Drink driving is most of the problem over here,many Brits don't drink drive in the UK but when they come to Thailand they drink and drive and don't realise how dangerous it is..
fueled full of alcohol, driving a motorbike is a ..death wish.. DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE..

Posted by johndev on November 28, 2011 11:36

I must say that every time I see Kusoldharm they appear to be doing valiant and good work. In the one incident that brought them into direct contact with me they were very professional in all ways. Has PhuketWan ever done a feature on them?

Posted by ssresident on November 28, 2011 11:54

The problem is not only the drinking. Less or no experience by driving motorcycles, no protection clothes as it is usual in Europe, if they wear a helmet, the helmet fits not right and the belt is much too loose so the helmet gets stripped off the head immediately when touching the ground. I had a big MC shop in the last 20 years and had 50 motorcycles and Jetskis in my renting service. Whenever a customer came in and I recognised that he is not familiar with the using of a bike I made a crash course with them before let them of to the traffic in the street and in 20 years I just had a handful of accidents made by my customers.
As I still told the Mr. Naumann, I would be able to write a short 10 point + 10 point guide about the dos and dont's by driving a motorcycle in Thailand, but is seems there is nobody interested in this knowledge and long term experience. Possible Phuketwan can forward the little guide to all the ambassadors and they can translate it to their language or better hand it in multiple languages at the airports and borders of Thailand to the tourists.
Diving with sharks is no problem if somebody will tell you before what to do or not to do and so it is by motorcycle driving as well.
Most of the (hobby) drivers even don't know that the right lever on the handlebar is working at the front wheel brake and there you have 80% of the total brake power of the bike. This knowledge is essential for a save driving. Not only for yourself but as well for the other traffic.

Posted by happychris on November 28, 2011 14:16

Very poor reporting, and making mileage out of what could have been very tragic circumstances when involving death by accident, which doesn't seem to have any form of nationality favoritism.

"A succession of British men visiting Phuket or other parts of Thailand have been killed or crippled this year even though the British Embassy is regarded as one of the most safety-conscious and is constantly issuing warnings."

Perhaps should read......

"A succession of foreigners, both male and female, have died this year in Phuket or other parts of Thailand, mainly due to the poor standards of safety culture nationally, and policing quality in Thailand."

Posted by Phil on November 28, 2011 21:38

Is the tree OK? Welcome back Ed. Phil's comments just sum up what's wrong with the world today. How about personal responsibility??? If you want to live in a police state then go home. This guy is lucky and hopefully he will think about that next time.

Posted by Jon on November 29, 2011 07:11

These poeple are responsible for there own actions,don't blame others, the fact is these accidents are mostly caused through..DRINK DRIVING..no need to make excuses for them..if you look back over the years, this has been the case,whether its, BRITS, GERMANS, SKANDIES AND NOW RUSSIANS..

Posted by johndev on November 29, 2011 13:28

Editor Comment:

"Phil, You'll have to explain more fully why it's not statistically significant that more British male riders have been involved in single motorcycle crashes than other nationalities, and how police can possibly prevent that happening."

OK, precisely that. If you are going to make your reporting as purporting to be fact, then you need to substantiate it with the statistics to support your comments. Thais are the nationality with the largest single motor cycle accidents than any other, as any trip to the head injury ward of Vachira Hospital will confirm. Now there's a good article for you, go and make a visit and meet the poor souls and families there. That would open a few people's eyes.

Getting back to the subject though re nationality, I still believe the British are not top of the list as far as accidents are concerned. In fact, currently I'd say that there are probably more resident UK expats than there are UK tourists. Go on, give us your statistics to mull over........

Posted by Phil on November 29, 2011 22:30