Usefull tips for Staying Alive On The Road In Thailand

Fri Jan 06, 2006 10:03 am

Just imagined a camel coming through the wind screen! Thanks for that vision Steve sky rider

This is an open invitation for your thoughts on self preservation here in HH

Lets start with the obvious and work on from there it may sound light hearted but it does have a serious side

One or two things for the pedestrians to think about

1, when you are a pedestrian in Thailand you have no right to be there in the first place due to the fact you are a pedestrian you are the lowest of the low and should not be seen out side your dwelling, so why do you insist on walking in the middle of the soi when there is a perfectly good foot path either side of the road,
Mr. posh from Bangkok wishes to use this narrow soi to cruise and show how good his new top of the range Merc is to all as slow as possible and if you are in the middle of the soi you are blocking the view of His 10 year 4 million baht Hire purchase plan...

By walking in the middle of these narrow soi's you are also preventing the new Thai land speed record for Honda plastic bucket moped class, taxi bike challenge ,if you get hit by one of these you will be hurt .
These tuned up plastic rockets can get 0 to 100 kmh in less than a blink of an eye and usually have no braking system as we know it

Plastic Rocket

When crossing the main road at a light DONT think it is safe to cross the road at any time every body knows there is no red light for a left turn and hastily make a race for the U turn maneuver just a little way down from the left hand turn so thatâ€™s a fast left then a hard fast right at the hairpin U turn to get to the next left turn all in first gear and flat out

For those on two wheels
First timers you come to Thailand never ridden any thing with an engine in before, there is a magnitude of two wheeled missiles available â€¦
What shall in hire? The Yamaha GXR 3000 or the plastic bucket mmm decisions decisions,,,, which ever you choose you are on a one way ticket to the emergency room the difference is how fast you will get there ,

Plastic bucket

Kamakasi missile

Then you have to decide Am I going to wear the helmet providedâ€¦ the common sense says yes BUT no body else is why should I attitude takes over plus all the chicks in the bar cant see how much of a handsome man I am with the helmet on, â€œmystery gathers more interestâ€

Post by **jambo** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 12:17 am

did you do an experiment with the egg in the helmet
if so can you post the pics of the experiment
chock dee
jambo

Post by **Guess** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:17 am

Pleae take Dave's post seriously. The intention was to save people from death of permanent disfigurement.

If you need to travel in Thailand, take the train.

All forms of road transport have their dangers.

Motocycles are the most dangerous of all.

VincentD · Post by **VincentD** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:39 am

At least in HH you're *safe* if you walk on the footpath. In Bangers, the motorcyclists use the footpath to beat the traffic, don't be surprised to have a motorcycle tooting his horn at you to get out of his way...

And have you seen those upside-down plastic buckets that pass as an excuse for a helmet? The joke is, the cops won't stop you if you're wearing one...

Post by **Bamboo Grove** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 11:55 am

Although I agree with Guess about traveling by train, the fact is that I've been in a train accident in Thailand (5 cars including the one I was in derailed) but never in a car accident. Knock on wood.

Post by **dr dave soul monsta** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 1:00 pm

Cheers for that guess ,it is a subject that does get my temperature rising when I see educated farrangs who are fully aware of all the motorcycle accidents around Hua Hin. As I said previously â€œespecially when children are involvedâ€

Post by **Norseman** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:03 pm

Yes dr monsta, I think we all need a reminder, this was a tough one!!
Really bad pictures and I will for certain allways use a crash helmet!!

Post by **Guess** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:11 pm

Bamboo Grove wrote:Although I agree with Guess about traveling by train, the fact is that I've been in a train accident in Thailand (5 cars including the one I was in derailed) but never in a car accident. Knock on wood.

I know that trains are not perfect. therre were two derailments on this stretch on line is as many months. Both in Petchburi I think. Most fatalities however involving trains are travellers in cars or on M/C s that cross the railway at ungated crossings without thinking to look.

