249 youngsters arrested for motorcyle street racing in Thailand

[elgordo38]

Only 249?

Only a drop in the bucket. I wish they would set up outside our condo in Chiang Mai. The rice rockets roar up and down on my main street endlessly except after a heavy rainstorm or a streak of cold weather. I would ask that the BIB place just 1 cop out here out of the 210,000 supposedly working in the country he would have a field day. Our main road is a 2 lane open straight stretch and when the traffic dies down they really fire up. Its a zoo literally all hours of the day and night. I also think they should check these bikes for muffler modifications. These after market rice rocket booster shops are cropping up all over the place. These bikes are not cheap and it amazes me where the young folk get the money to buy em. Instead of just a helmet check do a modification check as well. Increase the fines.

Edited October 15, 2015 by elgordo38

[FangFerang]

If any Thai Hi-so's kid gets arrested....we all know what doesn't happen....

[elgordo38]

I think in the years the junta are in power we will see more and more closures of entertainment venues it is obvious they don't like to see people enjoying themselves and there will be very little left for tourists to come here for.

Reminds of the old saying "Your in the army now your not behind a plow"

[blackpanda]

Where are the motorcycles????

[lovelomsak]

I say let them have fun as long as they donot hurt anyone but themselves.

Where I grew up we all street raced. I raced my 57 chevy 2dht and my 67 Beaumont 396 4 spd. Every young kid raced it was part of the ritual of maturing and fair competion and macho. We raced we paid fines and had fun. It was friday night entertainment. the macho bragging rights were a big part of it and are still remembered by all participants When the community decided to end it by organizing races at a track we all lost interest.The majority of us went on to be productive contributing citizens and raised good families with great memories of youth. No accidents racing but lots of write offs in single car accidents from drunk driving and careless driving..

Some marriages also came from activities in the back seat of these hot cars.

Should the racing spot be in a public area?

Or privately funded area?

It is street racing. it has to be done on the streets. But in isolated areas,with little or no traffic.

[GAZZPA]

Anyone else bothered by use of the term "youngsters"? Admittedly they may be grown up brats, but to me youngster seems more fitting say age 6-9. Treat them as adults, and treat adult racers with firmness: impound the bikes for 6 months first offense and let riders spend at least weekend in jail.

Impound them, I say crush them! Although they may not be able to go to school on Monday.

Totally agree, if they are illegal bikes then crush them. It is the ultimate deterrent for future modifiers. I hope the police stop all modified bikes going up and down the roads and confiscate them, I see many of them here with extended wheel base, bigger tyres and a whole load of modifications designed to enhance performance... Crush the lot of them.. I suspect doing this will save the lives of some of these "youngsters".

Likewise, I'm in complete agreement of the crushing of the bikes, terrific idea.

I too see many modified bikes, however the mods for the younger riders around where I live in Phuket seem to be limited to changing the handlebars for something much narrower, using 'pencil thin' tyres (narrower tyres are better in snow - which we don't get a lot of in Phuket, narrower tyres not so good in the rain - which we do get a fair amount of) and, the most annoying of all, exchanging the legal (reasonably quiet) exhaust/silencers for the (presumably) non street legal exhausts/silencers that are far from quiet.

In fact I think it would be a good idea to crush the bikes of anyone caught riding one without i)a driving licence, ii)valid insurance, or iii) road tax.

Completely agree. Also, if they are caught more then 3 times without a helmet.

[GAZZPA]

I say let them have fun as long as they donot hurt anyone but themselves.

Where I grew up we all street raced. I raced my 57 chevy 2dht and my 67 Beaumont 396 4 spd. Every young kid raced it was part of the ritual of maturing and fair competion and macho. We raced we paid fines and had fun. It was friday night entertainment. the macho bragging rights were a big part of it and are still remembered by all participants When the community decided to end it by organizing races at a track we all lost interest.The majority of us went on to be productive contributing citizens and raised good families with great memories of youth. No accidents racing but lots of write offs in single car accidents from drunk driving and careless driving..

Some marriages also came from activities in the back seat of these hot cars.

Wow James Dean, how cool you must have been.

Racing, drunk driving, careless driving on public roads, I wish I was as cool as you. I assume you are a gentleman of more mature years then myself, surprised with all the wisdom you have gained in your life you don't look back and see what complete idiots you all were.

Thailand has one of the Worlds worst statistics for deaths on the roads, thousands of needless deaths due to mostly stupidity. It was not until I came to Thailand that I saw a dead body lying on the road, now I have seen many.

It doesn't make sense, i think most people see that.

[lovelomsak]

I say let them have fun as long as they donot hurt anyone but themselves.

