Two dead as foreigner on powerful bike hits local in Phetchabun

[smedly]

11 hours ago, spiderorchid said:

Speed is a measurement of motion over a set distance at a given time. So a person walking quickly over one hundred metres may be said to be speeding at 5 kilometres per hour.

Speed cannot kill you, it is just a measurement of time and motion. And stupid jingo, jargon artists like you blab on with your slogans about Speed Kills.

 The same applies to another marketing/advertising slogan as "Headlights Save Lives" It is why all hospitals have a headlight next to the "oxyviva".

Just run the head light over the patient and voila, the patient revives. Simplistic jargon may rake in the money for the marketing agencies, allow brain dead sloganeers

to sprout rubbish but does nothing to reduce road carnage. Young people  do not listen to slogans except to follow their football team.

It was the impact that killed. It was one man not driving to conditions and the old chap making a crossing at a dangerous bend.

 RIP to them both. I hope they change the corner crossing to make it safer and I hope they can keep people incapable about making judgements of driving to conditions off the road.

And enough of stupid slogans  

what are you on about

 

speed doesn't kill, it is the rate of deceleration that does 

[Tilacme]

On ‎15‎/‎05‎/‎2017 at 1:39 PM, nakhonandy said:

Not sure why almost all are assuming the big bike was speeding. 

 

I used to race bikes for a hobby and a big bike can travel a long way on a road. Even assuming the 100m is accurate, which knowing media reporting here is suspect at best, the bike would not necessarily have been speeding. That KTM is a heavy bike. 

 

The guy crossing the road on a blind bend however is proven. 

 

To be fair without knowing the whole story I find it difficult to blame the big bike rider. Unless you really know what you are doing it is not easy to change direction on a bend. 

I am trying to reconcile that with the photo which shows both bikes within a few meters of each other.  To T bone the scooter and send both bikes 100m down the road in a forward direction would I think take some force.

 

Dropping a bike on a race track is a different matter.

 

RIP both.

 

In any case, isn't it the farangs fault because if he stayed in his own country it would never of happened.

 

 

 

[DualSportBiker]

4 hours ago, dexjnr555 said:

My point is that if the foreigner had not been in Thailand, the old Thai man would still be alive.

Unbelievable! If the foreigner who practised safe riding techniques his entire riding-life was not here, then the careless, skill-free, lackadaisical local would be ok? Two men are dead as the result of one's scant respect for the law, common sense and basic road safety and you want to equate this to trespassing?

 

How can you turn this into an issue of nationality? Are you seriously suggesting that people should not travel outside their country of origin? Or should only use public transport or hire a local driver whether on holiday or a long-term resident? It beggars belief that you can utter such twaddle, let alone take the time to type it and not see how fatuous your argument it. When your taxi driver pulls an illegal u-turn and kills a rider, will you step up and take responsibility? After all, if you were not here and commanding the driver to take you somewhere the accident would not have happened.

 

 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2017 by Ron19
Flame comment edited out.

[ben2talk]

On 5/15/2017 at 8:59 AM, robblok said:

Looks like the old guy made an illegal crossover.

I hate it when people go against the flow of traffic.. do U turns the other way around and just cross roads where they cant cross roads.

 

Just crazy of locals crossing on a spot like that just to save a bit of money on fuel. We got a spot like that here too.. if they use the normal U turn it would be just 200 meter further up.. but that would mean an extra 400 meter.. and no that is too much so going against traffic is a better option.

 

I learn to adapt.. but its quite unsafe.

 

Adapt, yes. Accept going against flow of traffic - there are circumstances when you'll find it beneficial to do it yourself. There are times when it becomes well worthwhile to take the illegal shortcuts too.

 

One shortcut I take via an exit from Bangna-Trad avoids 1.5km of dangerous traffic before the actual entry point... another allows me to go past Central Bangna and the associated stupid 3-4 wide queues of cars trying to exit before the 7-11 there and do a u-turn going up about 10 metres of road where the cars exit from the expressway... The other is returning from a petrol station to avoid a 6km extra journey via two extremely packed u-turns with associated dangers.

 

These are all perfectly safe with proper observation and positioning (i.e. I generally sit with my back to the sliproad until the traffic clears rather than pointing towards it - so traffic might see me as less of a threat and pass more quickly).