Back on the crash helmet topic. I had a seriuous M/C accident twenty years ago that caused serious problems to my legs. The legs still give me problems now. However if I had not been wearing a decent off road helmet with full facial and chin cover I would not be writing this now.

Post by **dr dave soul monsta** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:27 pm

Sometimes reality needs to be hammered home!!!
Some of the shots are from Thailand, as gruesome as they may be will it knock any sense into the people who think a Buddha charm will save them, the roads are a dangerous place where ever you are and every body should have some respect for their own well being as well as others ,
When you are on two wheels even more so, you need to fully aware of what is going on around you at all times and prepared for any thing, 7 out of 10 the motorcyclist comes of the worst , pillion passengers may as well forget it.
All the training in the world will not stop you having a accident at some time but may help reduce the severity

Post by **tuktukmike** » Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:51 pm

Jeez.

Those are some of the worst pictures i have seen.

But it is easy to see how this can happen, in the last week i have had 2 close shaves and both not my fault.

One was on my way th Cha Am when some clever motorist did a u turn right in front of me on the main petcasem road,

The second again same road but this time a motorcycle decides he wants to cross the carrigway and travel against the flow, this happened near Index store where there is an opening in the carragway.

I must admit that when in Hua Hin i never used a helmet but do so more nowadays.

I may even sell the Yamaha now as to be honest if you failed to take avoiding action you could have a crash many times a day out here, and on a bike i get the feeling that the clock is ticking.

I am of a mind after these last two episodes to use one of my tuk-tuks for everyday use as i am sure i am safer in one of these than a bike.

BTW, is there no highway code out here as i cant say i have ever seen any booklets on sale.

I was at Pranburi getting my Thai license and was staggered at what passes as a test for motorcycles and cars, you have to see it to believe it.

Mike.

Post by **ThaiStyle** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 7:52 pm

ya...really ugly pics..

Last time i was in HH.. (november 05) i did rent a normal plastic bucket too.. oh well.. i never drove that crap, or anything else.. had my problems with it the first 10-20 minutes, but later-on everything was easy, now I drive it easy, but had an accident too, near the railway station, but wasn't my fault.

but still i want to say, pay attention on thailand's streetsss, it's really dangerous..

Post by **DawnHRD** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 10:00 pm

I'm assuming those were all genuine, undoctored pics; the thigh injury in particular looks genuine (I've been lucky enough never to see human- or canine- brains splattered all over a road before) - where did you get those? Tell you what, they would make one very effective contribution to a road safety campaign.
As a nurse (human) in UK I hated motorbikes, as I saw all the teenage lives ruined by riding irresponsibly. I worked on an orthopaedics ward & all we had were old women with broken hips & young guys who had come off bikes. Everything from multiple fractures to paralysed from the neck down - that one was 18 yrs old.
I never went on a bike until I came here 4 years ago, and I must admit I have become as laissez faire as many others here. Well done Dave, lesson to be learnt here & if it's learnt online rather than in a hospital or morgue, so much the better.

Post by **Guess** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:10 am

Dave,

I can not remember if I said this before or not but, if you get this translated into Thai it could be posted in strategic places.

Shock tactics especially when using realism can have good effects.

Post by **kevars** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:37 am

totally agree dave , crash hat and shades every time for me ,

Post by **ricardo** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:41 am

Dave, those pictures are grusome !!!!
I think you will convince most farangs to wear a lid with them. Thais I am not so sure. Most Thais mistakenly believe they are good riders, and think that a good rider won't have an accident.

I never wore a helmet until I fell off on Petchkasem Rd a few years ago.
My wife who has never had an accident well it took 5 years to get her to wear a helmet and only recently has she worn one at night. Normal excuse - no police around and it messes up her hair.

What I am trying to say is that most Thais are wearing helmets for the wrong reasons and only because they are scared off getting fined. Most are quite blase about the fact that it might save your life.

One absurd thing is that if you get stopped by the police for not having a helmet once you have paid the fine you are exempt from wearing one for the next 24 hours. I even left mine as security one time while I paid the fine in the station because I didn't want to hand over the bike keys.