HerbalEd Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Kinda stupid to pedal bike on a busy highway like that, but it's very very stupid to ride far to the right of the lane ... even on the white line. You can see in the video that the riders had a lot of empty space to their left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Somtamnication Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 So in the USA we have the 3 stooges; here in Thailand they have the 5 stooges. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tompix321 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I'm a cyclist and sometimes I have taken some risks that in hindsight was a bad move. It's easier to see the faults in others though. I would suggest they stay in the middle of their lane if the need to go on the motorway at all (maybe it should not even be legal to be there at all, like in Europe and elsewhere). There are dangers to the left (glass, garbage, scrap metal, rocks), and to the right (trucks). I would go on the slower road normally, and make sure I disturb traffic as little as possible by going fast enough or near the left side. It's always a dangerous way to travel but both cyclists and motorists should help to reduce the risks. Keep the distance to the cyclists/motorcyclists when passing, stay sober and alert, be ready for the unexpected, mutual respect! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedtripler Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 One rich kid in a BMW doing 200kmph could wipe them all out.... And not even spend 1 night in jail... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elgordo38 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 It doesn't matter what the vehicle type is, one of the golden rules for highway driving is that one should, at all times, try to match the speed of the cars around you. When we are all travelling at a similar speed, the risk of running into a slower vehicle is much lower. That is why minimum speeds are also enforced in most first-world countries. There is nothing more dangerous than a stationary or slow moving car on a highway. Now, also factor that a cyclist is totally unprotected. In the case of an accident with a car or truck, there is nothing between his body and 10 tons of fast moving metal, except a cycling vest and a plastic helmet. One mistake and you're dead. It just takes just a second of lost concentration on the part of a truck driver for his vehicle to move a few centimeters into the other lane - and those cyclists are all toast! Whether or not Thai traffic law permits them to use a highway instead of the frontage road, I'm not 100% sure, but what I am 100% sure of, is that if they valued their lives, they would be as far away from the main highway as possible. Forget about the frontage road even - take the scenic route; enjoy the views and arrive alive. I am a cyclist and I can spot at least 2 things being done wrong. First the bikers should not be on an expressway. Second they are riding to close to the white line and over it at times when they have all kinds of room towards their left hand side they are definitely crowding the middle lane. I cannot believe so called professional bikers (which I am not) could drive in such a hap hazard manner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tompix321 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 This hype about cycliing we've seen in Thailand recently will probably end soon, we just need a couple of deadly accidents. You don't follow the news much, do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 It doesn't matter what the vehicle type is, one of the golden rules for highway driving is that one should, at all times, try to match the speed of the cars around you. When we are all travelling at a similar speed, the risk of running into a slower vehicle is much lower. That is why minimum speeds are also enforced in most first-world countries. There is nothing more dangerous than a stationary or slow moving car on a highway. Now, also factor that a cyclist is totally unprotected. In the case of an accident with a car or truck, there is nothing between his body and 10 tons of fast moving metal, except a cycling vest and a plastic helmet. One mistake and you're dead. It just takes just a second of lost concentration on the part of a truck driver for his vehicle to move a few centimeters into the other lane - and those cyclists are all toast! Whether or not Thai traffic law permits them to use a highway instead of the frontage road, I'm not 100% sure, but what I am 100% sure of, is that if they valued their lives, they would be as far away from the main highway as possible. Forget about the frontage road even - take the scenic route; enjoy the views and arrive alive. I am a cyclist and I can spot at least 2 things being done wrong. First the bikers should not be on an expressway. Second they are riding to close to the white line and over it at times when they have all kinds of room towards their left hand side they are definitely crowding the middle lane. I cannot believe so called professional bikers (which I am not) could drive in such a hap hazard manner. I agree that they were too far to the right. Middle of lane ok. But we still don't know whether the video car was escorting them & shielding them from rear impact. Wide angle dashcam lens will make them appear further from car following them than in reality. The video might be "set up". They might be messing with traffic by keeping to the right. Just for a few hundred metres. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 It doesn't matter what the vehicle type is, one of the golden rules for highway driving is that one should, at all times, try to match the speed of the cars around you. When we are all travelling at a similar speed, the risk of running into a slower vehicle is much lower. That is why minimum speeds are also enforced in most first-world countries. There is nothing more dangerous than a stationary or slow moving car on a highway. Now, also factor that a cyclist is totally unprotected. In the case of an accident with a car or truck, there is nothing between his body and 10 tons of fast moving metal, except a cycling vest and a plastic helmet. One mistake and you're dead. It just takes just a second of lost concentration on the part of a truck driver for his vehicle to move a few centimeters into the other lane - and those cyclists are all toast! Whether or not Thai traffic law permits them to use a highway instead of the frontage road, I'm not 100% sure, but what I am 100% sure of, is that if they valued their lives, they would be as far away from the main highway as possible. Forget about the frontage road even - take the scenic route; enjoy the views and arrive alive. I am a cyclist and I can spot at least 2 things being done wrong. First the bikers should not be on an expressway. Second they are riding to close to the white line and over it at times when they have all kinds of room towards their left hand side they are definitely crowding the middle lane. I cannot believe so called professional bikers (which I am not) could drive in such a hap hazard manner. I agree that they were too far to the right. Middle of lane ok. But we still don't know whether the video car was escorting them & shielding them from rear impact. Wide angle dashcam lens will make them appear further from car following them than in reality. The video might be "set up". They might be messing with traffic by keeping to the right. Just for a few hundred metres. Or, they just might be idiots.