 

As soon as I started riding bikes I realised that many of the 'rules' are mostly for guidance. If you're familiar with the territory then you can easily make judgement calls... if not then you must be extra wary. It's generally best not to foul up traffic too much, but apart from that just safety is the main concern.

 

The difference isn't so much in WHAT you're doing, it's mostly on how well you're doing it, the degree of observation and speed management. There's a huge element of misunderstood psychology here too - many things can simply be virtually invisible to us even when we look.

 

Once I was doing about 60km/h and a guy decided to sprint across the road in front of me... no problem, I maintained speed and would have missed him if he hadn't stopped half way and turned back into my front wheel!!!

 

I've ridden at stupid fast speeds on busy Bangkok streets - but I've never come close to a fatality like this. Maybe close to a bump or a scrape... but never anything like this.

 

So I'd say you're mostly annoyed by IDIOTS generally doing these things without DUE CARE AND ATTENTION - which is obviously the overriding factor here.

 

The main questions in this case for me - how fast was the big bike going? Could the old man actually see far enough? How much could the big bike see? Did the big bike ignore the hazard and assume the people waiting to cross the road would see and avoid him?

 

It's all a bit cloudy and messy - and unfortunately another fatality that isn't likely to have happened if they were using cars.

[ben2talk]

On 5/15/2017 at 9:37 AM, LannaGuy said:

Personally I ride a small scooter fpr the very reason thats it's dangerous here so why take the risk? 

That's funny. I found my GSX-R was safer than my PCX. I must take much more care on the scooter - the road handling and grip levels are much much worse... 'good brakes' on scooters are incomparable.

 

How will your small scooter help when someone's coming up behind you? or turning left before they pass you on the right? or - and the scariest part of riding a scooter for me - when you encounter deep ripples in the tarmac in traffic and have trouble avoiding them?

 

Scooters don't handle well - they take much much more care and attention to be safe and are far more limited in nearly every respect (except for parking maybe...)

[dexjnr555]

On 6/15/2017 at 2:58 AM, kannot said:

Just like the <deleted>  at traffic  lights  wanting to turn right who "avoid"  the queue by sailing to the front  using the straight on  lane with their "me first attitude"  boy  how id  like to get outta  the car and smack them up, nothing more than selfish <deleted>

You know for someone who claims they "love Jesus", you sure swear a lot and hate on Thais. I dare you to try that one day, many Thai drivers carry weapons, you would be 6 foot under in an instant (especially as you are a farang).

[geronimo]

On 5/15/2017 at 9:34 AM, Farang hunter said:

I just can't admire big bikers enough on how they push their luck too far.

Misjudgement shouldn't be the cause for admiration.

[mommysboy]

On 15/05/2017 at 8:59 AM, robblok said:

Looks like the old guy made an illegal crossover. The poor guy on the fast bike could have gone slower but the guy doing the illegal crossing was wrong. I hate it when people go against the flow of traffic.. do U turns the other way around and just cross roads where they cant cross roads.

 

Just crazy of locals crossing on a spot like that just to save a bit of money on fuel. We got a spot like that here too.. if they use the normal U turn it would be just 200 meter further up.. but that would mean an extra 400 meter.. and no that is too much so going against traffic is a better option.

 

I learn to adapt.. but its quite unsafe.

 

Sad to say if the guy on the fast bike was going too fast, then it is joint fault.

 

Sadly, the roads are quite unsafe as you say, and the vital thing to learn is slow down and slow down again.

 

RIP the both of them.  Tragic.

Edited June 15, 2017 by mommysboy

[mommysboy]

1 hour ago, ben2talk said:

That's funny. I found my GSX-R was safer than my PCX. I must take much more care on the scooter - the road handling and grip levels are much much worse... 'good brakes' on scooters are incomparable.

 

How will your small scooter help when someone's coming up behind you? or turning left before they pass you on the right? or - and the scariest part of riding a scooter for me - when you encounter deep ripples in the tarmac in traffic and have trouble avoiding them?

 

Scooters don't handle well - they take much much more care and attention to be safe and are far more limited in nearly every respect (except for parking maybe...)

