We are still pretty shaken up and in disbelief from the position that we were thrown into this afternoon. A typical ride home after picking up Angela from school turned into an ordeal that we won’t soon be able to forget. It has been less than five hours since the incident happened, so we think writing about it might help us deal with it better.
At about 4:00pm while we were on our way to our usual afternoon coffee stand, we were stopped at the very busy Pantip Plaza intersection at Chang Klan Rd and Sridonchai Rd heading west. We did what we usually do and slowly crept up towards the front of the pack of cars, which is the standard practice in Thailand. The line of traffic was long, and when we reached the front we took notice that we were the only motorbike there.
By now I am well aware of the traffic light pattern, and I was patiently waiting for our turn to proceed through the intersection when I heard a crash sound coming from my right side. Angela and I quickly snapped our heads to the right and witnessed a big silver minivan rear ending a Thai woman on a small motorbike. My first thought was that the minivan was going to stop because the collision took place on the front driver side quarter panel. There was no way the minivan driver couldn’t have realized what he just did…but he didn’t stop.
Shockingly, the driver continued to push the bike off to the side of the vehicle, but not before the woman on the motorbike was forcefully knocked down to the pavement, directly into the path of the minivan. That is when Angela and I started to yell as loud as we could while simultaneously jumping off of our motorbike toward the unfolding accident. Our shouts did nothing. The driver continued to push forward, lodging the small petrified woman under his front bumper.
We could not believe what we were witnessing as we saw the helpless woman rolling under the front of the minivan like a rag doll. We proceeded to leap in front of the vehicle and throw our hands up frantically. The driver and the passenger in the front seat had very confused looks on their faces. It was clear that they knew they hit a motorbike, but it was obvious that they had no idea that there was a poor woman trapped underneath the front of their minivan. Wide eyed and not able to fluently speak Thai, Angela and I motioned with our hands that there was something under their vehicle.
Going back and forth from the eyes of the screaming woman to the dumbfounded faces of the minivan drivers, I made the quick decision to instruct them to back up. Luckily the woman was flat on her back and in no position to be pulled backwards.  As the van gave way she let out a loud sigh of relief. Angela and I signaled to the woman to stay on her back while the driver of the minivan guiltily began to look her over for visible injuries. It was at this point that we saw a policeman running across the street from the traffic booth he was occupying.
Quickly glancing around, I was taken aback by the amount of people simply looking on from the safety of their cars. Not a single person had gotten out of their vehicle to help. I could even see the driver of the car behind my abandoned motorbike start to become frustrated by the obstacle I left in front of him. Maybe he didn’t see what happened, and maybe all the onlookers were proof of the harsh reality of the bystander effect.
With shaky hands I ran back across the double line in the road and pushed my motorbike onto the bordering sidewalk while Angela stayed with the woman. By this time, there were two policemen marking the accident scene by spray painting white lines around the minivan’s tires and blue lines around the woman’s banged up motorbike.
Being rush hour, there were countless cars and motorbikes zipping around the scene, so one of the policemen had the driver of the minivan pull his vehicle to the side of the road while the other picked up the motorbike and placed it on the curb. Thankfully the victim was the exception to the rule and was smartly wearing a helmet, long pants, a jacket, and shoes. We watched as she lifted up her ripped pant legs and sleeves to reveal that she was not bleeding. Crying and angry we could hear her disdain for the minivan driver in the sharp tone of her voice. We also heard her mention the word farang (foreigner) once or twice. We didn’t know if she knew that we had saved her from being crushed or if she thought we were complicit, but we were just glad that she was ok.
Next, one of the policemen quickly walked towards me. I was pretty nervous that we might be placed with some of the blame because I’ve read in many online forums that if you are a foreigner and see an accident in Thailand, you shouldn’t involve yourself. To my relief, the policeman smiled, patted me on the back, and said in English, “Thank you.” Feeling relieved, I returned the pat on the back and tensely said, “That was scary.” Briefly forgetting what country I was in, I could see that he didn’t understand a word I just said. He repeated his thank you and I replied with a “Khap khun khrup” (Thank you in Thai).
