German couple killed on motorcycle at Cha-Am U-turn

[webfact]

German couple killed on motorcycle at Cha-Am U-turn

 

Picture: Thairath

 

CHAI-AM: -- An elderly German husband and wife were killed instantly at a U-turn on the Petchkasem Road in Cha-Am yesterday. Their motorbike collided with a Bangkok bound car.

 

The accident happened at the U-turn by Cha-Am granite, reported Thairath.

 

Dead at the scene were Helmut Schmidt,74 and his 64 year old wife Anna.

 

Their Honda Click was found fifty meters further down the road. They were involved in a collision with a Honda Jazz driven by Sommai Thianthat, 30, who said he was on his way to Bangkok with his girlfriend. They were both unhurt.

 

He said that the motorcycle came into the path of his car and he was unable to brake in time.

 

He submitted his dash cam footage to Cha-Am police as evidence of what had happened.

 

The dead couple were taken to Cha-Am hospital for autopsy.

 

Source: Thairath

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-02-15

[Raymonddiaz]

Very sad.RIP. This happens daily in LOS. How to stop the slaughtering?

[manarak]

3 minutes ago, Raymonddiaz said:

Very sad.RIP. This happens daily in LOS. How to stop the slaughtering?

there is no easy answer - while many accidents could probably be avoided by better training of drivers and better abiding to traffic rules, not all accidents can be avoided.

it remains to see whether this accident could have been avoided at all - if what the Jazz driver says is accurate and the couple's motorcycle just did the U-Turn without accounting for vehicles approaching at speed, then I don't see what can be done except investing hundreds of billions into additional road infrastructure to make it more fool-proof.

[Carib]

Getting rid of U-turns would help.

 

[jerojero]

U turns dangerous. Motorbikes high risk vehicles. Old guys driving, higher risk. Us oldies need to realize our aging limitations in motor skills, hearing, eyesight and driving skills! RIP to the couple.

[ezzra]

Death and loss of lives on roads is a scrooge of daily driving, you can minimize

is but impossible to avoid it and in particular with the proliferations of cars

and drivers on ever crowded and shrinking driving space.....

[meatboy]

U-TURNS absolute death traps, you can wait to do a turn and what do you get a thai driver pulls up on your left blocking any view of traffic approaching.

RIP.

[Get Real]

The question is how many 74 year olds that are driving a motorcycle in their home country, and how many of those that are out on the big roads making a u-turn.
I am not blaming anybody, and off course it´s another very sad story with a bad outcome. The thing is though, that people seem to believe that they are invincible when they choose to go to or stay in Thailand.

[colinneil]

What a tragic loss r.i.p.

It is not how you drive here, that is the problem, it is how others drive.

Ok show police your dashcam video, but 1 think it dosent show is how fast you were going at the time.

[wvavin]

The slaughtering will continue as long as U-turns are along the highway. 

[theoldgit]

Post that is disrespectful and appropriate removed, please remember that the family and friends of the deceased couple may possibly read this post and show some decency.

[meatboy]

1 hour ago, Get Real said:

The question is how many 74 year olds that are driving a motorcycle in their home country, and how many of those that are out on the big roads making a u-turn.
I am not blaming anybody, and off course it´s another very sad story with a bad outcome. The thing is though, that people seem to believe that they are invincible when they choose to go to or stay in Thailand.

people seem to believe that they are invincible [your referring to WHO]  when they choose to go or stay in thailand,say's you.

you need to GET REAL with a NEW BRAIN.

[theoldgit]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

Ok show police your dashcam video, but 1 think it dosent show is how fast you were going at the time.

 

Some of the more advanced ones do.

[sandrabbit]

I see so many elderly couples riding scooters where I live and most of them are a hazard to themselves and other road users. They would be a hazard in their own countries without the additional risks of bus, mini buses & delivery pickups etc in a hurry to get to their destinations.  I understand the need to hire scooters as there are limited transportation options locally but I do wonder if it is worth the risk for them.

[Confuscious]

1 hour ago, colinneil said:

What a tragic loss r.i.p.

It is not how you drive here, that is the problem, it is how others drive.

Ok show police your dashcam video, but 1 think it dosent show is how fast you were going at the time.

I don't dare to speak out for the level of knowledge of the Thai Police officers.
But the speed of a vehicle can be very accurate deducted from a dashcam footage by taking a reference distance (eg,: 2 light poles) and measure the time to do this traject.

