News Forum - Russian driver kills motorcycle rider in Phuket

[HolyCowCm]

12 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I don't find it hard to drive "on the wrong side"
But...........it does take me a second on the 1st couple of turn outs to remember what lane to turn into when I am back in Thailand

Visa Versa for when I go back for a visit to the US. But only about 10 minutes.

[Viggen840]

1 hour ago, BCC said:

Your comment might have had some truth in it 30 years ago but not now.  Far from it. 

Try prising yourself out of the big smoke and come up-country and check out the number of bikes without (tail) lights. The vast majority of them are guilty and no one seems to care. The police? Well, dishing out fines for riding without a helmet once a week to bolster the poor salary they get is about as far as they go towards road safety.

As for your comment on idiot drivers and drivers license (or lack thereof), I agree 100% - and not all of those are Thai natives

[HolyCowCm]

Takes two to tango, but given the look of the street as where it appears to be in a neighborhood and not highway, the Russian was going way too fast and is going to be in big trouble unless he forks up some big retribution.. Looks like Russian speeding and Thai motorcyle rider (typical) didn't look and pulled straight out into the street and blamo.

[HolyCowCm]

11 minutes ago, Viggen840 said:

Try prising yourself out of the big smoke and come up-country and check out the number of bikes without (tail) lights.

Even CM has our fair share of them. 

[socal]

This is me 12 years ago

 

 

[ChrisS]

Looks from the damage that speed was a factor, such a shame for someone to die so someone else can try to save a few minutes on a journey

[Khunmark]

18 hours ago, Soidog said:

I’m not sure about that. Being able to wonder off the beaten path and find unusual places away from the large crowds is fun.
 

Part of the problem in Thailand is that they drive on the left. That’s fine for the Brits and the Aussies but can be problematic for most visitors. Easy to forget in a relaxed moment which side to drive on. Not saying this was a factor in this particular case?

Perhaps they could broaden the policy on which side of the road to drive. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the left, the alternating days on the right.

[Soidog]

5 minutes ago, Khunmark said:

Perhaps they could broaden the policy on which side of the road to drive. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the left, the alternating days on the right.

They do that with which side of the road you can park and as many drivers in Thailand see the direction of travel as optional, then you may be on to something there

[Mandy]

On 12/30/2022 at 11:40 AM, Henry said:

This only made the news because it was a foreign driver. Very few tourists rent cars.

The bike does look as though it was struck from behind which wouldn’t be a surprise given how few motorcycles have rear lights.

it’s almost a badge of honour not to have working lights on your bike, Change that culture and you make huge progress on road safety. The irony is that with cars its often the opposite, a badge of honour to have additional lights affixed to the vehicle.

Reflective clothing would also save 1,000s of lives as well. The solutions are all out there. Things like speeding and alcohol all play a part but there is much lower hanging fruit to pick.

I agree with all of the above but if you can't see a motorcycle in the distance on what looks like a straight road, I'm sure you'll correct me if I'm wrong, then maybe they should get their eyes checked!

[Mandy]

19 hours ago, Saunk said:

You have to be dumb to rent a car as a tourist in Thailand or really any third world country.  With so many transportation options (taxi, ride share apps, bus, etc.) just seems like a bad decision.  

I actually enjoy driving in Thailand, I live here, own my own car and drive all over. 

[JamesR]

18 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I highly disagree, I have rented a car in pretty much every country I have visited and I love it.

Asia, Latin America, Caribbean and Europe

People on forums talk about how dangerous this and that country are to drive in and I have not found one country dangerous to drive in

As long as you are a good driver who keeps aware of your surroundings, you can drive anywhere

For me driving in other countries and having the freedom to go and stop where you want is the best part of traveling

PS.....I remember reading on Dominican Republic expat forums how dangerous driving in the Dominican was

This was basically my drive the whole way, with great breakthroughs to drive right along the ocean at times and then through nice little villages

It was a superb and pleasant a drive as I ever had

Me too, I have rented cars in Puerto Rico, Mexico, the USA and many European countries, I have owned a car in Thailand for many years, a few years ago for many years I used to drive Mondays to Fridays in Germany, Holland etc and then every weekend in the UK.

I have never had an accident as the way to be safe is drive in a defensive way.

For example I was about to take a left turn into a petrol station here in Phuket this week, I as always indicated twenty seconds or so before taking the turn and also continue to monitor the left side mirror to make sure it is clear, on this occasion a farang on a bike zoomed past me on the inside so I had to stop before turning, if I had not been observant there would have been an accident.