Angela and I sympathetically made eye contact with the woman one last time and stared with disapproval at the driver of the minivan before walking back to our motorbike. As we drove home, all I could do was shake my head back and forth and be thankful that we were able to get off our motorbike in time to jump in front of the van before the driver had a chance to crush the woman with the full weight of his vehicle.
Today is a day that we won’t soon forget, and it is going to be even harder for us to see adults and unsuspecting small children on motorbikes without helmets riding fearlessly through the busy streets of Chiang Mai.
Have you ever been involved in a life-or-death situation while on the road? What happened and how did you deal with it?
Scary story to read and witness. It is a relief to hear that the woman was okay in the end but what on earth was that driver doing? Whilst I’ve seen very few traffic accidents happen I’ve seen the immediate aftermath. A big crowd of people looking on in China as a dead body lay in the road (a cyclist who’d been hit by a truck). A dead driver sprawled over his steering wheel after what looked like a high speed crash in Riyadh. As for Bangkok I saw a woman running after a policeman whilst holding a small ball,… Read more »
There’s a chance the driver didn’t know she was even stuck under his bumper (her motorcycle got pushed way in another direction), but even so, why not stop?!
Even seeing the aftermath can be devastating, especially if it’s particularly gruesome. We’re thankful that the lady was safe and we didn’t have the images (and sounds) of her dying in front of our eyes!
That is insane! Good job for getting involved in that one. It is absolutely crazy that nobody really seems to care about stuff like that in Chiang Mai. I have seen people drive right on by the scene of a motorbike crash before as well and it blows my mind how someone could see it and not try to help. Good work on your part!
Thanks, Dave. We hope everything is going well in your travels. Get in touch if you make it back around these parts. All the best!
Thanks Guys.
I agree, there are some nice ppl here and its very safe compared to the US. By far more good than bad.
I just really felt bad for the guy, even though he was hostile to me. But maybe it was a test for me. Not sure.
Kevin
Who knows, but we are happy to hear that it didn’t escalate and that you had it in you to let it go. I might not have been so strong in a situation like that. Good example you have set for all of us. Thank you, Kevin!
Hi Guys What a small world it is, or should I say a crazy one, after hearing your story. Two nights ago, I was walking across the street to get some water near the Saturday night Market, it had just finished raining. After i crossed the street I heard a crash, I turned around and a guy had laid his scooter down in all the rain. He got up in a hurry and was looking at me as if I caused his crash. He had no helmet and no lights on his scooter as I observed it laying on the… Read more »
Hi Kevin, very sorry to hear about your ordeal. There are rotten apples everywhere, and sometimes they are unavoidable. Glad you aren’t seriously hurt and got away without any kind of issues with the police. We hope that you don’t let this one guy ruin your perception of this wonderful place. Good luck and take care!
Welcome to Asia! or TIA. ( This is Asia) I spent several years in India and this is common there. The things I saw were disturbing with very few of the public or Police wanting to get involved. It’s the same there, if you come up on an overturned car in the middle of the night as me and my GF did, you don’t want to be around when the neighbors come out and your a foreigner, they will automatically think that you were involved and start to take action. I lived outside of Panjim, the Capital of Goa, One… Read more »
We’re glad that this man received treatment in time thanks to you. If someone is in critical condition, it is a waste of time arguing over whether or not a car’s interior will get dirty. Hopefully that will be the only time that you will have to do something like that!
Wow. You had a hell of a day. I would have done the same thing.
Right on Jason. I think most decent people definitely would jump into action without thinking.
Holy Shit. Don’t get me started on motorbike/driving safety in Thailand. But I’ll reiterate what others have said, thank god you two had the common decency to help a person in need. Hugs :)
We know. It is a whole topic of its own. We try not to get too worked up about things we cannot change in a country that is not our own. We don’t want to be those kind of expats…Hugs back :)
What a horrible thing to have to be a part of.
I struggle watching children on motorbikes without helmets – especially when theres 2 adults, 2 children and one baby standing on the passengers legs and holding the drivers shoulders! … Looking at you Bangkok! That lady is very lucky that you were there,especially as nobody else was nominating themselves to help. Great job guys, x
Yes, that is definitely the worse! I have to look away when I see things like that and try to keep my distance as much as I can when we are on our motorbike.