Yes.  I've been learning to ride, and the first thing I noticed is that scooters are not so great at handling.  I had one moment of panic having been dazzled on a back lane.  I jammed on the brakes at around 20kmh and the front wheel nearly slid away, on account of it being small and the brake being much more powerful than the back brake.  Christ, a bicycle would handle better.  Anyway, you learn very quickly to slow down, not least of which because Thai drivers are so damn poor.

Edited June 15, 2017 by mommysboy

[bamukloy]

4 hours ago, DualSportBiker said:

Unbelievable! If the foreigner who practised safe riding techniques his entire riding-life was not here, then the careless, skill-free, lackadaisical local would be ok? Two men are dead as the result of one's scant respect for the law, common sense and basic road safety and you want to equate this to trespassing?

 

How can you turn this into an issue of nationality? Are you seriously suggesting that people should not travel outside their country of origin? Or should only use public transport or hire a local driver whether on holiday or a long-term resident? It beggars belief that you can utter such twaddle, let alone take the time to type it and not see how fatuous your argument it. When your taxi driver pulls an illegal u-turn and kills a rider, will you step up and take responsibility? After all, if you were not here and commanding the driver to take you somewhere the accident would not have happened.

 

 

 

 

The poster you reply to took it a bit far but i can see what he mean.

 

In a lot of the remote Isaan countryside you simply do not see bikes going huge speed.

They travel real slow to avoid burning gas.

(Except maybe on occasion some kid on way home from school showing off to friends.)

 

My point, (and what thais will probably say):

  the old guy is obviously been doing this for years. everyone else there probably putters around at 30ks an hour so they easy avoid him.

Along come a farang screaming around at xxx kmph. Someone sure to get collected.

 

Im sure by farang standard and spirit of the law, the old guy is in the wrong for a very bad illegal moove..but its accepted here as the police do nothing about it.

 

But as many say already, you know 100% some thais will pull krap like this so must drive always as if an idiot is around the corner.

 

I guess it come down to.. you are in their country you must adjust to their way

Personally i think  farangs and big bikes should be on a special speed limit here

 

They may have good skills but obvious even after many years they still dont know and dont allow for the driving habits of thais

[YetAnother]

wild guess; foreigner going too fast in an area he didnt know= primary responsibility; contributory negligence to the thai for not looking (rumored that thai do not look both ways when crossing a street due to neck problems)

[bamukloy]

5 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

wild guess; foreigner going too fast in an area he didnt know= primary responsibility; contributory negligence to the thai for not looking (rumored that thai do not look both ways when crossing a street due to neck problems)

 actually I would say lazyness

 

And him being the older person and assuming everyone will be pottering around like him- at 30kmph,

he expect everyone will be going slow enough to either stop for him..or get out of his way

 

This kind of old guy is everywhere in Thailand.

 

Right or wrong, if you a farang you have to adjust and be ready for this sort of obstacle as im sure they wont be changing

[dave_boo]

18 hours ago, Chris.B said:

Did he use to live in Nakhon Sawan a 8 years or so back?

There's an Austrian with a similar name who lived there then and continues to. Nice enough chap but works too much to do a lot if riding these last few years.

[DualSportBiker]

Your guess is wrong! Experienced rider on roads he was familiar with. "To (sic) fast" is an assumption. If the old guy had neck problems he should be compensating for his ailment in some way, or not riding that is not possible.

 

56 minutes ago, YetAnother said:

wild guess; foreigner going too fast in an area he didnt know= primary responsibility; contributory negligence to the thai for not looking (rumored that thai do not look both ways when crossing a street due to neck problems)

[DualSportBiker]

I can't see what he meant. The nationality of the people involved is as germane to the cause of the accident as the brand of bikes they were riding or their body mass indexes. We know for a fact that the KTM rider was an experienced and trained rider with many years riding here. We know that the police consider the Thai rider as the cause of the accident.

 

There are degrees of idiots, and some that cannot be avoided. That is where 'accidents' happen. One can assume that a vehicle or pedestrian ahead will pull out and adjust accordingly, up to a point. Eventually you are close enough that the chance they do something stupid diminishes significantly. At around that same point, regardless of speed, a false move will result in an accident. The only alternative is to slow to a crawl as you approach and ensure you have space to stop. Does that work on roads with legal and logical speed limits of 80 to 110 km/h? How many side streets, driveways or roadside stalls are there along highways? How do you compensate for increasing the chances of being rear-ended when slowing to a crawl on a highway?

