My wife showed me this last night, then gave me a talking to about my cycling here.

http://news.sanook.com/1752233/

It will need a google translate to make much sense.

Essentially he was hit by a pickup truck driver, on a corner, he died, his kid in the pull along trailer survived as did his wife, who are both in hosital. Driver said he didn’t see them as it was on a sharp bend.

I have very mixed emotions on this. The truck driver will end up walking away, he may get a fine, a jail sentence is possible, but not very likely. 10 years ago, a life was worth around 1000GBP if you killed someone on the road, that is what was accepted. Not sure if that has changed.

It was in the same province I am in, and I know the stretch of road, and it isn’t safe by any accounts to be cycling on, really. On your own you put yourself at risk, but pulling a kid along in a trailer here, is just madness.

Nobody gives a shit on the roads here. Pickup trucks now make 150+BHP, and they aren’t well maintained, even the new ones. They can go fast and often are tuned, and have silly wheels on them.

The new Mitsibushi Triton starts out at 180bhp and a silly amount of torque for a truck. They go like stink, and nobody here knows how to corned properly. Charge in fast, slam brakes on and try to creep around.

I feel for his wife and kid, and it has made me think about today’s ride out, but I cannot fathom why he decided to pull his kid in a trailer around the country with the second highest road fatalities in the world.

I’m angry at the truck driver for his typical excuse here of blame something else, and the dead man for putting his kid at risk like that.

The previous fatalities of the two british cyclists in Feb two years ago, the drivers was fined 1000B/20quid, for killing two people. That was it.

Driver said he didn’t see them as it was on a sharp bend.

and I know the stretch of road, and it isn’t safe by any accounts to be cycling on, really. On your own you put yourself at risk, but pulling a kid along in a trailer here, is just madness.

We’re you at the scene of the accident?
Possibly the driver was saying it as it was.
Awful tragedy but what point are you trying to make?
What has pickup truck power got to do with the price of fish?

The horsepower has nothing to do with how safe someone drives.

Very, very sad. Driving in Malaysia made me realise how absolutely brilliant driving standards are in the UK (despite what you read on here). Vowed never to complain about British driving when I returned but after a few months you just forget…

I see the power of the trucks being important

I have traveled in the developing world but not really cycled. Roads in developing countries are really dangerous. But when I traveled vehicles were low in power and not that fast. But the culture was to drive to the limit. So dropping more powerful vehicles into that mix sounds like it would make the roads even more dangerous

I blame the silly wheels on the pick ups.

Shit drivers like the wind are everywhere. Aberdeen , abu dhabi , addis abba , adelaide , all over.

Its a shame yes , its also a shame that your country doesnt deal with it more severely but frankly its a risk you are only too aware of when you head off on a trip like this.

Forget third world countrys…. Im just back from perth australia, far from a third world country yet ive seen better driving in nigeria.

Sad news. I was very close to arranging an upcoming trip back from Taiwan to ride in the northern area after a friend rode from there into china with some great stories of the experience.
Are the roads there really any worse than many other parts of the world? I wasn’t aware of it having a bad rep with tourers. I’ve ridden in Taiwan where the beetel-nutters in trucks and fast cars are apparent but don’t perceive the risk to be worse than the UK.

Sad news. As above driving standards, road and vehicle quality in Asia are nothing like they are in Europe. I think it’s fair to say road users there don’t show a lot of respect for motor bikes and even less for cycles.

I think it’s fair to say road users there don’t show a lot of respect for motor bikes and even less for cycles.

A lot of Asia has a ‘larger vehicle size means more ROW’ culture. Sounds bad but they also don’t have such a self-centred approach in general compared to the UK, imo – mass generalisation / varies by area etc.

Where we are just now is touristy in the mountains for locals, it’s a top holiday spot for Bangkokians wanting a weekend away. Temperature is generally cooler and air is clean. Cool season it is a bit manic around here.

Pecking order on the road is – tour buses, local buses, cars/trucks, motorcyles, bicycles and pedestrians.

Somewhere mixed in there are overloaded trucks which sit around tour buses, cement mixers, and other lorries in that area.

Shits me up when go around corners, and I hear a truck behind, then realise that it is cutting the corner, pulling along an 8 wheeled trailer, pushing me right over to the edge.

here’s a more readable version of events from The Guardian

Interesting – slightly different versions – Guardian is more likely to be accurate than the local news.

Released on bail more often than not means he vanishes, or joins a temple.

The road was straight in the last incident two years ago, when the driver dropped his hat and ran them over. That was worth all of 20GBP as a fine.

Thanks for the link.