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Thailand is "World Champion in motorcycle deaths" - bad brakes to blame


webfact

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Bad breaks  (haha) I will have a stab at this and say1/ Police not enforcing the law 2/ No Helmets 3/ Speeding 4/ Texting while riding a bike 5/ Drunk when riding a bike  6/four people on a Bike 7/ Kids at the age of 10 riding a Bike 8/Riding in the dark no lightsmm9/Sitting sidesaddle on a Bike 10/ Drag racing in the streets Can anybody think of any more?  But it is not a laughing matter As you can see every one of these situations I have just written are all bookable offenses. Brakes would be down on the list of what I have just written for causing an accident. oH sorry I forgot my favorite one Thais riding their bikes towards incoming traffic

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18 hours ago, webfact said:

Much of the problem was not bad riding but the brakes, they claimed. 

 

Bulls hit!! Once again no acceptance of personal responsibility. You ride within the capability of your bike and the road/weather conditions!!! When I started riding motorbikes more than 50 years ago we were taught how to apply the brakes to avoid braking problems! Technology is not a panacea for dumb assed riders. STOP trying to shift the blame for the riders incompetency (due to poor training or no training).

 

"Bad brakes" my a$$. ????

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What a PATHETIC statement / article... 'Dr Wiwat Sitamanote who liaises between the government and the WHO said that Thais in general don't realize the importance of good brakes. He said that accidents could be lowered by 33% with ABS' He forgets to mention Thais in general don't realize the importance of following road rules, wearing an approved safety helmet (not a 50 baht piece of plastic), having lights that work on their bike, not riding like a maniac to reach their destination 5 minutes early, respecting others on the roads, not using mobile phone as they ride, being a good parent and not allowing their 12 / 13 year old unlicensed uninsured rider to use a bike +++++. 

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9 hours ago, steve73 said:

To be fair, it's probably much safer slowly & carefully going the wrong on the hard-shoulder, for a couple of km, than trying to make 2 u-turns (with the necessary crossing from slow lane to fast lane, and then back again on the other carriageway) especially with some of the other idiots that drive at excessive speeds.  And you only need to keep an eye in front of you for the idiots coming at you "under-taking" on the hard-shoulder.

 

I know it's illegal, but I put my safety first every time.

I agree, although driving 2 kms on the wrong side of the road is way too far IMO.

 

They recently build a central reservation along the dual carriageway near my house, with a few U turn openings.  It's now FAR more dangerous trying to do a U turn or turn into a side road on the other side of the road, as the view of oncoming vehicles is blocked by cars/vans etc. waiting to do a do a U turn from the opposite direction.

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I have just returned to Thailand after a stint working in Vietnam, the riders i Vn are more disciplined in riding with a helmet on at all times although the riding is not much better.

On returning to Thailand I thought that the riding laws about helmets had changed, i hardly saw any one around Pattaya and the darkside wearing a helmet this including expats.

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No, not bad brakes. Just an infantile excuse. A lack of driving skill, common sense, reason, a value one puts on their own life, and those of others, not wearing the best helmet you can possibly afford, and lack of law enforcement. That is how I would sum up the primary reasons for so many road deaths in Thailand. 

 

Nobody, and I mean nobody takes the toy police seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (weak Little P.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends the trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. All the checkpoints do is clog traffic on the highways, and put alot of cash into the pockets of the toy police. It is all about catching people performing moving violations. That is what causes most accidents. And herein lies the deterrent. As long as everyone is allowed to get away with extremely reckless driving, entering the highway in front of an oncoming vehicle that is only 100 meters away, going 100kph, cutting in front of vehicles within one meter at high speeds, swerving like crazy idiots all over the highway, trucks and 40 year old cars occupying the fast lane doing 40kph, when other vehicles are approaching doing 120kph, drunk driving, etc, accidents, major injuries and deaths will continue to happen, and no amount of rhetoric and platitudes by the fabulously incompetent and insincere authorities are going to make any difference. 

 

The police are not here to protect you. They do not care one iota about your well being, your safety, or traffic safety. Expect that. Do not employ them, unless absolutely necessary. 

 

If driving, especially on a motorbike, treat the activity as an act of war, in a sense that you may be mowed down or killed at any moment. 

 

Maintain eyes in the back of your head. Watch everyone. Expect craziness, insanity, lack of reason, and a complete lack of courtesy and respect on the roads, at all times. 

 

Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. 

 

Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. 

