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[churchill]

Trembly, on Yesterday, 16:45 , said:

If your wife wants to see 'justice' done then her best bet would be to find a policeman (say, Inspector or Superintendent) who is over the heads of the police who wrote said report and pay him to squash it. From amphoe level the police chain of command goes from province to regional sector. Northern Isan is Sector 4 and Southern Isan is Sector 3.

If your wife is closely related to any Kha-Rachagan (translation : "Person In His Majesty's Service", which covers civil servants and servicemen of all descriptions - basically anyone who is permanently employed in any Government Ministry or Department) this could prove to be a boon. Many police will happily give fellow People In His Majesty's Service a break, it's one of the perks and is expected. Speeding tickets, breathalizer fails, parking tickets etc are routinely waived upon the smiling presentation of Kha-Rachagan ID.

Easier said than done ..

[jamesbrock]

taninthai, on Yesterday, 16:41 , said:

I don't think this was extortion at all yes you were pressured but you let them pressure you they don't know if your a long term stayer or just a tourist who could have been leaving the next day
Water on the road is common in Thailand it doesn't really take an experienced rider to know that their is not as much grip there as on dry  roads ,I look at it from the car drivers view who is also a victim here driving along on his side of the road and a guy on a bike crosses to his side and hits his car , I would also be straight down the pOlice station wanting money for repairs to my car asap sorry just don't see any extortion there.

Seriously how can you blame the shopkeeper he is probably thinking along the same lines if the ferang new how to ride properly had safety gear etc riding bikes is not about having the experience to recover the situation if it all goes wrong it's about seeing the situation before it happens and making adjustments so said situation does not occur in the first place all this you failed to do

That's your opinion, and you're welcome to hold it.

While it differs from mine, I'm not about to get into an argument over perceptions, which will invariably differ based on any number of factors. I merely posted the story to let the OP know that my advice was based in personal experience, not to hijack the discussion.

[taninthai]

^
no need to get into an argument over it Mate  that's just the way it works in Thailand you cause an accident you pay for damage and inconvenience caused to  the other party no corruption or extortion just pure facts.

[churchill]

taninthai, on Yesterday, 16:10 , said:

I can't get my head around the fact that your insurance is going to be willing to pay out to an un insured vehicle there is no damage to your vehicle so it's only repairs to other vehicle would have thought the insurance company would have fought and worked a bit harder on this one but maybe it's just my western thinking.
Yes moving the car was not the best thing to do I suppose the other party is simply saying you were out in the middle of the road and there is no way to disprove it

Just about sums it up .... I will meet and speak to the Insurance Company's lawyer for the 1st time .. on Monday when I am due in court .

[robblok]

jamesbrock, on Yesterday, 19:15 , said:

taninthai, on Yesterday, 16:41 , said:

I don't think this was extortion at all yes you were pressured but you let them pressure you they don't know if your a long term stayer or just a tourist who could have been leaving the next day
Water on the road is common in Thailand it doesn't really take an experienced rider to know that their is not as much grip there as on dry  roads ,I look at it from the car drivers view who is also a victim here driving along on his side of the road and a guy on a bike crosses to his side and hits his car , I would also be straight down the pOlice station wanting money for repairs to my car asap sorry just don't see any extortion there.

Seriously how can you blame the shopkeeper he is probably thinking along the same lines if the ferang new how to ride properly had safety gear etc riding bikes is not about having the experience to recover the situation if it all goes wrong it's about seeing the situation before it happens and making adjustments so said situation does not occur in the first place all this you failed to do

That's your opinion, and you're welcome to hold it.

While it differs from mine, I'm not about to get into an argument over perceptions, which will invariably differ based on any number of factors. I merely posted the story to let the OP know that my advice was based in personal experience, not to hijack the discussion.

Agree here with taninthai. You were wrong

[bonobo]

I was hit from behind by a guy driving a motorcycle while I was turning right into a parking lot.  The guy was attempting to pass me in the oncoming traffic lane.  (Each direction had two lanes and the left lane was clear.)  This was at night, and he his light did not work.  He ended up breaking his ankle and my car was damaged.

When the police first arrived, the officer told the pillion rider that they were at fault.  Then the she started crying saying that the guy had no license, no insurance.  The officer asked me if I had insurance, and I said yes.  Suddenly I was at fault.  The officer remarked to my then g/f that he knew I was not at fault, but since I had insurance, he thought we should just let the insurance pay for the guy's medical bills

[Berkshire]

jamesbrock, on Yesterday, 16:15 , said:

I could have recovered; however, over the past few months it has become clear that the water sprayed across the road was the direct cause, and the loss of traction was simply the effect.

Do I blame the shopkeeper for my loss of traction? You bet! Do I still think a better rider could have recovered? Of course! Was I "in the wrong"? No, I don't think I was. Do you?

Apologies for perhaps going OT again and certainly don't want to pick on you, James.  But...."the water sprayed across the road was the direct cause"....?  So it's the wet road?  Like what happens when it rains?  Hmmm.

[jamesbrock]

Berkshire, on Today, 10:21 , said:

  Like what happens when it rains?  Hmmm.

I ride a lot more carefully!!

[Trembly]

churchill, on Yesterday, 18:18 , said:

Trembly, on Yesterday, 16:45 , said:

If your wife wants to see 'justice' done then her best bet would be to find a policeman (say, Inspector or Superintendent) who is over the heads of the police who wrote said report and pay him to squash it. From amphoe level the police chain of command goes from province to regional sector. Northern Isan is Sector 4 and Southern Isan is Sector 3.

If your wife is closely related to any Kha-Rachagan (translation : "Person In His Majesty's Service", which covers civil servants and servicemen of all descriptions - basically anyone who is permanently employed in any Government Ministry or Department) this could prove to be a boon. Many police will happily give fellow People In His Majesty's Service a break, it's one of the perks and is expected. Speeding tickets, breathalizer fails, parking tickets etc are routinely waived upon the smiling presentation of Kha-Rachagan ID.

Easier said than done ..

Depends.

[YipYipYa123]

bonobo, on Today, 09:58 , said:

I was hit from behind by a guy driving a motorcycle while I was turning right into a parking lot.  The guy was attempting to pass me in the oncoming traffic lane.  (Each direction had two lanes and the left lane was clear.)  This was at night, and he his light did not work.  He ended up breaking his ankle and my car was damaged.

When the police first arrived, the officer told the pillion rider that they were at fault.  Then the she started crying saying that the guy had no license, no insurance.  The officer asked me if I had insurance, and I said yes.  Suddenly I was at fault.  The officer remarked to my then g/f that he knew I was not at fault, but since I had insurance, he thought we should just let the insurance pay for the guy's medical bills

this happened my neighbour also ,a old drunk thai crashed into him when he was stopped in the middle lane waiting to turn right

(hes american and couldnt speak a word of thai but he could smell whisky of the guy and he musta been well  pissed to hit a stopped  car )

anyway .police landed down ,a conversation was had in thai  and it was decided the farang caused the damage  
he must to admit to being "at fault" and the insurance will take care everything Or go court and there "be big trouble " and
"pay big money "

not wanting to lose hundreds of thousands on lawyers fees,forfeit his passport and then probably lose anyway   ,he agreed with the story and everyone went home happy including the police who probably got some tea money outta clearing up the whole mess

seriously though ,if you cant speak thai well you are screwed in a mess like this ,the whole thing moves at warp speed and facts are overlooked as inconvniences when blame and more importantly payments are being allocated

[Beetlejuice]

jamesbrock, on 2012-05-25 22:49:41, said:

BigBikeBKK, on 2012-05-25 22:26:26, said:

jamesbrock, on 2012-05-25 21:22:22, said:

My gf & I came off our bike a few months ago, which put me in a wheelchair for nearly six weeks; while I was being maltreated in the local govt hospital (bandaged up and being sent out while still unable to walk) the gf, who was injured herself, was receiving calls from the local BiB demanding we attend the station as soon as we were released from hospital. When we attended, there were a dozen people in there all wanting a piece of the action; the big BiB came out and said to me, without asking ANY questions, "You wrong. You pay 20,000 baht and we finish. You not pay, we go to [the main station in Samui] and you go court, pay big fine. Be big trouble." The problem here was - I wasn't in the wrong.

At that stage, all I wanted to do was go to a proper hospital and get proper treatment, so I paid. The subsequent proper treatment has cost me over 150,000 baht so far, none of which was covered by insurance, because the BiB didn't write an accident report.

Unfortunately, these are the types of situations where the best thing to do is suck it up and move on.

Paid for WHAT? Go to court for what? What law(s) are you accused of violating that would lead to a 20k Baht fine? What did the police say you did wrong? Drunk? Was your bike insured? Did you have a valid license?

Sounds like there's more to this story than you're sharing with us...

Well, I've been called a "delusional Thai-hater" after sharing this story previously, so you inferring that I'm being somehow dishonest is nothing. I'm not sure what I could possibly hope to obtain by 'telling a lie' like this, or withholding pertinent facts, but you're obviously free to believe whatever you want.

Our BigBikeBKK is not inferring anything.

He is only asking for some more details so as we may be able to judge for ourselves the facts and who is at fault.

There are many on here quick to accuse the police of corruption and those that will agree with them in an instant, all on a story that my girlfriend and I fell off our motorbike or a BiL was involved in a serious accident that requires major surgery...the wife got hold of a police report that is a complete fabrication?

Without detailing the train of events and cause of the accidents, than accusing the police on an open forum of corruption and shady deals is unjustifiable and rather steep, defamatory in fact.

I would certainly want to know a lot more before I am convinced that this is police corruption and not the fault of those involved in these traffic accidents.

As a whole the Thai police do a fine job, they are on low wages, work long shifts, responsible for purchasing their own equipment including transport, do not have anywhere even close to the resources available to they’re Western counterparts and are putting their lives on the line every day. The problem is that many farangs try to equal the procedures of the Thai police with Scotland Yard or the New York City police. This is simply not possible for reasons mentioned.

Of course there are always going to be some rotten apples in the barrel, but this doesn’t mean that the whole outfit are no good.

I can tell you that Immigration do peruse these threads and many of the comments are noted, which can only serve the purpose of making the police anti farang, so not smart, considering it is the police that extend our visas every year.

There are certain complaint procedures available here for those who believe that the police have acted inappropriately and have suffered a injustice, but before submitting a report, I would certainly ensure that there is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that the police are in the wrong and were acting criminally. Also taking into consideration that our visas are under police jurisdiction, so I guess that those of you fighting for justice, defenders against evil, would never have the bottle to see this through to the end and are just a load of hot air.