Was thinking of renting a car. Heard a terrifying story and wanted some conformation.
As a ferang you hit and injure a thai. Thai is pissed and you get fined even if its not your fault.
Would like to hear views on this please before i get a car and take out a drunk thai and get bankrupted.
Driving
Understand the logic, but it is not true. Have also heard this many times.hhfarang wrote:You are a foreigner... so... if you weren't here the accident would not have happened... so... it is therefore your fault...
However, 2 of my friends have been involved in car accident, where Thai got the blame.
If you rent make sure it is from an international company, and check the insurance
About a year ago I had a 12 year old turn his(?) motorcycle directly in front of my car as I was about to turn left at the Cha Am light.
Fortunately for him I was barely moving and managed not to hurt him. Although it wasn't in any way my fault, it still cost us four thousand baht and a visit to the Police Station where his idiot mother wasnt' worried about her kid nearly killing himself as long as she could get some cash out of a farang for it.
The Police were genuinely apologetic and told me it was 100% the kid's fault, but I still ended up paying her just so we could get out of there.
If you want to risk life and limb and your checkbook, by all means have at it. I personally wouldn't drive here at all if I had a choice as about 80% of the drivers and motorcycle users are on a consistent mission to kill themselves as quickly as possible.
Fortunately for him I was barely moving and managed not to hurt him. Although it wasn't in any way my fault, it still cost us four thousand baht and a visit to the Police Station where his idiot mother wasnt' worried about her kid nearly killing himself as long as she could get some cash out of a farang for it.
The Police were genuinely apologetic and told me it was 100% the kid's fault, but I still ended up paying her just so we could get out of there.
If you want to risk life and limb and your checkbook, by all means have at it. I personally wouldn't drive here at all if I had a choice as about 80% of the drivers and motorcycle users are on a consistent mission to kill themselves as quickly as possible.
The main problem is that there are many locals that do not have insurance. If you have a crash, it's almost(sorry to be high here) 50-50 whether or not they(the Thai) have insurance.
If not, you will probably be asked to admit liability on the spot or at the police station(sometimes I've heard of it happening infront of the insurance guy or coming from him
)because you are the only one with insurance and then both cars will be fixed and the problem will go away and the Thai gets off 'scott-free' 
.
Best thing to do is to say, if in a tight corner, "OK, my insurance will pay for it if the Thai guy gives me 6000 baht now, before we leave the 'cop shop', to cover the rise in insurance premiums I will face."
As soon as you say something like that then the problem will probably just 'melt away' as the Thai is unlikely to be able to meet that on the spot.
If you injure or kill a Thai then it's a different 'ball game', but you can usually buy your way out of it, wrong thinking I know, but true most of the time.
Just be careful! But if the brown stuff 'hits the fan' then you will need your wallet to smooth things over.
Maybe not in every case, there are exceptions ofcourse but the 'cards are stacked against you' in most situations.
What T.I.G.R. wrote is a classic example of how farcical it is, and that was a minor altercation.
If not, you will probably be asked to admit liability on the spot or at the police station(sometimes I've heard of it happening infront of the insurance guy or coming from him
)because you are the only one with insurance and then both cars will be fixed and the problem will go away and the Thai gets off 'scott-free' . Best thing to do is to say, if in a tight corner, "OK, my insurance will pay for it if the Thai guy gives me 6000 baht now, before we leave the 'cop shop', to cover the rise in insurance premiums I will face."
As soon as you say something like that then the problem will probably just 'melt away' as the Thai is unlikely to be able to meet that on the spot.
If you injure or kill a Thai then it's a different 'ball game', but you can usually buy your way out of it, wrong thinking I know, but true most of the time.
Just be careful! But if the brown stuff 'hits the fan' then you will need your wallet to smooth things over.
Maybe not in every case, there are exceptions ofcourse but the 'cards are stacked against you' in most situations.
What T.I.G.R. wrote is a classic example of how farcical it is, and that was a minor altercation.
Resolve dissolves in alcohol
I just don't go along with the idea that the farang must pay, I just don't see it. It's rubbish and fear.
OK, if you're drunk driving or careless, then maybe, but if it's the Thai's fault then so be it.
If the police get involved, demand to speak to your Embassy from their telephone and stand your ground.
OK, if you're drunk driving or careless, then maybe, but if it's the Thai's fault then so be it.
If the police get involved, demand to speak to your Embassy from their telephone and stand your ground.
spitfire,
You're right there about insurance. I didn't read your post correctly. The bus driver, car driver etc will run away because of two things - no insurance or maybe they'll get lynched. There's nothing like local justice!!!
There's also nothing like some sombat policeman at least attempting to enforce the rules of the road.
In the meantime, kids die every day in HH.
You're right there about insurance. I didn't read your post correctly. The bus driver, car driver etc will run away because of two things - no insurance or maybe they'll get lynched. There's nothing like local justice!!!