 

If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too. Bring along an international drivers license. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

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I agree with the expert, Dr Wiwat Sitamanote, that ABS would help. This could be legislated at a national level, ie. all new bikes must have ABS. But the problem is, bikes with ABS are available here and Thais would rather 1) not buy them or 2) buy a non-ABS bike and spend 1,000's more baht 'modifying' it in some retarded way. I've see what they do - they stick on stupidly loud exhausts (that easily cost more than ABS) or, worse, there's this trend where they replace the stock wheels with these moronic skinny wheels, for the 'looks'. They also drive like retards too, that doesn't help. 

When I first came, and saw the occasional police roadblock where they pull over bikes and not cars, I thought it was extortion or corruption and felt sorry for the bikers. But when I got used to the way they drive, no helmets, no safety gear etc, I came to realize that the Thai police are at least trying to address the problem. 

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9 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

No, not bad brakes. Just an infantile excuse. A lack of driving skill, common sense, reason, a value one puts on their own life, and those of others, not wearing the best helmet you can possibly afford, and lack of law enforcement. That is how I would sum up the primary reasons for so many road deaths in Thailand. 

 

Nobody, and I mean nobody takes the toy police seriously. There is absolutely nothing in the way of a deterrent here, and both the local governments, the central government (weak Little P.) and the police do not take traffic safety seriously. Not even one iota. The safety of the public means less than zero to the small men in charge here. Nothing. They show that on a daily basis.

They will not do a thing. Why? They do not care about the people one iota. Not the common people. Not the average pleb. No way. Never have cared, and may never care in the future. It is all about protecting the elite, the super wealthy, those that are connected, and those in power. The rest of the population? They do not matter. The ex-pat community does not matter. And the police will not get involved unless an accident has already occurred. There is no prevention. None. The idea of getting the police more involved, is an interesting one, and it would be an effective one. But, the issue is money. They are grossly underpaid, and until the government steps up, and spends the trillion baht on updating the police equipment, and paying each cop a living wage, it is not going to happen. Until then, they will just work the franchise. 

 

The only way to survive here on the road, is to be patient, have eyes in the back of your head, drive with caution, and always, and I mean always watch out of the other guy. Chances are, he does not have much driving skill, nor patience, nor reason, nor common sense. You cannot be too careful on the road here. Especially considering that the toy police offer no traffic safety, nor enforcement of the law. All the checkpoints do is clog traffic on the highways, and put alot of cash into the pockets of the toy police. It is all about catching people performing moving violations. That is what causes most accidents. And herein lies the deterrent. As long as everyone is allowed to get away with extremely reckless driving, entering the highway in front of an oncoming vehicle that is only 100 meters away, going 100kph, cutting in front of vehicles within one meter at high speeds, swerving like crazy idiots all over the highway, trucks and 40 year old cars occupying the fast lane doing 40kph, when other vehicles are approaching doing 120kph, drunk driving, etc, accidents, major injuries and deaths will continue to happen, and no amount of rhetoric and platitudes by the fabulously incompetent and insincere authorities are going to make any difference. 

 

The police are not here to protect you. They do not care one iota about your well being, your safety, or traffic safety. Expect that. Do not employ them, unless absolutely necessary. 

 

If driving, especially on a motorbike, treat the activity as an act of war, in a sense that you may be mowed down or killed at any moment. 

 

Maintain eyes in the back of your head. Watch everyone. Expect craziness, insanity, lack of reason, and a complete lack of courtesy and respect on the roads, at all times. 

 

Expect cars and trucks to be coming at you in the wrong lane. Expect people to overtake you with the slimmest of margins. 

 

Expect trucks to be driving very slowly in the fast lane of a highway. 

 

If riding a motorbike, only do so if you have many years of experience. Especially on the southern islands, where huge numbers of foreigners leave Thailand in a wooden box. Wear the best helmet you can afford. And drive like a grandmother. This applies to ex-pats too. Bring along an international drivers license. This helps you to avoid being fleeced by the local police franchisee.

 

"Wear the best helmet you can afford."

 

Trying to find a good helmet is easier said than done in my experience!

 

I searched everywhere nearby for a good helmet that fitted for many days, without any success - until (for some reason I've forgotten) I went to the Bangkok Phuket Int. Hospital, and there was a stall there selling good helmets, and I found one that actually fitted!

 

Admittedly, my search was made more difficult as I didn't want a full-face helmet - as having my face covered, makes me nauseous.

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47 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

"Wear the best helmet you can afford."

 

Trying to find a good helmet is easier said than done in my experience!