 

There are thousands more big bikes on the roads these days. Most residents along highways similar to where this accident happened are more than familiar with larger bikes traveling at higher speeds. 90%++ of the riders are local, ride fast, and have accidents for just the same reasons. Your fixation of the nationality of the rider is beyond me.

 

That specific area is the gateway to one of Thailand's most popular spots for riding. Almost every weekend there are multiple convoys of larger bikes. I rode through there with 200 big bikes 5/6 years ago and we passed multiple other biker groups in each direction... If you think riders with less knowledge of the area should be more careful, what about people with low knowledge of large and fast bikes? How do you set relative speed limits based on knowledge and skill? Are you seriously advocating race-based rules? Are you happy with double pricing for national parks? or paying extra for clothes at the market because you're not a local? That is the wrong direction to head.

 

Accidents are unfortunate, regrettable, but natural. They can only be reduced in likelihood and impact, not completely obviated.

 

1 hour ago, bamukloy said:

The poster you reply to took it a bit far but i can see what he mean.

 

In a lot of the remote Isaan countryside you simply do not see bikes going huge speed.

They travel real slow to avoid burning gas.

(Except maybe on occasion some kid on way home from school showing off to friends.)

 

My point, (and what thais will probably say):

  the old guy is obviously been doing this for years. everyone else there probably putters around at 30ks an hour so they easy avoid him.

Along come a farang screaming around at xxx kmph. Someone sure to get collected.

 

Im sure by farang standard and spirit of the law, the old guy is in the wrong for a very bad illegal moove..but its accepted here as the police do nothing about it.

 

But as many say already, you know 100% some thais will pull krap like this so must drive always as if an idiot is around the corner.

 

I guess it come down to.. you are in their country you must adjust to their way

Personally i think  farangs and big bikes should be on a special speed limit here

 

They may have good skills but obvious even after many years they still dont know and dont allow for the driving habits of thais

[balo]

6 hours ago, ben2talk said:

Scooters don't handle well - they take much much more care and attention to be safe and are far more limited in nearly every respect (except for parking maybe...)

Nonsense, drive slowly and you will feel safer , if you only use a bike inside the city , you don't need a big bike.  

 

 

[ben2talk]

11 hours ago, balo said:

Nonsense, drive slowly and you will feel safer , if you only use a bike inside the city , you don't need a big bike.  

No, it isn't nonsense. I didn't say that you need a big bike - I said a big bike is simply much better. This is true unless 1. You can't ride. 2. Traffic is too thick to maintain any speed 3. You're going across the city and would be better off with expressways.

 

So if a soi is not clogged with traffic, a GSX can sail over the bumps at 60, the scooter needs slowing down to 20 or 30.

 

Speed needs to be at least half that of the GSX for most cases (exept where traffic imposes limits... which is what made the scooter make sense, and the stupid law banning all bikes from motorways/expressways). 

 

It isn't just 'slow down and feel safer'. It's different - GSX feels SAFE and SMOOTH at 60, the scooter feels bumpy at all speeds and is simply scary at faster speeds when the road isn't good.

 

Aside from cost, reasons to choose a scooter over a GSX are:

1. You never go more than maybe 5km.

2. 75% of riding is low speed traffic - big bikes just cost more and get hotter

3. You can manage the journey with a speed of under 90 (assuming your scooter maxes out at 110-115)

4. Less hassle at both ends of your journey for parking, storing bungees/waterproofs etc.

[mommysboy]

6 hours ago, ben2talk said:

No, it isn't nonsense. I didn't say that you need a big bike - I said a big bike is simply much better. This is true unless 1. You can't ride. 2. Traffic is too thick to maintain any speed 3. You're going across the city and would be better off with expressways.

 

So if a soi is not clogged with traffic, a GSX can sail over the bumps at 60, the scooter needs slowing down to 20 or 30.

 

Speed needs to be at least half that of the GSX for most cases (exept where traffic imposes limits... which is what made the scooter make sense, and the stupid law banning all bikes from motorways/expressways). 

 

It isn't just 'slow down and feel safer'. It's different - GSX feels SAFE and SMOOTH at 60, the scooter feels bumpy at all speeds and is simply scary at faster speeds when the road isn't good.

