Two Thais injured as Brit makes "sudden U-turn"

[webfact]

Two Thais injured as Brit makes "sudden U-turn"

 

Picture: The Pattaya News

 

Police were called to an accident in Thepprasit Road, Pattaya just after midnight on Sunday when two Thais on a motorbike hit a car driven by a British man.

 

Pol Lt Aris Phuangsawai and Sawang Boriboon rescue personnel were on the scene and found a Honda City with Chonburi plates stopped in the middle of the road. It had damage to the right rear side.

 

The driver was named as 34 year old Samuel Matthew Stonard.

 

On the tarmac was a Yamaha Spark with an Ayuthaya plate and two people, a man and a woman.

 

They were named as Chalermphon Pongketrakarn, 35, and Khamyat Dechabun, 44.

 

After being given first aid at the scene they were taken to Bang Lamung Hospital.

 

Chalermphon said he was heading for Sukhumvit Road when the car made a sudden and unexpected U-turn. He was unable to brake in time and hit the rear right side at speed.

 

Source: The Pattaya News

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-02-18

[darksidedog]

16 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

Chalermphon said he was heading for Sukhumvit Road when the car made a sudden and unexpected U-turn. He was unable to brake in time and hit the rear right side at speed.

More likely a scenario to my mind is that he just wasn't paying full and proper attention, and noticed the car making a maneuver too late to do anything about it. Lucky for him it was a farang, so he has someone else to blame.  

[overherebc]

12 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

More likely a scenario to my mind is that he just wasn't paying full and proper attention, and noticed the car making a maneuver too late to do anything about it. Lucky for him it was a farang, so he has someone else to blame.  

How far down the road were the mobile phones found?

[SammyT]

Good to see the farang defenders warming up on here. 

 

Hate to break it to you all, but westerners can and do drive badly as well...

[sammieuk1]

Something smells fishy here a Brit with poor driving skills and no awareness rear-ended by a  law abiding Thai ????

[sweatalot]

27 minutes ago, webfact said:

Chalermphon said he was heading for Sukhumvit Road when the car made a sudden and unexpected U-turn

yes - not unusual for Thai divers. I would not be surprised if he was not prepared for anything that would need his attention while driving. If it is not brake failure then it is failure of the other one.

[smedly]

19 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

More likely a scenario to my mind is that he just wasn't paying full and proper attention, and noticed the car making a maneuver too late to do anything about it. Lucky for him it was a farang, so he has someone else to blame.  

very surprised at that comment coming from you ????

 

there are many possibilities that all point to the car being at fault - I hope the Brit was breathalysed

[bluesofa]

30 minutes ago, webfact said:

Chalermphon said he was heading for Sukhumvit Road when the car made a sudden and unexpected U-turn. He was unable to brake in time and hit the rear right side at speed.

Therefore he was following the car too closely, not allowing enough space between himself and the vehicle in front.

[ThreeEyedRaven]

11 minutes ago, SammyT said:

Good to see the farang defenders warming up on here. 

 

Hate to break it to you all, but westerners can and do drive badly as well...

Westerners are capable of driving poorly, this is true, though the amount of poor farang drivers is nothing as compared to the locals. I just went to Tesco Lotus and had an idiot stop in front of me smack in the centre of the entrance to the parking area. Absolutely no idea I was behind and trying to park. No idea that stopping there was inconsiderate. Then on the way back, while indicating right, another idiot overtakes at a crazy speed. if I hadn't been checking my mirrors, which many Thais seem to think are unnecessary, he would have taken me out as I made my turn. As it is, I nearly got hit up the arse by the car following me, when I had to hit the brakes to miss the first idiot overtaking. And it is the same every day. The guy in this story was probably howling down the right hand lane, and realised too  late there was something ahead.

[SammyT]

1 minute ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Westerners are capable of driving poorly, this is true, though the amount of poor farang drivers is nothing as compared to the locals. I just went to Tesco Lotus and had an idiot stop in front of me smack in the centre of the entrance to the parking area. Absolutely no idea I was behind and trying to park. No idea that stopping there was inconsiderate. Then on the way back, while indicating right, another idiot overtakes at a crazy speed. if I hadn't been checking my mirrors, which many Thais seem to think are unnecessary, he would have taken me out as I made my turn. As it is, I nearly got hit up the arse by the car following me, when I had to hit the brakes to miss the first idiot overtaking. And it is the same every day. The guy in this story was probably howling down the right hand lane, and realised too  late there was something ahead.

Great story, but it also stands to reason you'll see more poor thai driving than poor western driving given westerners only make up a fraction of the population. 

 

Ultimately the guy has u-turned into oncoming traffic and has been ploughed into by a car that had right of way. I know who I would pick to be at fault. 

 

 

[ThreeEyedRaven]

13 minutes ago, smedly said:

very surprised at that comment coming from you ????

 

there are many possibilities that all point to the car being at fault - I hope the Brit was breathalysed

I think you can rest assured that he would have been breathalysed and that if he had failed, it would have been reported. Yes, it is possible that the Brit guy did something stupid, though if the bike had been paying proper attention and maintaining a safe distance, he would have been able to avoid it, don't you think? As it was a farang, the cops would have happily apportioned the blame to him though, regardless of the real reasons.