[dieseldave1951]

2 hours ago, meatboy said:

U-TURNS absolute death traps, you can wait to do a turn and what do you get a thai driver pulls up on your left blocking any view of traffic approaching.

RIP.

Then wait it's your life thats at stake,  and it's not worth much as you are only a tourist, also if you survive an accident you will be left with major financial problems, lest you have insurance

[Fookhaht]

...Old guys driving, higher risk. Us oldies need to realize our aging limitations in motor skills, hearing, eyesight and driving skills!…

Speak for yourself! I can still make out the lines on the road. If I squint.



Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Mackstask]

Looks like a built up area, no doubt the Honda Jazz driver was speeding. Thais! No perception of what might happen, always what won't happen.

[01322521959]

Why not get rid of these u turns. Put something called roundabouts in and teach the Thais how to use them! Christ! Why don't the authorities look at my home country, the UK. You don't have all these dangerous u turns all over the place.


Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app

[Krataiboy]

5 hours ago, Raymonddiaz said:

Very sad.RIP. This happens daily in LOS. How to stop the slaughtering?

One practical way to cut the carnage would be to reduce the number of U-turns, build more flyovers and introduce some roundabouts.

 

It would be interesting to know the percentage of accidents involving U-turns, where Thai drivers routinely take up positions which block one another's view of approaching traffic - often with disastrous results.

[FitnessHealthTravel]

2 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

One practical way to cut the carnage would be to reduce the number of U-turns, build more flyovers and introduce some roundabouts.

 

It would be interesting to know the percentage of accidents involving U-turns, where Thai drivers routinely take up positions which block one another's view of approaching traffic - often with disastrous results.

$$$

[FitnessHealthTravel]

RIP. More Tourist death in Thailand, daily occurrence unfortunately.

[cruisemonkey]

5 hours ago, jerojero said:

U turns dangerous. Motorbikes high risk vehicles. Old guys driving, higher risk. Us oldies need to realize our aging limitations in motor skills, hearing, eyesight and driving skills! RIP to the couple.

 

 

I'm not saying this was the case, but I've seen many people (of all ages) that shouldn't be driving scooters/motorcycles, renting and driving them in Thailand. I'm positive the vast majority don't have motorcycle licences in their home country... so any insurance is void. They wouldn't think of driving without the proper licence in their home country, but do in Thailand; and, seem to think they magically acquire the skills necessary to safely operate a scooter/motorcycle by buying a plane ticket.

[Krataiboy]

1 minute ago, FitnessHealthTravel said:

$$$

Well, just think of the cost of NOT doing anything, not merely in terms of the impact on thousands of Thai families (and remember that losing a breadwinner creates ongoing financial problems as well as emotional trauma) but also in terms of providing the services (police, fire, ambulance, hospitals, etc) for the mopping up operations.

 

The money is there The government is spending trillions on grandiose transport schemes which will have little impact on Thailand's road deaths and injuries (the second highest in the world per head of population) - not to mention three Chinese submarines costing 36 billion baht.

 

All that is needed is change in priorities.

[Fookhaht]

2 hours ago, 01322521959 said:

Why not get rid of these u turns. Put something called roundabouts in and teach the Thais how to use them! Christ! Why don't the authorities look at my home country, the UK. You don't have all these dangerous u turns all over the place.


Sent from my i-mobile_i-STYLE_219 using Thaivisa Connect mobile app
 

Been there, done that, got the accidents. 

 

For some reason, we've got a preponderance of roundabouts in my neck of the Isaan woods.  Why?  Maybe some civil servant engineer was educated in the UK decades back and thought it was a good idea to impose it on the hapless natives who were herding buffalo just 10 years back.     Many of our roundabouts have fountains, clock towers, or statues in the middle--just like the UK or Europe.  But that's where the civilization part of the charade comes to a chaotic end.

Every roundabout is a comedy-in-motion.  Absolutely no one understands the rules (are there any here?) or the purpose.   It's treated more like an inscrutable obstacle than a traffic-facilitator.  