 

Aside from cost, reasons to choose a scooter over a GSX are:

1. You never go more than maybe 5km.

2. 75% of riding is low speed traffic - big bikes just cost more and get hotter

3. You can manage the journey with a speed of under 90 (assuming your scooter maxes out at 110-115)

4. Less hassle at both ends of your journey for parking, storing bungees/waterproofs etc.

I understand and agree about scooters being somewhat unstable- I would say 50kmh max on open road, and 20kmh in tight situations.  Nevertheless, in essence you are arguing that speed is safe or better.  As we have seen in this tragic case, it isn't.  For example, had the big bike been going 40 kmh, then the accident likely would not have happened, or there might not have been the same carnage.

[DualSportBiker]

So you are going to use this scenario to make a judgement call about bike in general... 

 

Small bikes lack both the braking and acceleration to apply proper defensive driving techniques. Riding slowly as you suggest may reduce the impact of an accident, or the likelihood that one occurs in some situations. However, riding slowly also means that vehicles are significantly more likely to pull out ahead of you, judge your speed slow enough to pass your or turn into your path making the assumption 'they will just slow/stop.' Small bikes don't cause other road users to take a second look - they don't have 'presence' and just blend into the background traffic.

 

Small bikes don't have ABS, handle unseen bumps and holes poorly, and can't keep up with traffic when it is moving at pace. Driving at 50 as you suggest exposes you to close encounters and potential accidents from behind. Being passed closely by a car from behind is not the same as you passing them closely. You don't control the encounter; when, the difference in speed, or the distance.

 

If you want to play a guessing game, try this: Had the KTM rider been riding at 40 all day long, he might well have been cut up by a dozen other road users already and had a couple of bumps before he got there...

 

1 minute ago, mommysboy said:

I understand and agree about scooters being somewhat unstable- I would say 50kmh max on open road, and 20kmh in tight situations.  Nevertheless, in essence you are arguing that speed is safe or better.  As we have seen in this tragic case, it isn't.  For example, had the big bike been going 40 kmh, then the accident likely would not have happened, or there might not have been the same carnage.

[mommysboy]

14 minutes ago, DualSportBiker said:

So you are going to use this scenario to make a judgement call about bike in general... 

 

Small bikes lack both the braking and acceleration to apply proper defensive driving techniques. Riding slowly as you suggest may reduce the impact of an accident, or the likelihood that one occurs in some situations. However, riding slowly also means that vehicles are significantly more likely to pull out ahead of you, judge your speed slow enough to pass your or turn into your path making the assumption 'they will just slow/stop.' Small bikes don't cause other road users to take a second look - they don't have 'presence' and just blend into the background traffic.

 

Small bikes don't have ABS, handle unseen bumps and holes poorly, and can't keep up with traffic when it is moving at pace. Driving at 50 as you suggest exposes you to close encounters and potential accidents from behind. Being passed closely by a car from behind is not the same as you passing them closely. You don't control the encounter; when, the difference in speed, or the distance.

 

If you want to play a guessing game, try this: Had the KTM rider been riding at 40 all day long, he might well have been cut up by a dozen other road users already and had a couple of bumps before he got there...

 

I'm not making a judgement call or playing guessing games; it's simple logic that can't really be faulted as a generalization.  Of course there are exceptions such as accelerating away from trouble, but why are you in potential trouble in the first place?  Of course Thai drivers are awful, and that is why riding slowly is mandatory imo- big bike or small you are in a vulnerable position.

 

I agree with much of what you say about stability.  Scooters should not be used for anything other than town riding at slow speed imo.

 

Possibly some of what I've written needs to be watered down when considering highway riding.

Edited June 16, 2017 by mommysboy
addition

[ben2talk]

4 hours ago, mommysboy said:

I understand and agree about scooters being somewhat unstable- I would say 50kmh max on open road, and 20kmh in tight situations.  Nevertheless, in essence you are arguing that speed is safe or better.  As we have seen in this tragic case, it isn't.  For example, had the big bike been going 40 kmh, then the accident likely would not have happened, or there might not have been the same carnage.

50km/h on an open road? Are you trying to get us all killed?

 

It's idiots riding at 50km/h that get killed.

[mommysboy]

38 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

50km/h on an open road? Are you trying to get us all killed?