 

I searched everywhere nearby for a good helmet that fitted for many days, without any success - until (for some reason I've forgotten) I went to the Bangkok Phuket Int. Hospital, and there was a stall there selling good helmets, and I found one that actually fitted!

 

Admittedly, my search was made more difficult as I didn't want a full-face helmet - as having my face covered, makes me nauseous.

 

I agree. A full face helmet in the tropical heat, is a real commitment. I use Real. They are very good quality, make a few models that are open face, and cost between 2,000 and 2,500 baht, making them relatively affordable. They are very well made, for a local helmet. They are hard to find. But, they can be ordered usually. Either contact Real directly, or a few dealers carry them. If in Bangkok, there is a good helmet shop on Rama IV, and soi 42. 

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31 minutes ago, Pib said:

I submit below justification for better motorcycle brakes in Thailand...the improved braking control and power is needed to offset Thai riding habits.

 

image.png.42a4aecac398cf8802828d42d6c36c47.png

 

image.png.e31818725914aea6340f907054153e88.png

 

image.png.1e8ab0fa974b50a5b9fac31e58361d4e.png

 

image.png.af7f0937392a6526046b98671383748e.png

image.png.2541baf401e652f19ba304118476f9e7.png

 

The heavily over-loaded 'bikes (as per the above pictures) are hardly likely to be speeding around!  They're only endangering their own lives, so I'm not sure why so many posters care so much about their activities?

 

I'm sure that if they could afford it, they'd buy a car - but they can't.....

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where do they get these experts lol... if he truly believes it is a lack of abs what about cambodia?  phillipines? vietnam? and the list goes on...

 

an experienced rider can actually brake quicker minus the abs believe it or not...

 

how about some of the real causes.... poor drivers.... drunk drivers... improper or disconnected lights.... thin speed tires... no helmet.... five on a bike.... the list goes on...

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Just now, spidermike007 said:

 

I agree. A full face helmet in the tropical heat, is a real commitment. I use Real. They are very good quality, make a few models that are open face, and cost between 2,000 and 2,500 baht, making them relatively affordable. They are very well made, for a local helmet. They are hard to find. But, they can be ordered usually. Either contact Real directly, or a few dealers carry them. If in Bangkok, there is a good helmet shop on Rama IV, and soi 42. 

I live on Phuket, so not so easy.  Ordering online should be a great solution, but how to ensure that the helmet fits?

 

I had enormous difficulty finding a helmet that actually fitted (turns out that I have a small head, even by Thai standards!).

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5 minutes ago, dick dasterdly said:

I live on Phuket, so not so easy.  Ordering online should be a great solution, but how to ensure that the helmet fits?

 

I had enormous difficulty finding a helmet that actually fitted (turns out that I have a small head, even by Thai standards!).

 

I think you could easily find a full face Real helmet locally. Try it on. Basically the same size, roughly. Then order it online. This link might help:

 

https://www.real-helmets.com/product/ListProduct?producttype=1

 

 

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Just now, spidermike007 said:

 

I think you could easily find a full face Real helmet locally. Try it on. Basically the same size, roughly. Then order it online. This link might help:

 

https://www.real-helmets.com/product/ListProduct?producttype=1

 

 

Thanks spidermike - that's a great solution to my problem when my helmet needs replacing ????.

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Cars kill motorcycles. And both are to blame. But as anywhere in the world, if you make (traffic) rules you need

to follow up and enforce them. And the Thai Police does next to nothing. I have the personal experience of being victim of a Hit and Run, filmed on CCTV and the Police refusing to go after the culprit.

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Well this shows one thing, Thailand will NEVER change, welcome to the 3rd World, its sort of like the Twilight Zone. You really can't talk sense to people who have none, so just watch and enjoy the idiocy, if nothing else they will eliminate themselves via Darwinism.

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On 1/3/2019 at 10:49 AM, xylophone said:

These people just cannot get it into their heads that the real cause of the accidents/deaths is Thais themselves.

 

Many have never passed any sort of test to get on the road, just about all that I have ever met or come across in my 14 years of using the roads here haven't got a clue about any road sense or even bother to learn any, pay scant regard to any "rules of the road" and are plain stupid.

 

No amount of ABS brakes would counter such abject stupidity.

 

this pretty much sums it up.  

 

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1 hour ago, tingtong said:

Thailand has many bicycles too...non with ABS.

 

if the ABS would be the reason, we would read more about bicycles. we dont.

must be another reason then?

We constantly read about bicycles... being mowed down by cars with brake failure... ????

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