[smedly]

4 minutes ago, SammyT said:

Great story, but it also stands to reason you'll see more poor thai driving than poor western driving given westerners only make up a fraction of the population. 

 

Ultimately the guy has u-turned into oncoming traffic and has been ploughed into by a car that had right of way. I know who I would pick to be at fault. 

 

 

looking at the rear of the car it seems the Brit hadn't actually started his alleged U-turn as the bike seems to have gone straight into the rear of the car, perhaps by U-turn he meant right turn and the car just pulled across in front of him from the left, the bike seems to have been going pretty fast looking at the damage - but still you cannot just cross lanes without checking properly

[darksidedog]

16 minutes ago, SammyT said:

Ultimately the guy has u-turned into oncoming traffic and has been ploughed into by a car that had right of way. I know who I would pick to be at fault. 

For the damage to be on the right rear side, the bike must have been overtaking, going in the same direction as the car. If he had been coming the other way, when he saw the car, he would have hit the left side of the vehicle, as the U-turn was performed. So, he was probably in the right hand lane, going too fast, and not paying proper attention. Had it been otherwise, he would have been able to avoid the car.

[smedly]

6 minutes ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

he would have been able to avoid it, don't you think?

nope, not if the car suddenly pulled across in front of him which seems to be the most likely cause of this accident IMO

[Hank Gunn]

5 minutes ago, SammyT said:

Great story, but it also stands to reason you'll see more poor thai driving than poor western driving given westerners only make up a fraction of the population. 

 

Ultimately the guy has u-turned into oncoming traffic and has been ploughed into by a car that had right of way. I know who I would pick to be at fault. 

 

 

I'd be more inclined to agree with your hypothetical scenario if the motorcyclist had hit the left-front of the car, or anywhere on the left side for that matter. However, as the motorcyclist hit the right-rear of the sedan, it's obvious that the car had completed more than half of his U-turn, so the motorcyclist was either driving too fast, didn't pay attention to traffic in front of him, or tried to overtake the car.

 

Yes, there are poor farang drivers here but you have to be deluded that as a percentage, they are anywhere near Thai drivers in their negligence and sheer incompetence. 

[smedly]

2 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

For the damage to be on the right rear side, the bike must have been overtaking, going in the same direction as the car. If he had been coming the other way, when he saw the car, he would have hit the left side of the vehicle, as the U-turn was performed. So, he was probably in the right hand lane, going too fast, and not paying proper attention. Had it been otherwise, he would have been able to avoid the car.

still blaming the Thai ?????????

 

sorry my friend but if the car suddenly pulled across in front of the bike - there is simply no excuse for that, now if all bike riders want to avoid accidents - then yes they should be extra careful of idiots pulling out in front of them - doesn't mean they are at fault or to blame  

[Justin Side]

Motorbike traveling too close to the car in front.

Who would have thought it?

 

[NanLaew]

29 minutes ago, smedly said:

I hope the Brit was breathalysed

Why?

 

They don't normally breathalyze their own here so why should a foreigner not get the same benefit of the doubt?

[BestB]

Was not there so can not comment but hardly uncommon for locals to overtake turning vehicle or one turning.

 

see it and experience it every day, I indicate to turn right and they go to overtake on the right and at speed.

 

saying that just as normal for many local bikes NOT to have working lights  and fly down the street 

[Lucius verus]

I don't understand why farangs insist on driving or riding bikes here. I would be a nervous wreck everytime I got behind the wheel. 

How many Thais have insurance?

Do insurance companies challenge a claim relating to a farang.Is your vehicle repaired properly or 'fixed' Thaistyle.

No thanks, taxis and a/c buses for me.

[cooked]

31 minutes ago, smedly said:

very surprised at that comment coming from you ????

 

there are many possibilities that all point to the car being at fault - I hope the Brit was breathalysed

The most probable scenario is that the Thais had no money and no insurance. Doesn't matter whose fault it was. The possibility of being breathalysed is just an additional pressure to get money out of the farang. In general, not necessarily in this particular case. 

[SammyT]

20 minutes ago, Hank Gunn said:

 

  

Yes, there are poor farang drivers here but you have to be deluded that as a percentage, they are anywhere near Thai drivers in their negligence and sheer incompetence. 

Completely agree with this. I'm not for a second saying that Thais aren't also poor drivers. But the inescapable fact of this is that the Brit has turned into oncoming traffic and caused an accident, regardless of how far through his maneuver he was. Ultimately rule number 1 of driving is make sure your path is clear, if that path includes speeding motorcyclists, you factor that in to. 

 

My initial comment was directed at some of the posters on here who would literally assert that the Farang was right and the Thai was wrong, regardless of the circumstances. Thais do drive like idiots, but I've been to Pattaya enough times to see all the tourists and expats who think the road rules don't apply to them either. 

[SammyT]

5 minutes ago, Lucius verus said:

I don't understand why farangs insist on driving or riding bikes here. I would be a nervous wreck everytime I got behind the wheel. 

How many Thais have insurance?

