RichardThailand Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 I'm driving a rented car here and I find I have to concentrate all the time to avoid other vehicles and motorbikes bumping into me. It's so totally different from what I am used to and I am concerned not so much with causing an accident but with other vehicles / bikes driving into me. Does anyone have any suggestions with what to do in the event of an accident? Should I call the police and if so how to call them? Any other tips? Any advice would be much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnC Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Call the insurance company and let them deal with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stray Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 If you rented the vehicle through a rental company (Hertz, Avis, Sixt etc.) they can give you all of the information that you are requesting, including breakdown and repair services. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bredbury Blue Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Take plenty of pictures (to forward on to your car insurance rep), move the car - if there's police nearby they often spray the lines of the corners of the two cars on to the ground as evidence - you must then call your insurance company number and inform them, they will send a rep, you wait for the rep to arrive (if both cars have insurance could be two reps...but every time I've been hit the other car had no insurance), the rep assesses cause, responsibility, damage, gives you a copy of the report, you go to the authorised (by insurance company) car fixer, they fix car and the insurance company pays. You need to know the car insurance telephone number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyberfarang Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 If you cannot speak or understand Thai then basically you`re stuffed. If involved in an accident and it`s not your fault the Thai party will guess you don`t have a clue and unable to communicate with the police and will probably either try to bluff out of it or just drive off leaving you high and dry. This is fact happened to me a while back. 2 men on a motorbike knocked into the back of my motorbike smashing my rear light. They stopped had a looked, grinned, looked at my face as if saying, what am I going to do about it? And then drove off. I thought, what`s the point in calling the police, they won`t care. Next day I had the rear light replaced and let it be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fstarbkk Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Your concern is certainly justified. As said, the most important thing is to call the insurance company for your car and let their rep deal with the other party. Do not get involved in any direct discussion or negotiation with the other party, or their insurance rep. Special note on insurance coverage: Many smaller, local rental operators rent out privately owned vehicles with private car insurance that does not cover you as a customer. There are specific commercial insurance package which, of course, are more expensive for the owner. This can lead to a rude awakening, when the insurance company learns that you are paying for the use of the vehicle and they decline coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Call your insurance company, the rep will come out to the scene of the accident and will take care of absolutely everything, it's very very easy and safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canthai55 Posted February 6, 2016 Share Posted February 6, 2016 Rent only from one of the large established firms - Avis, Hertz, etc. They have real first class insurance, with a deductible clearly stated. Sure, they cost more than the little guys, but pay a little now, and do not have to pay a lot later. On renting they have a handout with all the phone numbers you will need, and the procedure clearly spelled out of what to do when anything happens. Follow it to the letter, then smile, walk away, climb into your replacement rental car supplied by the same company, and drive away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevenl Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 If you cannot speak or understand Thai then basically you`re stuffed. If involved in an accident and it`s not your fault the Thai party will guess you don`t have a clue and unable to communicate with the police and will probably either try to bluff out of it or just drive off leaving you high and dry. This is fact happened to me a while back. 2 men on a motorbike knocked into the back of my motorbike smashing my rear light. They stopped had a looked, grinned, looked at my face as if saying, what am I going to do about it? And then drove off. I thought, what`s the point in calling the police, they won`t care. Next day I had the rear light replaced and let it be. Nonsense, just call the insurance company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seedy Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 one disrespectful post removed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henryford Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Call your insurance company, the rep will come out to the scene of the accident and will take care of absolutely everything, it's very very easy and safe. What happens if the accident is at 11pm at night or a Thai holiday. Will the rep still come out? or you are not sure exactly where you are. I bet it is not that easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canthai55 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) 24/7 365 if you have First Class insurance. If you do not know where you are - well, that I can not help you with. Edited February 7, 2016 by canthai55 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Call your insurance company, the rep will come out to the scene of the accident and will take care of absolutely everything, it's very very easy and safe. What happens if the accident is at 11pm at night or a Thai holiday. Will the rep still come out? or you are not sure exactly where you are. I bet it is not that easy. Yes and it is, I've called them to the scene of three or four accidents in odd locations at odd times, always reliable - but only if you use a good insurance company and have first class insurance. They even take care of the police aspect and all the negotiations with the other party, if needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandgroper2 