 

It's idiots riding at 50km/h that get killed.

In what respect? Too fast? Too slow?

 

I don't see any point in bickering like this.

Edited June 16, 2017 by mommysboy
remove insult

[DualSportBiker]

Believe it or not, those experienced bikers that are expressing educated opinions are trying to keep others alive...  Driving too slowly is dangerous. This is not a point of discussion or bickering, it is a lesson to be remembered.

 

1 hour ago, mommysboy said:

In what respect? Too fast? Too slow?

 

I don't see any point in bickering like this.

[DualSportBiker]

How much time do you have on scooters and big bikes? I'm going to make a guess that you have low-to-no experience on a large bike. If that is the case, you might want to have a more open mind. "Thai drivers are awful, and that is why riding slowly is mandatory imo- big bike or small" is as dangerous a strategy on the road as you can have. 

 

I rode a Vespa in Singapore for 2 years after 6 years on a 650 chopper here. Since returning here I've been on a 650 Dualsport for 7 years and put in 50,000 k.m. Riding a fat and heavy 125 in traffic was suboptimal to say the least. Not being able to keep up means you are constantly looking for potential problems behind. I am guessing, but I don't you can envisage the added safety you gain by being able to concentrate more on what is in front of you. Riding as fast and slightly faster than the majority of cars on a road allows you to shift your attention forward. Unless you try it, you won't get it.

 

Anyhow, I'm done arguing with someone who does not have sufficient rubber on the road to make a bike-educated or experienced point. Ride safe and don't get rear-ended.

 

6 hours ago, mommysboy said:

I'm not making a judgement call or playing guessing games; it's simple logic that can't really be faulted as a generalization.  Of course there are exceptions such as accelerating away from trouble, but why are you in potential trouble in the first place?  Of course Thai drivers are awful, and that is why riding slowly is mandatory imo- big bike or small you are in a vulnerable position.

 

I agree with much of what you say about stability.  Scooters should not be used for anything other than town riding at slow speed imo.

 

Possibly some of what I've written needs to be watered down when considering highway riding.

[Grubster]

I think you need to be partially insane to drive a bike faster than 90 kmh anywhere in this country. To drive one at all in busy city traffic is not a good idea either.

[mommysboy]

30 minutes ago, DualSportBiker said:

Believe it or not, those experienced bikers that are expressing educated opinions are trying to keep others alive...  Driving too slowly is dangerous. This is not a point of discussion or bickering, it is a lesson to be remembered.

 

I have little or no experience.

 

I was talking about riding on scooters in and around town and maybe on a few bigger arterial roads.  We agree scooters are dangerous.  In my view they should have limiters or be no more than 50cc.  There are three issues: they attract novices like me, are inherently unstable, and there are very poor road users in plentiful supply.

 

Your mind seems locked in to highway riding, ie, on long stretches of road between towns for instance.  I wouldnt fancy that on a small bike at all.  And I agree you'd have to go with the flow or be at greater risk.  And I see that a bigger bike would be mandatory for avoiding pitfalls, being seen/respected, and braking safely.  That then implies the need to go at 90mph, and, as with other posters, I would regard that as insane especially in Thailand- I mean, of all places!

 

Nobody is infallable.  There comes a time when everyone is off form, or just plain unlucky.  We have the evidence unfortunately of what a high speed collision does to the body.  So to argue the case for going fast based on a few exceptions is just not logical.  Yes, there will be exceptions to the rule, but exceptions are not the rule.

 

[ben2talk]

11 minutes ago, Grubster said:

I think you need to be partially insane to drive a bike faster than 90 kmh anywhere in this country. To drive one at all in busy city traffic is not a good idea either.

And so it goes on. Let's try this one: If I see a car coming towards me at 120km/h and it's more than 300 metres away, I can pull out in front of it and rev from 1000 to 12000 rpm in approximately 3 or 4 seconds (4-5 going a bit more gently if it's wet). That puts my speed at 125km/h on my GSX-R and nothing is going to hit me. I rode big bikes here from 2001 until I sold up and bought a PCX last year.

 

Keep your phobias to yourself. I have a car and a bike and will very rarely take the car when I take my son to school or pick him up. 