Do insurance companies challenge a claim relating to a farang.Is your vehicle repaired properly or 'fixed' Thaistyle.

No thanks, taxis and a/c buses for me.

I've ridden a moto here and had no issues for the three years I've been here. I think it's basically abiding by the rule of thumb that you should assume that drivers haven't/can't see you and drive accordingly. Every one of those u-turns I drive up to, I find myself pumping the breaks and expecting someone to turn in front of me. 

 

I am genuinely surprised by the number of farang who choose not to wear helmets when riding bikes here though. While the feel of the wind in your hair is great, it's offset by the potential for the feeling of concrete on your scalp...

[Pilotman]

36 minutes ago, ThreeEyedRaven said:

Westerners are capable of driving poorly, this is true, though the amount of poor farang drivers is nothing as compared to the locals. I just went to Tesco Lotus and had an idiot stop in front of me smack in the centre of the entrance to the parking area. Absolutely no idea I was behind and trying to park. No idea that stopping there was inconsiderate. Then on the way back, while indicating right, another idiot overtakes at a crazy speed. if I hadn't been checking my mirrors, which many Thais seem to think are unnecessary, he would have taken me out as I made my turn. As it is, I nearly got hit up the arse by the car following me, when I had to hit the brakes to miss the first idiot overtaking. And it is the same every day. The guy in this story was probably howling down the right hand lane, and realised too  late there was something ahead.

true and an everyday occurrence. The turning into a car park and then just stopping drives me nuts. They all do it , as it takes them time to put away the phone, talk a bit to the passenger, then bother looking for a parking slot that isn't there.

 

Of course, we don't know who is at fault, but If I had money to put on this incident, it would be on the scooter rider just wasn't looking and riding too fast.  After midnight seems to be the time when most Thai scooter riders open the throttle.  

[Spidey]

49 minutes ago, SammyT said:

Good to see the farang defenders warming up on here. 

 

Hate to break it to you all, but westerners can and do drive badly as well...

Sorry to break this to you, but in most Western counties, if you rear end a car, it's almost always deemed to be your fault. If he was travelling a safe distance behind the car and was aware, he would have been able to stop. If the farang hadn't been making a U turn but had to make an emergency stop and he got rear ended by the bike, would it still have been the farang's fault?

[LucysDad]

2 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Sorry to break this to you, but in most Western counties, if you rear end a car, it's almost always deemed to be your fault. If he was travelling a safe distance behind the car and was aware, he would have been able to stop. If the farang hadn't been making a U turn but had to make an emergency stop and he got rear ended by the bike, would it still have been the farang's fault?

 

 

Thankfully, the insurers are also aware of that.

 

[SammyT]

5 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Sorry to break this to you, but in most Western counties, if you rear end a car, it's almost always deemed to be your fault. If he was travelling a safe distance behind the car and was aware, he would have been able to stop. If the farang hadn't been making a U turn but had to make an emergency stop and he got rear ended by the bike, would it still have been the farang's fault?

Wrong. Not if that car has just pulled a u-turn in front of you. If you threw a hurried u-turn in New Zealand and the car coming the other way smashed into you, you're completely in the wrong. You have zero facts to back that up. 

 

The scenario you present in the final sentence is completely hypothetical and irrelevant to the conversation, because it wasn't a case of the car having to make an emergency stop, it was a car turning into oncoming traffic. Generally when a car has to make an emergency stop there are other indicators it is about to happen (brake lights coming on etc). If you're travelling at the speed limit and someone swings around directly in front of you, it is a lot harder to avoid. Keep sticking up for the Farang at the cost of logic though...

[BritManToo]

48 minutes ago, smedly said:

very surprised at that comment coming from you ????

there are many possibilities that all point to the car being at fault - I hope the Brit was breathalysed

I hope the Thais were breathalysed and piss tested.

[Pilotman]

27 minutes ago, smedly said:

still blaming the Thai ?????????

 

sorry my friend but if the car suddenly pulled across in front of the bike - there is simply no excuse for that, now if all bike riders want to avoid accidents - then yes they should be extra careful of idiots pulling out in front of them - doesn't mean they are at fault or to blame  

we don't know, that's the point, none of us were there.  But, and its a big but, on the balance of probability, based on what happens on a daily basis in Thailand, is that the Thai rider may well have been at fault. Most westerners holding a licence have at least had a reasonable level of training to drive and have undergone a western style test. It doesn't mean that they are perfect drivers who never make mistakes, they do, but i bet that statistically,  they make a lot fewer of them.  

[bluesofa]

25 minutes ago, smedly said:

sorry my friend but if the car suddenly pulled across in front of the bike - there is simply no excuse for that, now if all bike riders want to avoid accidents - then yes they should be extra careful of idiots pulling out in front of them - doesn't mean they are at fault or to blame

The only thing quoted was by the motorbike driver:

"Chalermphon said he was heading for Sukhumvit Road when the car made a sudden and unexpected U-turn. He was unable to brake in time and hit the rear right side at speed."

 

He didn't say anything about the car pulling across in front of him. Going on what the motorbike driver said, we can only assume he was following the car too closely, not allowing enough distance between himself and the car in front of him.