Later on in the day an ambulance was attending to a motionless body (Thai) in the middle of the road next to a crashed motorcycle, the car driver(Thai) who must have collided with the motorcycle was also there.

I am surprised at the damage to the car driven by the Russian guy in this article as I find in Phuket it is difficult to go faster than 40kms/hr under normal driving conditions due to the traffic and the numerous traffic lights. Obviously he was going a lot faster.

At the moment the vast majority of tourists in Phuket are Russian, I have seen them in groups or as families in the Central Shopping Centre for instance, they all seem pleasant people to me and well mannered.

There are always exceptions no matter the nationality, but the fact this guy is Russian has no bearing on the situation I think. 

[JamesR]

30 minutes ago, Khunmark said:

Perhaps they could broaden the policy on which side of the road to drive. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays on the left, the alternating days on the right.

That already happens here in Phuket in a way, if you live on one side of the dual carriageway then it seems to be ok to take a shortcut by driving on the wrong side of the road, and not forgetting the pavements can be used during rush hour. 

The police do not seem to mind as they follow the same driving style.  Funny but true to some extent. 

[Highlandman]

On 12/30/2022 at 11:40 AM, Henry said:

This only made the news because it was a foreign driver. Very few tourists rent cars.

The bike does look as though it was struck from behind which wouldn’t be a surprise given how few motorcycles have rear lights.

it’s almost a badge of honour not to have working lights on your bike, Change that culture and you make huge progress on road safety. The irony is that with cars its often the opposite, a badge of honour to have additional lights affixed to the vehicle.

Reflective clothing would also save 1,000s of lives as well. The solutions are all out there. Things like speeding and alcohol all play a part but there is much lower hanging fruit to pick.

That is not true at all. Lots of tourists rent cars as you would expect. Not all tourists are cheap Charlie's, enjoy public transportation or want to be ripped off by the local taxi mafia.

Without foreigners, local car rental shops wouldn't have any business as locals don't rent cars.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Highlandman

[Highlandman]

21 hours ago, Saunk said:

You have to be dumb to rent a car as a tourist in Thailand or really any third world country.  With so many transportation options (taxi, ride share apps, bus, etc.) just seems like a bad decision.  

Absolutely not. It's often much safer to do the driving yourself than put your hands into a suicidal local .

That being said, I would totally advise against renting a motorcycle as so many foreigners do here. That's really dangerous. Additionally, most westerners have scant motorcycle riding experience as hardly anyone owns a 2 wheeler in the west unless you're from Italy, Spain or Greece.

It's motorcyclists who are the ones getting into accidents the most and the ones most likely to suffer serious injuries in the event of an accident.

[Highlandman]

20 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I don't find it hard to drive "on the wrong side"
But...........it does take me a second on the 1st couple of turn outs to remember what lane to turn into when I am back in Thail

After a few times you get used to it unless you do so little driving in a LHT jurisdiction that you forget such things.

I've driven all 4 combinations - LHT, RHT and RHD on the right as well as LHD on the left that I can drive any combination of these in my sleep now.

The only thing that might trip me up now are indicators and windshield wipers - after a stint driving a LHD car I might briefly turn on the wipers instead of the indicators (and vice versa) when returning to Thailand or vice versa.

Forgetting which side of the road to drive- almost never happens to me. Only happened once in the USA, when I came out of a parking lot on the left hand side but I quickly turned left into the right lane.

[Marc26]

5 hours ago, Highlandman said:

After a few times you get used to it unless you do so little driving in a LHT jurisdiction that you forget such things.

I've driven all 4 combinations - LHT, RHT and RHD on the right as well as LHD on the left that I can drive any combination of these in my sleep now.

The only thing that might trip me up now are indicators and windshield wipers - after a stint driving a LHD car I might briefly turn on the wipers instead of the indicators (and vice versa) when returning to Thailand or vice versa.

Forgetting which side of the road to drive- almost never happens to me. Only happened once in the USA, when I came out of a parking lot on the left hand side but I quickly turned left into the right lane.

Yes I do the wipers as well. 

 

For me it is just a quick think on the first 1 or 2 turns once in the car 

 

Especially pulling out of a street the 1st time

[JamesR]

On 12/31/2022 at 2:53 PM, socal said:

This is me 12 years ago

If everyone drove in such a dangerous manner the roads would be a lot worse and more dangerous for the rest of us, especially people crossing the road as I saw on the video, on one or two occasions they had to get out of the way otherwise they would have been run over.

Fortunately many people who do drive like that do not last that long which is good for the rest of us.