 

As far as accidents are concerned - one at 60km/h hitting the side of a taxi which (on a fairly empty 4-lane road) was passing me in the right hand lane and suddenly braked and turned left to enter a driveway (not a sidestreet, there was apparently nowhere for him to turn). The second was 45km/h Ramkhamheang, a bike pulled out from the front of a bus into the lane as I was cutting between cars.

 

I never had an accident over 70km/h. I also never kept my speed much below 120. When I worked in Bang Bua Thong I would average 120 to 140 on RamIntra and then 240 to 285 once I got over the bridge (better roads).

 

Here is the absolute best place to ride - better than western countries - because you can pretty much do whatever you like as long as you are prepared to accept the consequences.

[Grubster]

2 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

And so it goes on. Let's try this one: If I see a car coming towards me at 120km/h and it's more than 300 metres away, I can pull out in front of it and rev from 1000 to 12000 rpm in approximately 3 or 4 seconds (4-5 going a bit more gently if it's wet). That puts my speed at 125km/h on my GSX-R and nothing is going to hit me. I rode big bikes here from 2001 until I sold up and bought a PCX last year.

 

Keep your phobias to yourself. I have a car and a bike and will very rarely take the car when I take my son to school or pick him up. 

 

As far as accidents are concerned - one at 60km/h hitting the side of a taxi which (on a fairly empty 4-lane road) was passing me in the right hand lane and suddenly braked and turned left to enter a driveway (not a sidestreet, there was apparently nowhere for him to turn). The second was 45km/h Ramkhamheang, a bike pulled out from the front of a bus into the lane as I was cutting between cars.

 

I never had an accident over 70km/h. I also never kept my speed much below 120. When I worked in Bang Bua Thong I would average 120 to 140 on RamIntra and then 240 to 285 once I got over the bridge (better roads).

 

Here is the absolute best place to ride - better than western countries - because you can pretty much do whatever you like as long as you are prepared to accept the consequences.

I rode a lot in the US, I am only saying that the roads here are very dangerous, dogs, cows, chickens, kids, kids running stop signs/lights, crazy bus drivers, [ cars, trucks, bikes, tractors without lights], barricades with no reflectors, branches laying in the road for warning of accident or breakdown ahead, potholes big enough to kill a biker,  loads unsafely on trucks, rocks falling off trucks, fresh oil on the road with no warning signs, and most of all Thai drivers do not think a bike is entitled to a lane.  Other than a few of these hazards I guess its very safe to drive a motorbike here.  Good luck, it sounds like you have had a lot so far. RIP for the rest.

[ben2talk]

1 minute ago, Grubster said:

I rode a lot in the US, I am only saying that the roads here are very dangerous, dogs, cows, chickens, kids, kids running stop signs/lights, crazy bus drivers, [ cars, trucks, bikes, tractors without lights], barricades with no reflectors, branches laying in the road for warning of accident or breakdown ahead, potholes big enough to kill a biker,  loads unsafely on trucks, rocks falling off trucks, fresh oil on the road with no warning signs, and most of all Thai drivers do not think a bike is entitled to a lane.  Other than a few of these hazards I guess its very safe to drive a motorbike here.  Good luck, it sounds like you have had a lot so far. RIP for the rest.

Such a short list of hazards ROFL. For me that's part of the interest. e.g. following a police bike along the road past IKEA at maybe 50km/h and a car pulling out from the left, turning towards us and driving LEFT of centre of the road... 

 

I was once going down Srinakarin at about 7.30am, closing on traffic at maybe 120-130km/h when they swerved out of the 'fast' lane to reveal a herd of buffalo walking up past Seacon Square. I mean - it doesn't matter how hard you try to imagine the dangers, you still won't spot them.

 

Yesterday a bike hit a wall after riding into a dangling phone cable when he was dodging the speed bump - hit him straight in the eyeball. The cable was invisible against dark/shady trees...

 

I went to 36 funerals in England. I didn't feel too bad about most of them to be honest, but I did wonder when my turn would come. 

 

It's just too much fun to stop!

[balo]

49 minutes ago, ben2talk said:

I never had an accident over 70km/h. I also never kept my speed much below 120. When I worked in Bang Bua Thong I would average 120 to 140 on RamIntra and then 240 to 285 once I got over the bridge (

 

Sorry did you just say you speed up to 240-285 km/h ?