Right of Way - Car/Motorcycle?

[Big Boy]

A friend of mine driving her car was involved in a very minor knock with a motorcycle yesterday. The rider of the motorcycle apportioned all the blame onto my friend because he reckoned cars should always give way to motorcycles.

The motorcyclist made a typical suicide manouvre. My friend was sat waiting to make a U-Turn, looking left at oncoming traffic. The motorcycle came up on her right hand side (more room because of the impending manouvre). They both pulled away together, but the motorcycle drove straight in front of the car looking for the safety of the motorcycle lane. My friend was concentrating on the on coming traffic, and hit the motorcycle. OK, damage was minimal, and thankfully nobody was hurt.

The motorcyclist (who in my opinion was fully to blame) said that he'd been riding a motorcycle in Hua Hin for 3 years, and the car is always to blame in such situations, and my friend (probably shocked) didn't argue.

As I said, it is a suicide manouvre, but one that is seen very regular. In my truck, I always give way (nobody wants to hurt somebody else, or cause deliberate damage), but usually make a comment, that I'd just saved another life.

What I need to know is whether this guy was just a chancer, or whether should cars give way in such suicide manouvres e.g. had there been injury, and the emergency services had to be called, who would be held to blame?

[PeteC]

Motorbikes have to obey the same traffic laws cars or any other motor vehicle has to obey. It doesn't sound like the bike did with his squeeze through the right open space maneuver. A traffic lane is a traffic lane, but as we know that is ignored all the time by motorbikes here.

The wife has been involved in a few of these over the years and she has never hesitated to bring the law and insurance to bear on the motorbike as responsible. She's never lost or been blamed for an incident.

Your friend should let her insurance agent go to bat for her now as too late to involve the police. Pete

[bsdk1960]

can't comment on the thai rules but in DK it's normal 50/50 % if you talk big motorbike ,but moped as we called it or bike it,s always the car who's responsible nearly no matter how idiot they behave Will try ask wife when she come home.



OT. why is this sometimes appears when I try post even a new thread ?

"At least one new post has been made to this topic. You may wish to review your post in light of this".

[Big Boy]

Motorbikes have to obey the same traffic laws cars or any other motor vehicle has to obey. It doesn't sound like the bike did with his squeeze through the right open space maneuver. A traffic lane is a traffic lane, but as we know that is ignored all the time by motorbikes here.

The wife has been involved in a few of these over the years and she has never hesitated to bring the law and insurance to bear on the motorbike as responsible. She's never lost or been blamed for an incident.

Your friend should let her insurance agent go to bat for her now as too late to involve the police. Pete

That's what I've advised for the future. However, the damage only cost 100 Baht to repair.

As I said, I'm always very wary of this suicide manouvre, and try to be courteous to the offender. The other suicide manouvre is slipping inside when I'm turning left - they don't realise because of the wheelbase length, a car will drift slightly to the left around a corner.

I needed to ask the question, because they keep attempting suicide, and I might not be concentrating one day. I don't want to be fooled by a BS merchant.

[Frank Hovis]

Chancer - viewtopic.php?f=44&t=24868 see section 46b.

The motorcycle rider will eventually learn the lesson, it might be the last thing he learns though.

[STEVE G]

Obviously the motorbike was acting suicidally by driving in front of the car but I wouldn't say that your friend was blameless as she clearly wasn't looking in the direction that the car was travelling when she pulled away, I know it's not easy but surely you should wait for a gap and then pay attention to the direction that you're driving in. What if a child ran into the road?

[Frank Hovis]

Despite the letter of the law putting the motorcyclist in the wrong, I agree with Steve G on this - no matter how stupid other people are, you still need to make sure your way ahead is safe. Unlike the UK, pedestrians do not have right of way over all other traffic (but see Section 32 above).

[dtaai-maai]

why is this sometimes appears when I try post even a new thread ?

"At least one new post has been made to this topic. You may wish to review your post in light of this".

It just means that while you've been typing your response, someone has posted something on the same thread. You can look at that post and change your own if you want.

[Big Boy]

Excellent points guys. Very true about looking left until you're sure the way is clear, but you shouldn't move forward until you are looking where you are going.

[hhinner]

Excellent points guys. Very true about looking left until you're sure the way is clear, but you shouldn't move forward until you are looking where you are going.

And then look left again to make sure a motorbike hasn't crept up on your left and pulling out across your nose... and then checking ahead and to the right again... etc.

Just watched a BBC2 doco about a London cabbie having a go at driving a tuktuk in Phnom Penh. The number of bikes/scooters there looked really scary. It made Thailand traffic look positively laid back.

[bsdk1960]

why is this sometimes appears when I try post even a new thread ?

"At least one new post has been made to this topic. You may wish to review your post in light of this".

It just means that while you've been typing your response, someone has posted something on the same thread. You can look at that post and change your own if you want.

Thanks, have been wonder some times because it's the first post at that topic

[HHTel]

The couple of times I've had a problem with a m/cycle, the Thai has called the police only to be shot down by the policeman and slunk away with their tail between their legs. On one occasion, the m/cyclist was explaining to the cop the 'I was driving the wrong way when this farang did a U-turn and made me fall over!!'

From what I understand, there is no such thing as a 'motorcycle lane'. I believed the 'hard shoulder' was legally used by m/cycles for years. I learned some time ago, that this 'hard shoulder' (known as the safety zone in Thailand) is not to be used by any vehicles, including m/cycles. It has the same rules as in the UK. i.e. for vehicles that break down and to allow emergency vehicles to get to the scene of an accident etc. (not to be used as an extra lane when the road lanes are full!!). When I see vehicles coming up on the hard shoulder in order to gain an advantage, I always put a wheel just over the white line so they can't pass and those that do, I certainly will not let them rejoin the highway (but someone always does).

To agree with what has already been posted, traffic rules are no different for m/cycles as any other vehicle.

[hhfarang]

When I see motorcyclists doing something stupid like that or driving down the wrong side of the street, I aim for them...