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) Why dont people read previous posts before they post, 4 times hes been told to call the ins. co. P.S. Call the ins. co. Edited February 7, 2016 by sandgroper2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chiang mai Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Now I'm confused as to the right thing to do, are we saying he should call the insurance company or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snackbar Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 There is an exception here to normal practice. Do not move the vehicle. In a sensible country one would move the vehicle to a safe and convenient location if feasible. For obvious reasons. Not here. Then do what you would consider reasonable and sensible. Check that nobody is hurt or needs emergency medical assistance. Move yourself to a safe place. Call insurance company, call a trusted friend. A Thai acquaintance can be helpful if the accident is serious, and the vehicle is undriveable. Stay calm, the BIB are not corrupt in these matters if you are not impaired by drugs or alcohol I had a serious accident. No injuries, two cars written off. It wasn't my fault. I had no insurance, no tax, no license. The police were cool, immediately apportioned blame on the Thai driver of the other vehicle. Had to surrender my passport to the police. A week after the accident had to meet at the police stn. Again the other driver was deemed at fault. Police returned my passport. Waited 3 months for insurance payout. The only difference, apart from my obvious driving offences going unpunished, don't move the vehicle. Be prepared and aware. It not a case of if but when you have an accident. Wacky Races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Call your insurance company, the rep will come out to the scene of the accident and will take care of absolutely everything, it's very very easy and safe. What happens if the accident is at 11pm at night or a Thai holiday. Will the rep still come out? or you are not sure exactly where you are. I bet it is not that easy. It won't be easy but yes, in theory they will come especially if you can explain exactly WHERE you are. In my experience, Thais are so hopeless with directions (even when guiding you to their place of work or residence) that even if you can speak Thai or have a Thai nearby, you better make sure you or they knows where you are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomtomtom69 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) There is an exception here to normal practice. Do not move the vehicle. In a sensible country one would move the vehicle to a safe and convenient location if feasible. For obvious reasons. Not here. Then do what you would consider reasonable and sensible. Check that nobody is hurt or needs emergency medical assistance. Move yourself to a safe place. Call insurance company, call a trusted friend. A Thai acquaintance can be helpful if the accident is serious, and the vehicle is undriveable. Stay calm, the BIB are not corrupt in these matters if you are not impaired by drugs or alcohol I had a serious accident. No injuries, two cars written off. It wasn't my fault. I had no insurance, no tax, no license. The police were cool, immediately apportioned blame on the Thai driver of the other vehicle. Had to surrender my passport to the police. A week after the accident had to meet at the police stn. Again the other driver was deemed at fault. Police returned my passport. Waited 3 months for insurance payout. The only difference, apart from my obvious driving offences going unpunished, don't move the vehicle. Be prepared and aware. It not a case of if but when you have an accident. Wacky Races. I would never surrender my passport. I think that unless an accident was very serious, don't even call the police. One time I had an accident years ago injuring a small child. We took the child to the nearest hospital which couldn't help much then drove to the nearest provincial hospital over an hour away where x-rays were taken. Fortunately, the child suffered no serious injuries and YES the third party insurance paid out a small amount of compensation immediately, with more money paid into the father of the accident victim's bank account a couple of days later. Of course we didn't call the police, what for? It would have taken them ages to respond and they would have been unable to help anyway. You got screwed if you had to wait 3 months for insurance payout. Edited February 7, 2016 by Tomtomtom69 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snackbar Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 (edited) DELETEDNobody is blameless in an accident. In my case I wasn't paying proper attention.Quite reasonable in my view. I was lucky. I would have been in very serious trouble in my home country.I was very lucky the police were called. They were helpful and courteous. I had committed various other less than legal activities that went unnoticed. They would have been correct to lock me up and throw away the key.So no, I wasn't screwed, far from it. I was extremely lucky. Edited February 7, 2016 by seedy troll / flaming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardThailand Posted February 7, 2016 Author Share Posted February 7, 2016 Rent only from one of the large established firms - Avis, Hertz, etc. They have real first class insurance, with a deductible clearly stated. Sure, they cost more than the little guys, but pay a little now, and do not have to pay a lot later. On renting they have a handout with all the phone numbers you will need, and the procedure clearly spelled out of what to do when anything happens. Follow it to the letter, then smile, walk away, climb into your replacement rental car supplied by the same company, and drive away. Thanks for the advice. I rented from National so think that should be okay. Hoping to stay safe on these not so safe roads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canthai55 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Rent only from one of the large established firms - Avis, Hertz, etc. They have real first class insurance, with a deductible clearly stated. Sure, they cost more than the little guys, but pay a little now, and do not have to pay a lot later. On renting they have a handout with all the phone numbers you will need, and the procedure clearly spelled out of what to do when anything happens. Follow it to the letter, then smile, walk away, climb into your replacement rental car supplied by the same company, and drive away. Thanks for the advice. I rented from National so think that should be okay. Hoping to stay safe on these not so safe roads. One other thing comes to mind - here or any other place on the planet. Admit nothing. Answer simple questions from police - what direction you were travelling, you had not been drinking, leave ALL the rest to the insurance agent. Politely decline to say ANYTHING until he/she arrives, and then let them do all the talking. Their house - their rules. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard_smith237 Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 1) Prepare - Have a Dash-Cam, or in the Ops case (rental car) use a Smart Phone as a Dash Cam. 2) Ensure you have fully comprehensive insurance. 3) Ensure you have a Thai Driving licence (if here over 90 days) or that you have your National Drivers licence and International Driving Permit. 4) IF involved in an accident do not move the car. 5) IF involved in an accident Take lots of photos with different angles. 6) IF involved in an accident call your insurance Rep (1st). 7) IF involved in an accident and someone is hurt, call the police and nearest hospital to dispatch an ambulance - let your insurance rep deal with the Police 8) Don't accept any blame or sign any papers if you are not 100% confident of what they are saying 9) Have a trusted Thai come to help you if you can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bredbury Blue Posted February 7, 2016 Share Posted February 7, 2016 Call your insurance company, the rep will come out to the scene of the accident and will take care of absolutely everything, it's very very easy and safe. What happens if the accident is at 11pm at night or a Thai holiday. Will the rep still come out? or you are not sure exactly where you are. I bet it is not that easy. Yes and it is, I've called them to the scene of three or four accidents in odd locations at odd times, always reliable - but only if you use a good insurance company and have first class insurance. They even take care of the police aspect and all the negotiations with the other party, if needed. My experience of being in car accidents here is the rep always comes. Our last accident - we've been hit by other cars in about 4 incidents - we'd driven +2000km around northern thailand, were 30 minutes from home, almost stopped in the toll way queue, and an old thai man rear-ended us in his brand new works provided pickup (he'd had it for less than an hour. ..he was very keen to settle so his company didn't find out...not a scratch on his pickup...big dint in the back skirt of my fortuner). Problem I was thinking was how will the rep get to us on the tollway...simple, he parked his motorbike on the road parallel to the tollway and climbed the fence. I was very impressed. ..it was also a holiday, around about 7pm. ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicowoodduck Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Trying walking.....now that is the real adventure...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dotpoom Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Call the insurance company and let them deal with it The 24 Hr. No. should be on the back of the Insurance disk on your windscreen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williet98248 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Take plenty of pictures (to forward on to your car insurance rep), move the car - if there's police nearby they often spray the lines of the corners of the two cars on to the ground as evidence - you must then call your insurance company number and inform them, they will send a rep, you wait for the rep to arrive (if both cars have insurance could be two reps...but every time I've been hit the other car had no insurance), the rep assesses cause, responsibility, damage, gives you a copy of the report, you go to the authorised (by insurance company) car fixer, they fix car and the insurance company pays. You need to know the car insurance telephone number. When the insurance guy asks you to sign the accident report which is in Thai, ask him what it says and which driver does it assign the blame for the accident. After an accident a few years ago I signed the accident report prepared by the other driver's agent and learned later from my own Insurance company that I had assumed responsibility when I signed the report. I most definitely did not think it was my fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOTIRIOS Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 ...try to have a witness with you....or you will be 'taken to the cleaners'...... ...not so funny that you say .....'They seem to want to collide with you'.... Almost as if you have a sign on you: "X marks the spot" "Easy pickings" "Payday here" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paddyjoe41 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Certainly have a dash cam,and if possible have a Thai person that you think you can trust,for all its worth.as said previously you should get all the does and donts from the hire co,you may have to demand most things like that.and the remainder is,, you need good skills and a lot of good luck,regardless of you driving skills and experience,be ultra careful.Enjoy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
recom273 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 As others say, call the insurance company, ensure that you have plenty of photos before moving the car - don't move it before the police show up and spray the road or the insurance guys are on scene. Don't engage in the situation, it's inevitable people will start to gather, EMS crews will arrive, families will arrive on the scene, people will point and say 'farang' a lot .. Just ignore everything,you may find yourself getting wound up. Just keep an eye out, like posters say, insurance isn't a high priority here. After the reality of a situation sets in it may be better for some parties, especially those with no documents to just slip away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sawadee1947 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Call your insurance company, the rep will come out to the scene of the accident and will take care of absolutely everything, it's very very easy and safe. Traffic and tourist police would be good as well (tourist police can speak English) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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