A sinister looking stranger---streaked with black dirt, smeared with black asphalt--- loomed over my sunbathing body on this Greek Island beach. He cast a shadow, forcing me to open my eyes, look up.
Yikes…my husband! Holding various parts and pieces of a crashed rental motorbike, he mumbled something about wiping out on a curve on this hilly island. My first worry wasn’t him---after all, he was a responsible adult---it was the safety of two of our three teenage sons who had joined us on Santorini Island. Oh, they’re fine, he glumly admitted. But he was not.
Yikes…my husband! Holding various parts and pieces of a crashed rental motorbike, he mumbled something about wiping out on a curve on this hilly island. My first worry wasn’t him---after all, he was a responsible adult---it was the safety of two of our three teenage sons who had joined us on Santorini Island. Oh, they’re fine, he glumly admitted. But he was not.
Fast forward to Thailand where we are current visitors. Motorbikes choke the roads. They weave in, out, and around traffic. Their riders almost always sail through red traffic lights---located few and far between---ignoring basic traffic rules. Worse, riders are often without helmets, including their passengers who range from toddlers to school-age children, sometimes a family of five with the baby squeezed tightly in front of mom.
Wearing flipflops, scant clothing (it’s hot here!), motorbikes carry not only people but everything from plastic chairs to plants, groceries, pets, caged birds…whatever they need to transport.
Ever since, I’ve been skittish around motorbikes. Especially rentals.
Ever since, I’ve been skittish around motorbikes. Especially rentals.
. In this country with a sizeable population living in poverty, motorbikes are necessary for transportation. Gasoline, costing 20 baht (85 cents Cdn) and stored in reused liquor/wine bottles, is readily available at roadside stands, restaurants, small businesses….
Each day and night, we inevitably hear the wail of an ambulance siren and instinctively suspect a motorbike accident. There’s another motorbike accident. With our lodgings near the Bangkok Hospital, it’s easy to spot the victims. In one case, we winced in empathy as we spied a rider/passenger wrapped in neat, sterile-white bandages around his knees/legs and elbows/arms. Painful looking lacerations skidded along one side of his face. He could easily be mistaken for a mumbling mummy stumbling along the sidewalk. As he moved, the word agony comes to mind. Don’t think these patients were Evel Knievel wannabes either.
Each day and night, we inevitably hear the wail of an ambulance siren and instinctively suspect a motorbike accident. There’s another motorbike accident. With our lodgings near the Bangkok Hospital, it’s easy to spot the victims. In one case, we winced in empathy as we spied a rider/passenger wrapped in neat, sterile-white bandages around his knees/legs and elbows/arms. Painful looking lacerations skidded along one side of his face. He could easily be mistaken for a mumbling mummy stumbling along the sidewalk. As he moved, the word agony comes to mind. Don’t think these patients were Evel Knievel wannabes either.
A recent newspaper article here reports 80% of motorcycles are prone to accidents. “During the latest deadly week, 205 deaths were motorcycle riders who did not wear helmets.”
There’s a 1984 hit song by British singer/actor Murray Head that includes a couple of apropos lines in it… “One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble…. One night in Bangkok makes the tough guys tumble…”
I’m sure it’s because the guy is terrified to cross these busy Thai streets. They are crammed/jammed with traffic. Mostly dangerous motorbikes---yikes!
I’m sure it’s because the guy is terrified to cross these busy Thai streets. They are crammed/jammed with traffic. Mostly dangerous motorbikes---yikes!
Map: Thailand
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