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeezeLooeze Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 It doesn't matter what the vehicle type is, one of the golden rules for highway driving is that one should, at all times, try to match the speed of the cars around you. When we are all travelling at a similar speed, the risk of running into a slower vehicle is much lower. That is why minimum speeds are also enforced in most first-world countries. There is nothing more dangerous than a stationary or slow moving car on a highway. Yes cycling around Bangkok's busy roads can be suicidal. To lessen the risk I cycle late evenings and on weekends and choose routes that are off the main busy roads if at all possible. But due to the lack of dedicated cycle paths I cannot always do this. There will be times that I am forced to cycle along a busy road, or cross over lanes to make a turn. In what ever situtaion however I know that I never be able to match the speed of the motorised traffic around me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 (edited) It doesn't matter what the vehicle type is, one of the golden rules for highway driving is that one should, at all times, try to match the speed of the cars around you. When we are all travelling at a similar speed, the risk of running into a slower vehicle is much lower. That is why minimum speeds are also enforced in most first-world countries. There is nothing more dangerous than a stationary or slow moving car on a highway. Yes cycling around Bangkok's busy roads can be suicidal. To lessen the risk I cycle late evenings and on weekends and choose routes that are off the main busy roads if at all possible. But due to the lack of dedicated cycle paths I cannot always do this. There will be times that I am forced to cycle along a busy road, or cross over lanes to make a turn. In what ever situtaion however I know that I never be able to match the speed of the motorised traffic around me. Late evenings? When all the drunks are driving? Get a trainer & Zwift... Edited October 12, 2015 by MESmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Sometimes they even drive at the righthand side of the road, without light in the dark! They even don't have proper lights or reflectors on their bike from 150.000 baht. They are complete idiots and here in the moobaan they like to race fullspeed after dark, without lights of course and with those stupid thin tires they can't break. I think they are idiots but they are the same guys who drive cars and don't give a dime about motorcyclists. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chainarong Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 It wouldn't matter what mode of transport you use down to a donkey the fact remains that using Thailand's roads is fraught with serious injury or even death, however this phenomenon isn't confined to Thailand, they can think themselves lucky that there are plenty of countries where the word kamikaze comes to mind . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanInBKK Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Who made the video? Was the car with the camera escorting them, protecting them from other vehicles, or just some nosey netizen? Seems to me to be a "follow car". 1. I doubt anybody is that crazy/stupid to bicycle on the expressway without a car "blocking" the rear 2. The car taking the video has doesn't overtake even when there are gaps in the adjacent lane I think this video was just created/posted to troll Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcutman Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 It doesn't matter what the vehicle type is, one of the golden rules for highway driving is that one should, at all times, try to match the speed of the cars around you. When we are all travelling at a similar speed, the risk of running into a slower vehicle is much lower. That is why minimum speeds are also enforced in most first-world countries. There is nothing more dangerous than a stationary or slow moving car on a highway. Now, also factor that a cyclist is totally unprotected. In the case of an accident with a car or truck, there is nothing between his body and 10 tons of fast moving metal, except a cycling vest and a plastic helmet. One mistake and you're dead. It just takes just a second of lost concentration on the part of a truck driver for his vehicle to move a few centimeters into the other lane - and those cyclists are all toast! Whether or not Thai traffic law permits them to use a highway instead of the frontage road, I'm not 100% sure, but what I am 100% sure of, is that if they valued their lives, they would be as far away from the main highway as possible. Forget about the frontage road even - take the scenic route; enjoy the views and arrive alive. I am a cyclist and I can spot at least 2 things being done wrong. First the bikers should not be on an expressway. Second they are riding to close to the white line and over it at times when they have all kinds of room towards their left hand side they are definitely crowding the middle lane. I cannot believe so called professional bikers (which I am not) could drive in such a hap hazard manner. I agree that they were too far to the right. Middle of lane ok. But we still don't know whether the video car was escorting them & shielding them from rear impact. Wide angle dashcam lens will make them appear further from car following them than in reality. The video might be "set up". They might be messing with traffic by keeping to the right. Just for a few hundred metres. Seems pretty obvious the guy taking the video was shielding/protecting them. They all (dumb asses) would have been toast if that guy wasnt where he was. What ever was trying to be achieved, other than very poor and reckless judgement, one can only guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneday Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I respect the right of cyclists to ride on the roads as long as they do it safely and on the proper parts of the roads. These cyclists were being reckless. Absolute arrogance and stupidity on the cyclists part by driving on an expressway, but if they had to ride on an expressway then they should have at least been riding much closer to the left-hand side of the lane they were in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Who made the video? Was the car with the camera escorting them, protecting them from other vehicles, or just some nosey netizen? Seems to me to be a "follow car". 1. I doubt anybody is that crazy/stupid to bicycle on the expressway without a car "blocking" the rear 2. The car taking the video has doesn't overtake even when there are gaps in the adjacent lane I think this video was just created/posted to troll That's my opinion too. I think they were deliberately riding to the right to provoke a response. When I ride, I keep off main roads as much as possible, but even when riding on the hard shoulder, motorbikes pass within inches, coz they don't want to stray into the left lane, even on empty roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MESmith Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I respect the right of cyclists to ride on the roads as long as they do it safely and on the proper parts of the roads. These cyclists were being reckless. Absolute arrogance and stupidity on the cyclists part by driving on an expressway, but if they had to ride on an expressway then they should have at least been riding much closer to the left-hand side of the lane they were in. If you ride too far left, some idiot will try to squeeze past where there isn't room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muhendis Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 What ever happened to the rule "Keep to the left except when overtaking". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happynthailand Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Looks like they have a "DEATH WISH" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullcave Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Going considerably faster then the 3 wheeled food kitchens or push carts much less motorbikes and cars driving on the wrong side of the road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khun custard Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Hey Khun Kee-rash and the C-Nuts pelaton Great video for promoting the need for building bike lanes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisY1 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Well........they ride like Thai drivers...with complete ignorence of other traffic............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stickylies Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 jup fully agreed. it's all a matter of the right amulet around your neck... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thian Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 What ever happened to the rule "Keep to the left except when overtaking". Only motorbikes have to keep left, all the rest can drive very slow on the fast lanes which causes very dangerous situations. If you don't keep right in my homecountry (we drive right) then you can expect a huge fine....Also for driving too close to the one before you...So i still don't understand why we let Thai drive in Europe because they can't drive at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toenail Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 mmmmm- was this a set-up??? -The cyclists purposely near the edge of the slow lane (near the faster lane) and the guy in the car just happened to be filming it or was it his car-cam? I cannot believe cyclists such as these fellows would be stupid enough to be near or on the painted striped line. I would not be riding my bike on a four lane interstate in Chicago or LA...and if I did, I would make sure I had one of those fiber-glass poles hooked on the rear frame holding up a florescent orange flag so drivers could see a slow moving group of bicyclists from the distance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamiesilver Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 i have nothing wrong with cyclists that stay as far left as possible or even in the reservation - but when they get confused and think they are motorbikes or faster than cars, i seriously find them obnoxious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bboy Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Granted LOS is not cycle friendly & the politicians talking about should/would/could for cycle lanes is a distant dream - even if came to fruition it would just be terrorised by motorcyclists without police consequence. As for this video, agreed the cyclists shouldn't be on expressway & seem to trust in motorists making allowances for their swerving & slowing down. Time & again I see pedestrians crossing road without looking, bikes & cars pulling out blind or overtaking on hills and corners. It's insanity but seems to be the norm here to put absolute trust in everyone else anticipating your next move regardless of indicating / going through red light/ wrong way down one-way street....I digress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedtripler Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Cycling only lanes would be hilarious when they cant even stop motorcycles on the footpaths now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis7 Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Only possible in Thailand. Cycles on Expressway and that is also in the fast lane...nice, brilliant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tuanku Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Why ride there unless you want the rush from the danger? Wherever you are in Thailand there are more scenic, safer and healthier alternatives to riding on this kind of highway. What did they do next? try a u-turn? cycle back against the traffic flow? It does seem to be the normal Honda Click skills and attitudes scaled down to a bike, except they weren't riding three up with no helmets.......so actually remarkably safety conscious.....I withdraw my earlier remarks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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