car was about B25,000 and could still drive it. I immediately called my insurance company and the other driver called his. When the two agents arrived they hashed it out, agreeing that the guy that hit me was at fault. His agent wrote up the accident report and a repair order which I took to the Honda dealer to have the car repaired. I didn't pay anything nor did my insurance company.

[tingtongfarang]

I could be mistaken but it looks to me that this accident did not happen on the tollway/motorway but the frontage road which goes along the side, this frontage road has a lane in each direction and a hard shoulder each side.

[CarolJadzia]

Im sorry I read your post three times trying to understand what you are saying, and I still dont.

But after 19 pages of comments Im easily confused

Yes, I know what you mean.

Simply put.

The two or three people who contributed to the accident that lead to the death of one of them were just normal people doing what normal people do on a daily basis.

Rather than trying to find an individual person to blame for the accident. Accept that it was a mixture of common mistakes we all make that lead to an unfortunate chain of events.

IF he had parked round the corner. If she had been driving at a speed that she could stop in the distance she could see to be clear or maybe just a little slower. If the claimed rider had not been swerving in and out of traffic, then this accident would not have happened.

But it did happen, how can we try to avoid it happening again?

[halloween]

A little bit of refreshing humbleness a rare thing on TV. Seems like some good advice here number one being taking responsibility for your own actions and in conjunction with that the written and unwritten rule of the road is you must have control of your vehicle at ALL times. I drove from age 15 (drove for a year with a car but without a license) to 70 with only a couple minor accidents and I also drove 15 of those years on the job summer fall winter and spring. I have never lost any points from my drivers license. I made it a point to drive according to road conditions and was always left in the lurch by others speeding sliding driving way beyond road conditions. The only difference now is there are many more drivers on the road.

Thank you elgordo.

Most of the pages on this thread are filled with people trying to attribute blame. That is not a surprise. It is the normal way these things happen.

There are even research papers that show why this is the case. However if we stand back and look at it the chances are that these people were only doing what they normally do.

Lets start with a basic fact that nobody leaves home with the intention of having an accident.

The Thai Police officer, lost in the city and tired after a long day finds somewhere to pull over and have a rest. Maybe without correct observation for the safety of where he has parked? Minor fault, but these things happen every day.

The actress, ok potentially under the influence of something? But in the absence of evidence for such lets just assume her crime is speeding. Not necessarily that high a speed. I could not say I have never exceeded the speed limit. I ride a motorcycle that can brake the UK national speed limit in first gear. Again she was doing something that is common on Thai roads, in fact it is common everywhere. Again I can point directly at research from the UK that shows speed on it's own is not the killer. It is driving too fast for the conditions that leads to accidents. Was she too fast for the conditions? She was on a road described as a motorway. Would you have been slower? Not to mention the risk compensation factors that you could potentially discuss with her being in her super safe cage insulated from the world around her as there is no evidence of that specifically here, however it has been proved to contribute to accidents happening.

Then there is the potential motorcyclist. Again doing what many motorcyclists have been seen to do in Thailand - swerving in and out of traffic. Sounds feasible? Right or wrong that is what they do.

So we have three people doing what is the normal thing to do in Thailand.

Why is one of them dead?

Hold on a moment. We cannot change that. Should that question be instead how can we avoid the same thing happening to us?

If we accept that these three people where just normal people doing what normal people do in Thailand and then accept that if that is the norm how can we change what we all do to address it then maybe the roads will start to become safer.

Ironically I think lessons from Buddhism should be considered. Christianity and Islam is all about converting others to your beliefs while Buddhism addresses your own ways and actions.

Thais avoid confrontation. But that does not mean they are not willing to learn. Before pointing the finger at others mistakes make sure our own actions are above reproach.

Lead by example rather than just accept the norm.

It is very hard for me to accept fault. It has been my main job to teach other instructors how to teach people to ride for many years. A female standing up in front of a group of Male Experienced Instructors and defending against challenges to our standard teaching practices takes a thick skin and a lot of confidence. Some accuse me of arrogance, especially online where nobody knows me. I am here because some Thai friends asked me to help. I am on a learning curve about the best advice to offer to my Thai friends. It is only since I started researching the application of our British Police System of defensive Riding - 'Motorcycle Roadcraft' in Thailand that I came across the new Thinking of 'No surprise - No accident'.

Although the 'No Surprise' concept challenges the rigidity of Roadcraft Teachings they are both working towards the same aims - teaching best practice so we can all offer the best advice for staying alive as road users.

If everyone wants to continue pointing the finger at who they consider to be the guilty party then the same thing will continue happening at the exceedingly high rate.

If we instead think that this was just TiT and that is the norm, what can we do to avoid the same happening to us? Then maybe things will start to change.

Anyone who drives or rides in Thailand is already doing a good job, experience counts, the longer you stay alive the more experienced you are at knowing what to expect on the roads of Thailand. The sooner we all accept that it is normal people doing normal things that have the most accidents the sooner we can all do something about it.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/835944-thai-english-actress-anna-reese-kills-cop-in-car-crash/page-2# thanks to PP99

I have a few reservations with your post. If you open the link and see the police car in situ, it is quite obviously not on a motorway. It seems quite a few people think it is a quiet place to park.

Then you assume the motorcyclist is weaving in traffic, because that's what they do. But the evidence is that there were only 2 moving vehicles anywhere around, and they were both moving at quite high speed. I have speculated on that, but what is undeniable is that the speed of the Benz is what caused the death of the policeman, and no possible actions of the motorcyclist caused the car to travel at that speed.

Whether you think it is the right thing to do or not, I am pointing at this woman and saying your speeding caused a death. Take responsibility for it.