There's also nothing like some sombat policeman at least attempting to enforce the rules of the road.
In the meantime, kids die every day in HH.
I agree with that sentiment aswell Lomu. If you 'stand your ground' and go down that road, 'taking them on', even if it is their fault, then you need to really know what you're doing and it really needs to be an 'open/close' case because it's their rules and everyone knows you can pay.lomuamart wrote:..............but if it's the Thai's fault then so be it.
Someone like yourself or someone that has been here a long time and knows the way all of this works, then OK, if you have all the things you need like witnesses, lawyer, accident report etc in your favour, "friends" you can call, the colonel's card and number in your pocket etc(you know what I mean) or it couldn't possibly have been you at fault and lots of people saw the incident.
The first thing I would do in any situation like this, and it would help me make any further decisions, would be to ask the Thai for his driving license(assuming he hasn't run off), especially if it's a motorbike. Many don't have them and if this is true then the whole situation may only last a few minutes because it's 1-0 to you.
You have to make a realistic judgement on what approach to take, on the spot, and many are not in a position to do that effectively. Most just want to get the hell out of there and go home, especially as a tourist, even if you have visited a few times.
My post was a practical/imformative approach for most but I agree with both of your posts in some ways, all depends on the situation.
Resolve dissolves in alcohol
I've only been involved in one accident (other than mirror taps) and I was sitting still waiting for traffic to clear in the other direction so I could make a turn. A Thai in a car hit me pretty hard in the rear.
I had my turn signal (indicator for you Brits
) on and my foot on the brakes so the back of my car had all the necessary warning lights lit.
We spent the day at the police station pleading our case with the MIB and the insurance people and I ended up being determined at fault as they said I was turning where I wasn't supposed to. I was turning at the end of the flyover going south to go up Soi 112. There is not a sign saying you can't turn there and if you sit on the shoulder for five minutes you will see near a hundred turns made there as everyone does it, even the police.
In any civilized country, if you are hit in the rear, it is automatically the person's fault driving the second car no matter what the front car was doing because if you hit someone in the rear it means you were either following too closely, driving to fast to stop, or simply were not paying attention to what was going on in front of you. This kind of logic does not apply in Thailand...
I had my turn signal (indicator for you Brits
) on and my foot on the brakes so the back of my car had all the necessary warning lights lit.We spent the day at the police station pleading our case with the MIB and the insurance people and I ended up being determined at fault as they said I was turning where I wasn't supposed to. I was turning at the end of the flyover going south to go up Soi 112. There is not a sign saying you can't turn there and if you sit on the shoulder for five minutes you will see near a hundred turns made there as everyone does it, even the police.
In any civilized country, if you are hit in the rear, it is automatically the person's fault driving the second car no matter what the front car was doing because if you hit someone in the rear it means you were either following too closely, driving to fast to stop, or simply were not paying attention to what was going on in front of you. This kind of logic does not apply in Thailand...
Have a read of the Hua Hin driving guide, its mostly tongue in cheek but very true!
http://www.expathuahin.com/driving-huahin.php
http://www.expathuahin.com/driving-huahin.php
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
Spitfire,
Too many Changs last night and in the cold light of day, I have to agree with you and your approach. I was in one of those "don't let 'em get away with anything" moods.
You're quite right to ask for the other person's license and insurance details. However, make sure you're properly covered that way also before you do.
Seeing as I neither drive a car nor ride a motorbike here, the chances of my having an accident when I'm behind the wheel are slim to say the least. So, I'm probably not the best person to pass comment on these matters
Too many Changs last night and in the cold light of day, I have to agree with you and your approach. I was in one of those "don't let 'em get away with anything" moods.
You're quite right to ask for the other person's license and insurance details. However, make sure you're properly covered that way also before you do.
Seeing as I neither drive a car nor ride a motorbike here, the chances of my having an accident when I'm behind the wheel are slim to say the least. So, I'm probably not the best person to pass comment on these matters
Frightening
Thanks for your thoughts on this.
Taxi's and tuk-tuk's it is.
Such a shame that paying people off is the norm here, but then I am here because it is different from the UK so youp have to accept all the differences good and bad.
I'll have a chang and hop in a cab and not ruin my time here.
Thanks
Taxi's and tuk-tuk's it is.
Such a shame that paying people off is the norm here, but then I am here because it is different from the UK so youp have to accept all the differences good and bad.
I'll have a chang and hop in a cab and not ruin my time here.
Thanks
I wouldn’t discount driving altogether. It can be a bit confusing in built up areas, but once you get into the countryside it’s actually pretty easy as long as you are cautious.
It’s not worth hiring a car just to get around Hua Hin, but if you want to explore further a field I would consider giving it a try.
The advantage is that you can find out of the way places off the main roads where there is no public transport.
It’s not worth hiring a car just to get around Hua Hin, but if you want to explore further a field I would consider giving it a try.
The advantage is that you can find out of the way places off the main roads where there is no public transport.