 

• When vehicles enter the roundabout fray, some drivers already in the middle come to a dead-stop in the midst of their personal whirly-gig, not knowing how to handle or respond to the newcomer.  Everyone just sits and stares. 
• Some new entrants race right toward the middle inner lanes, disregarding any vehicles already there, causing chaos to the existing swirling traffic.  
• Others just go around and around, like turds in a toilet bowl, not knowing how to exit.  After five revolutions, when they finally decide to go for it, it's a mad dash through 2-3 lanes, causing at least 10 other drivers to soil their farmer's loincloths.
• One time, just when I thought I was going to successfully make it around my first revolution, I jammed on my brakes in a total panic, being confronted by a roasted-peanut seller who had set up shop on the inside lane, enjoying the cooling spray from the center fountain.  A toothless grin from her didn't seem to help my frame of mind. 
• We mix it up with freight trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes, bicyclists, pedestrians, dogs and a few confused chickens--all unwilling participants in a washing machine spin cycle imported from a hi-so god-knows-where.   

Teach them how to use it?  Good luck with that.  

Edited February 15, 2017 by Fookhaht

[Psychic]

These people were friends of a friend.

This U-turn is dangerous as the traffic on the highway is usually doing 120+.

Its another one of those 2 way turns where your line of sight becomes blocked by vehicles turning from the opposite direction.

[elgordo38]

5 hours ago, meatboy said:

people seem to believe that they are invincible [your referring to WHO]  when they choose to go or stay in thailand,say's you.

you need to GET REAL with a NEW BRAIN.

One makes a bit of a foolish statement and the other goes to criticize in a rather rude way. Come on guys play nice. TV is for a bit of fun, knowledge and camaraderie not to express cruelness to others. 

[Fookhaht]

These people were friends of a friend.
This U-turn is dangerous as the traffic on the highway is usually doing 120+.
Its another one of those 2 way turns where your line of sight becomes blocked by vehicles turning from the opposite direction.

You just wait until all the oncoming u-turn vehicles have turned, and you can see your way clear.

What's so rocket-science about that?


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[JAFO]

My wife and I saw the news this morning and the video of this incident. Sadly the elderly couple did not even look and made a U-Turn from the far left (Scooter lane) and veered right across in front of the driver. They never saw it coming.

 

I guess I would question why a 74 year old man would hop on a scooter and ride down this major Hiway then cross it. Seems very odd. Lets be realistic at 74 ones judgment and skills are not what they used to be. 

 

Tragic no matter how it happened. I suspect the young Thai guy and his GF are not sleeping well and will not for awhile. 4 peoples lives changed forever, 2 permanently. 

[hobobo]

2 hours ago, Fookhaht said:

Been there, done that, got the accidents. 

 

For some reason, we've got a preponderance of roundabouts in my neck of the Isaan woods.  Why?  Maybe some civil servant engineer was educated in the UK decades back and thought it was a good idea to impose it on the hapless natives who were herding buffalo just 10 years back.     Many of our roundabouts have fountains, clock towers, or statues in the middle--just like the UK or Europe.  But that's where the civilization part of the charade comes to a chaotic end.

Every roundabout is a comedy-in-motion.  Absolutely no one understands the rules (are there any here?) or the purpose.   It's treated more like an inscrutable obstacle than a traffic-facilitator.  

 

• When vehicles enter the roundabout fray, some drivers already in the middle come to a dead-stop in the midst of their personal whirly-gig, not knowing how to handle or respond to the newcomer.  Everyone just sits and stares. 
• Some new entrants race right toward the middle inner lanes, disregarding any vehicles already there, causing chaos to the existing swirling traffic.  
• Others just go around and around, like turds in a toilet bowl, not knowing how to exit.  After five revolutions, when they finally decide to go for it, it's a mad dash through 2-3 lanes, causing at least 10 other drivers to soil their farmer's loincloths.
• One time, just when I thought I was going to successfully make it around my first revolution, I jammed on my brakes in a total panic, being confronted by a roasted-peanut seller who had set up shop on the inside lane, enjoying the cooling spray from the center fountain.  A toothless grin from her didn't seem to help my frame of mind. 
• We mix it up with freight trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes, bicyclists, pedestrians, dogs and a few confused chickens--all unwilling participants in a washing machine spin cycle imported from a hi-so god-knows-where.   

Teach them how to use it?  Good luck with that.  

Totally agree. The Dolphin roundabout in Pattaya was the scene of more accidents than any U-turn along Sukhumvit road, but as the speeds were lower the Grim Reaper wasn't as effective!