Quite a few years ago I saw a farang drive a large powerful bike down the same road as in the video at great speed, he came off, smashed his head on the curb and laid motionless, an ambulance arrived and I though good riddance, another maniac out of the way. 

[JamesR]

16 hours ago, Marc26 said:

Yes I do the wipers as well. 

For me it is just a quick think on the first 1 or 2 turns once in the car 

Especially pulling out of a street the 1st time

I drive in the UK and in Thailand but when I arrive here in Phuket or go back to the UK it takes me a day to get used to the indicators and the windscreen wipers as they are on opposite sides to each in  the car in England and the one here.

One thing I do like here is being able to turn left at most traffic lights when the lights are red, it makes me feel as though I am getting one over on the 'man', it is silly but still fun.

[KaptainRob]

9 minutes ago, JamesR said:

I drive in the UK and in Thailand but when I arrive here in Phuket or go back to the UK it takes me a day to get used to the indicators and the windscreen wipers as they are on opposite sides to each in  the car in England and the one here.

VW syndrome?   I have the same problem when I go back to Aus and drive my son's car.

[JamesR]

14 minutes ago, KaptainRob said:

VW syndrome?   I have the same problem when I go back to Aus and drive my son's car.

Peugeot 5008 UK and a Toyota Avanza here.

The Peugeot is more refined and comfortable with cruise control, six airbags, etc and the Avanza is a tough, just get your there car with the minimum frills.

Both true British cars. 

I bumped into two Ozzie blokes and shared a couple of beers with them while celebrating New Year last night in Soi Bangla Phuket.

It is lucky the bar workers were honest as they tried to pay an 800 baht bill with 8 x 1000 baht notes.

[JamesR]

1 hour ago, JamesR said:

Peugeot 5008 UK and a Toyota Avanza here.

The Peugeot is more refined and comfortable with cruise control, six airbags, etc and the Avanza is a tough, just get your there car with the minimum frills.

Both true British cars. 

I bumped into two Ozzie blokes and shared a couple of beers with them while celebrating New Year last night in Soi Bangla Phuket.

It is lucky the bar workers were honest as they tried to pay an 800 baht bill with 8 x 1000 baht notes.

I did get the usual comment though from one Ozzie.

He asked me where I was from, I said "England".

He said, "Never mind mate, no one is perfect".

My replay was as usual, "Well it could have been worse, I could have been born in a desert at the arse end of the world", which as usual garnered laughter. 

 

[Marc26]

9 hours ago, JamesR said:

I did get the usual comment though from one Ozzie.

He asked me where I was from, I said "England".

He said, "Never mind mate, no one is perfect".

My replay was as usual, "Well it could have been worse, I could have been born in a desert at the arse end of the world", which as usual garnered laughter. 

I never mind someone taking the piss out of me(busting my balls)

 

But my 1st couple trips to Thaland I was a bit taken back how many guys gave ne me shit for being American

 

Usually in good fun

 

I wasn't offended in the slightest

Most were really funny

 

Just surprised 

[JamesR]

6 hours ago, Marc26 said:

I never mind someone taking the piss out of me(busting my balls)

But my 1st couple trips to Thaland I was a bit taken back how many guys gave ne me shit for being American

Usually in good fun

I wasn't offended in the slightest

Most were really funny

Just surprised 

I find the Americans make fun of each other, eg if a guy is from North Carolina for example he might be asked if he has married his first cousin or why he does not have half his teeth missing. 

While working in Texas for four months and New Jersey for a year with AT&T I was continually jibed about being "British" so I suppose all this joking is international. 

[Henry]

On 12/31/2022 at 11:40 AM, Highlandman said:

That is not true at all. Lots of tourists rent cars as you would expect. Not all tourists are cheap Charlie's, enjoy public transportation or want to be ripped off by the local taxi mafia.

Without foreigners, local car rental shops wouldn't have any business as locals don't rent cars.

My experience is that probably less than 1 in 20 tourists rent a car. Of the ones that do seek mobility most (unwisely in my humble opinion) rent scooters.

 

[Henry]

On 12/31/2022 at 10:08 AM, JamesR said:For example I was about to take a left turn into a petrol station here in Phuket this week, I as always indicated twenty seconds or so before taking the turn and also continue to monitor the left side mirror to make sure it is clear, on this occasion a farang on a bike zoomed past me on the inside so I had to stop before turning, if I had not been observant there would have been an accident.

Indicating 20 seconds prior to your intended move probably isn’t such a good idea. By the time you move over people will just assume you’ve got your indicator stuck on and ignore it. You have a relatively brief moment when people see you start to indicate and potentially (but not always) react accordingly.