Crash, crash, we all fall down

[Beemerfem]

Now I've been down twice and 3 times is NOT the charm. Crashes happen everywhere but with some of the latest posts it got me thinking... Can we get a short list of essential do's and don'ts when riding in Thailand? I always wear a helmet, it's saved my noggin a few times and I ain't interested in how I look riding. Don't like how bugs taste anyway. :thumbdown:

If someone doesn't wear a helmet, prefers a brain bucket or thinks riding around in t-shirt and sandals is cool they are most likely not going to care but some of us like our skin right were it is. I recall C-slash posted about a near run in with a truck. So what would you fellows - in your most awesome wisdom - suggest? Stay way left? Any particular place trouble is more likely to come from? Critter alerts? (here at home I try to avoid the mountains and countryside at dusk since deer just love running out in front of traffic).

Just a thought.
Iris

 

[Pounce]

Try here, Mark put together a good list.

safety-riding-tips-t4660.html#p26341

 

[Beemerfem]

Thanks Pounce, I missed that post (don't know how - it's big enough). I started to get anxious as I read it until I realized it sounds JUST like riding in downtown San Francisco at dinner time! :lol-sign: Good pointers though

 

[mikerust]

at dusk since deer just love running out in front of traffic

Here in Asia goats are the most dangerous.
Dogs sometimes but some are smart.
Goats are stupid...... "Oh there is some nice grass I'll just wander over there"

 

[Beemerfem]

Deer, goats, water buffalo, chickens...I am (so far) grateful that I have not killed any critters yet. Guys seem to be a bit more tough and realistic when it comes to roadkill. I just get all choked up over a chicken. Hey, everyone is entitled to one soft spot! :take-that:

 

[Pounce]

Choking the Chicken... LOL

That's a eupemism here in Aus. :shock:

 

[Beemerfem]

I said choked up OVER the chicken damit! :lol-sign: I'm afraid to ask but I'm gonna take a long shot and guess a similar saying is to spank one's monkey (so to speak). Before you say anything else just remember that a dude came up with that gem. But seriously, I get such a kick out of the way your minds work. See, I bet you thought I meant "men's minds" but I actually meant "motorcyclist's minds. :happy4:

 

[nikster]

Every time I have crashed - now not for a while, thankfully - I was mindless. Not paying attention and/or too fast.

So my conclusion is awareness and alertness. Give it 100% attention and you are safe. Same as snowboarding BTW. Well OK and don't go way too fast, drive by sight which means being able to stop in time for any static object just outside your range of vision. Probably more important than ever in Thailand where cars sometimes park on the highway (or even reverse?!!?)....

Expectations need to be adjusted to Thailand. People cut off turns; come at you on the wrong side of the road around corners; blindly dash out of tiny sois on the side of the road. That's just the way it is here. Defensive driving is asking yourself - could somebody pull out without looking somewhere down the road. If they could, they would.

Choking the chicken... haven't heard that one before, sounds ... rural

 

[Beemerfem]

Nik, thanks for getting us back on topic! :thumbup: I appreciate yet another way of considering. There are times I really want to just gaze and that's when I pull over. I read about the fellow in Phuket who did pull over but I guess not far enough. Some locals plowed into him and he lost a foot. Stories like this serve a good lesson if one listens. And the next person who mentions ANY form of barnyard animal is going to be on my hot list when I get to CM. :evil: