Thailand Motorbike Safety Risks
Liam Kilby’s Thailand Motorbike Crash and Medical Bills
On May 21st 2023 25-year-old British tourist Liam Kilby was on holiday in Phuket when he lost control of his motorbike he swerved skidded and was launched through a shop window the glass shattered slicing his body and slashing Li across the throat according to his sister he had chunks of glass sticking in his head his face his hands everywhere his friend pulled the glass out of his throat thinking it would help and the blood all went down an ambulance was called and he died in the back of the ambulance from blood loss. Thankfully Liam was resuscitated but he’d already lost a tremendous amount of blood from the accident. He was rushed to Vajira Hospital Phuket where he was diagnosed with post-cardiac syndrome and kidney failure, but Liam’s troubles didn’t stop there, though 6,000 miles away as they were still reeling with the shock and Devastation of the accident Liam’s family was slapped with thousands of pounds of medical bills that they needed to pay to ensure that he could keep getting the health care that he needed to survive leaving them with a Race Against Time to make sure Liam could get the funds needed to return home safely.
this is not a rare occurrence in Thailand about 62 people every single day die in road traffic accidents in Thailand, and foreign tourists account for around 2,886 deaths every single year in Thailand just the last month a Swiss man has been left in a coma in Pattaya two British citizens were killed in Phuket a Welshman has been left permanently paralyzed from the way down after a traffic accident and a total of 287 people were killed over a 3-day period during the Songkran Festival.
Why Thailand Roads Are So Dangerous for Motorbikes
at least 20,000 people die on Thailand‘s roads every year making the ninth most dangerous roads in the world. Believe it or not this is actually progress for Thailand just a few years ago Thailand was ranked as the second most dangerous roads in the world sitting just behind Libya. You know that waterlogged country with landmines on the roads in the UK a country with a similar size population the death toll per year is around 1,800 this means it’s literally 10 times more dangerous to ride a bike or a scooter in Thailand than it is in the UK 75% of all Thailand road deaths are drivers of two or three-wheel vehicles. This means there’s at least 15,000 deaths on a scooter or a motorbike each year making it by far the most dangerous country in the world to ride a scooter but why are the roads so dangerous here in Thailand. Unlike the other countries near the top of the road death list Thailand‘s infrastructure is actually fairly well developed the roads are far from perfect here but it’s hardly dirt roads and wooden bridges on top of that, Thailand has some of the better healthcare systems in the whole of Southeast Asia, with approximately 1 million people flying in the country each year to receive treatment so what’s gone so wrong.
one of the major issues in the country is the sabai attitude towards law enforcement and road safety Sabai is a Thai phrase that roughly translates into relax or take it easy this is why Thailand is such a great country to come to to enjoy a beach holiday but it’s not a great attitude to have when trying to enforce National Road Safety standards. Road safety rules and regulations are often unenforced in Thailand, and the people here have a relaxed attitude towards wearing a helmet speeding and drink driving researchers found that only 51% of drivers and only 10% of passengers actually wear a helmet when on the road according to a study by the international Health policy program if every driver and passenger used a helmet in Thailand 6,984 deaths could be prevented annually and the overall death rate due to traffic accidents could be reduced by a third similarly drink driving causes approximately 6,000 deaths per year, meaning that these two simple actions could save around 12,000 lives every year I think this is how people come to Thailand, and then fall into this false sense of security by looking around and seeing what others are doing without being able to see the damage behind the statistics of the shocking Road deaths and accidents in Thailand.
Thailand Road Safety Culture and Helmet Use
that’s not to mention the amount of foreign tourists that come here and rent a bike that have never ridden one before I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve seen tourists bouncing along the sides of the road clearly not being able to control their bike.
International Driving Licences and Thailand Police Checkpoints
in order to legally rent a bike in Thailand you’re supposed to have an international driver’s license and this should prove that you’re capable of riding a bike however most rental companies won’t ask you for this international driver’s license before renting one. In want.
in places like Phuket and Chiang Mai where a lot of these accidents happen you’ll see a lot of police checkpoints making sure that tourists have the required identification and licenses to be able to ride a bike and if you are caught without one it’s quite possibly you be prosecuted and made to pay a fine. Now what I find most strange around the conversation around this is that most people will say that it’s unfair on the tourists cuz the police are corrupt and they’re just looking for a Payday but guess what it’s also the law so.
Emergency Hospital Care and Medical Costs After a Crash
what happens if you do get into an accident? Well first of all you’re going to need to be transported to a hospital. The number for emergency services is 1669 and they will supposedly be able to transfer you at someone that speaks English. But how good is their English I don’t know I wouldn’t want to take that risk in Thailand it’s actually better to call a specific hospital. The problem with that is you have to know in advance which hospital you’re going to have an accident near and they’ll be the quickest one to be able to send an ambulance out to you to pick you up but you better pray it’s not rush hour, because traffic here gets pretty bad in Thailand foreign tourists fall under the private Health Care system. This means that if you need to see a doctor you need to pay which means if you require serious surgery you may need to guarantee a payment before you have the surgery this means that if you cannot pay you might die in fairness in the case of a serious injury it’s unlikely they’ll make you pay beforehand they will take you in for the surgery to try and save your life, but one of the biggest shocks in an emergency like this can be the financial burden on your family and the emotional stress it requires for them to be able to raise the money to help you.
Liam Kilby and what his family had to do in order to be able to help him his family had to raise £20,000 for flights and medical bills a week after the crash his sister Molly said we’re trying to raise funds for flights home and for the final bill payments he won’t be allowed to leave until the bill is completed we’ve paid 12,500 but they are still very demanded for the rest they would like to discharge him within two or 3 days but would like the bill fully paid off first she went on to say that they had exhausted all of their options to find the remaining £4,000 to get him home she asked for one last push to raise the money on Liam’s GoFundMe page which had already raised around £17,000.
Travel Insurance Repatriation and Safer Riding Advice
this is why it’s so important to take out medical insurance before coming to Thailand but also to fully understand the details of the insurance policy. Most policies will not cover you if you’re intoxicated while driving not wearing a helmet or do not have the required license to drive the bike but one thing I’ve learned the highway during my time in Thailand under the private healthcare system is that insurance companies are sneaky little B and they will try their best not to cover the full cost of the surgery if they don’t absolutely have to there was a case of a British man Leigh who thought he was 100% covered by his medical insurance as he’d taken out for the whole year of traveling what he didn’t realize was that this policy required him to travel home every month in order to ensure the validity of his insurance policy and he was left having to cover the full cost of the payment by himself despite having taken out insurance.
in 2023 there were a total of 23 British citizens that were forced to appeal for financial help through sites like GoFundMe the price of healthcare funds ranged from £25,000 to £300,000 with the average cost being 00,000.
but what if you die well your family is still going to have to pay for your body to be repatriated back to your home country with the average cost of a corpse transported to Europe being £10,000 or £5,000 for crated ashes.
even if you don’t have a large hospital bill you’re still going to have to cover the cost of the damage to the bike.
the most dangerous place in the country for foreigners to ride a bike is Chiang Mai with 49 deaths per year. Then Bangkok where 44 foreigners were killed last year 44 in Chiang Mai, 44 in Pattaya, and 33 in Phuket. Some of the best experiences I’ve had in Thailand. Have been driving on a scooter and exploring the country I do however always advise them to take the necessary precautions telling them to make sure that they have valid insurance and know the terms of that insurance policy. Have an international driver’s license have some emergency funds, just in case know the nearest hospital, and have a contact number for it. Don’t drink and drive, I mean, come on and most importantly to wear a helmet.