Where I grew up we all street raced. I raced my 57 chevy 2dht and my 67 Beaumont 396 4 spd. Every young kid raced it was part of the ritual of maturing and fair competion and macho. We raced we paid fines and had fun. It was friday night entertainment. the macho bragging rights were a big part of it and are still remembered by all participants When the community decided to end it by organizing races at a track we all lost interest.The majority of us went on to be productive contributing citizens and raised good families with great memories of youth. No accidents racing but lots of write offs in single car accidents from drunk driving and careless driving..

Some marriages also came from activities in the back seat of these hot cars.

Wow James Dean, how cool you must have been.

Racing, drunk driving, careless driving on public roads, I wish I was as cool as you. I assume you are a gentleman of more mature years then myself, surprised with all the wisdom you have gained in your life you don't look back and see what complete idiots you all were.

Thailand has one of the Worlds worst statistics for deaths on the roads, thousands of needless deaths due to mostly stupidity. It was not until I came to Thailand that I saw a dead body lying on the road, now I have seen many.

It doesn't make sense, i think most people see that.

I apologise for not making myself understood properly in first post. My fault for trying to shorten the post.

What I was trying to state was that there were never any accidents ,well racing. Most accidents at that time in our age group was from drinking and driving or careless driving. and the drivers may have or have not ever raced in their life.

These are young people let them enjoy their youth.

Edited October 15, 2015 by lovelomsak

[chrisinth]

What exactly does zoning laws have to do with illegal motorcycle racing?

Am i missing something, are they going to have designated areas for this "illegal" event?

It's just a typical Thai article. They start off on one subject and slap on another topic that has nothing to do with the original. In this case they sandwiched alcohol zoning into an article about illegal racing.

Thanks.

At first i thought it would be a more serious charge if they were caught racing after being seen in one of the bars outside the zone. Lesser charge obviously if drunk and racing from inside the zone.

Cleared up.........................

[Thaimike370]

The bikes that are confiscated should scrapped, NOT given back to the offenders. The so-called street racers totally ignore the law, the only way to teach them a harsh lesson is to make them pay. They will still owe the companies and have to pay if they have the bikes on hire purchase. The police who turned a blind eye should be fired not moved to somewhere else to do the same thing again. This only needs to be carried out once to send the message that the government and the laws are not there to be ignored. ALL repeat offenders should then be given prison sentences.

[BSJ]

I hesitate in using the term 'News article' but it would appear 2 articles in one would indicate a split personality.

[davehowden]

I think in the years the junta are in power we will see more and more closures of entertainment venues it is obvious they don't like to see people enjoying themselves and there will be very little left for tourists to come here for.

I totally agree about the Junta killing off tourism.

Chiang Mai where I live has become a dead and alive hole.

Currently in Nha Trang , Vietnam, and it leaves CM standing as far as food, drinking etc is concerned.

Beer is 16 baht a bottle, fags the same price and food a bit cheaper, plus it has the beach, not so many hookers though.

[PaPiPuPePo]

They should build some cheap motorcycle-racing tracks within reach of these towns and cities. Let the "youngsters" race to their hearts' content. A few fiery pile-ups with burnt and dismembered bodies lying around will provide entertainment fodder for some and a deterrent to others.

If these kids have the adult right to ride a motorbike they should have the adult right to render themselves FUBAR on it in a controlled environment that doesn't endanger anyone but participants.

/half-sarc

Edited October 16, 2015 by PaPiPuPePo

[Travel2003]

I say let them have fun as long as they donot hurt anyone but themselves.

Where I grew up we all street raced. I raced my 57 chevy 2dht and my 67 Beaumont 396 4 spd. Every young kid raced it was part of the ritual of maturing and fair competion and macho. We raced we paid fines and had fun. It was friday night entertainment. the macho bragging rights were a big part of it and are still remembered by all participants When the community decided to end it by organizing races at a track we all lost interest.The majority of us went on to be productive contributing citizens and raised good families with great memories of youth. No accidents racing but lots of write offs in single car accidents from drunk driving and careless driving..

Some marriages also came from activities in the back seat of these hot cars.

Should the racing spot be in a public area?

Or privately funded area?

It is street racing. it has to be done on the streets. But in isolated areas,with little or no traffic.

Sure, very realistic.

[impulse]

I say let them have fun as long as they donot hurt anyone but themselves.

Where I grew up we all street raced. I raced my 57 chevy 2dht and my 67 Beaumont 396 4 spd. Every young kid raced it was part of the ritual of maturing and fair competion and macho.

I know where you're coming from. But look up the population density where we grew up, and look up the population density where these kids are racing. It's 10x denser here and now.

Back in the days of '57 Chevy's, we could pretty much guaranty empty road, single car accidents and no innocent bystanders getting crushed. Not possible here and now.