It really takes a lot to step into a situation and try and help and thankfully I’ve never been involved in anything too serious or where someone’s life was at risk, but I’ve been that samaritan on occasion.
I commend you both for trying to do something and the fact that your instinct just came into effect without any thought just goes to show how great the both of you are.
We were just talking about the “instinct” affect over lunch today. We ran over and frantically tried to get the driver to stop without giving it a second though!
Thank you for also being a Good Samaritan!
You guys are my heroes!
You would have done the same :)
Nina and Ron, say; Sorry you had to witness this but thank god you were there and thank you for being good Samaritans. In the same situation we would do the same thing if possible. And keep up the outstanding job you do with your blogs to inform people of your experiences. I am certain you have made many a visitor and any one who has moved here’s life allot easier with the knowledge that you are generously providing.
Thanks you guys. We are just thankful we were there. We do hope our blog is helping a few people looking to make the move. Thanks for your support. We look forward to hanging out on Saturday!
what kind of camera do you use for your pics? they have a cool look
Thanks. We use a Nikon D7000.
Ack!! That’s so crazy. I’m sorry you had to see that, but glad you were there! Last week, our bus from Luang Prabang broke down three times and only once did someone stop to try to help. Everyone else just drove past, and some people actually pointed and laughed :-/
Tell us about it! Sorry about your bus breaking down. We feel that road behavior here is very strange. Most people seem to be courteous of other motorists and have no problem yielding or letting others pass, but as soon as trouble presents itself people tend to mind their own business and go on their way. We could be wrong though. We know there are good people out there.
When I was living in Chennai, India I was waiting at the corner of an intersection to walk across the street. A woman was standing beside me. I turned my head to look at traffic and I heard a scream. I turned my head back in time to see the woman who seconds before had been standing beside me was hit by a car. Her sari caught on the back bumper. She was dragged down the street through traffic. The driver of the car did NOT stop! He simply began swerving the car to shake her free. I was screaming.… Read more »
Very sorry to hear that you have seen such awful things in your life. We know it must be very difficult for you and we hope that it hasn’t completely ruined traveling and experiencing other cultures/religions for you. We are trying to move beyond it and look for the good in everyone. The way we see is that there are bad people everywhere, but believe the good heavily outnumber them. Take care and best of luck.
I have lived in Thailand several times over the years and ever since my first visit as a high school exchange student I have never quite understood the attitude of Thais to horrible traffic accidents. My first experience was while riding in the car with my host father (the most devout and gentle Buddhist I think I have ever met) when he pointed to an accident at the side of the road with a person lying half in the wrecked car and half out. He said “look, that man is dead” and continued driving. I was horrified. I guess I… Read more »
Yes, the cultural differences when it comes to death and how different countries handle it is definitely going to take time to get used to. As you know they don’t censor new channels and when there are car accidents they show it all (which may contribute to the desensitization). Your are right about riding bicycles on the busy city streets. I see a lot of foreigners around here that ride their bikes in the middle of the road. While this is relatively safe to do in the west, it can be extremely dangerous here. Most tourists don’t know they traffic… Read more »
I am SO glad you are both ok and the poor woman under the minivan is ok! I know that intersection well as I was living on Changklan Rd only a few months ago. I also can relate to the horror of a terrifying accident, as I flew off my motorbike into two lanes of oncoming traffic in rush hour on Lumphun Rd again, only a few months ago, which led to repeated hospital visits & 2 months in a full leg brace. (Despite my life-long experience with riding motorbikes, unlike many farang) Even with a helmet, my face was… Read more »
We are glad everything worked out too! We remember hearing about your awful accident a couple months ago and it was a big wake up call for us. Sometimes it is easy to forget how things can go wrong when you are living it up in such a wonderful place like Chiang Mai. We are so glad you are ok today, and very glad that you were wearing your helmet! The intersection that really bothers us is the one without the light just one more up towards the Old City by Gekko Garden Restaurant and the Imperial Mae Ping hotel…it… Read more »
Wow what a frightening experience. You were meant to be there in that woman’s time of need. Thank goodness she was not hurt worse. :-)
Yes, we are very thankful that we were in the right place at the right time. Would our day have been better had we been there 10 or 15 minutes later? Yes, but if we weren’t there when we were she might not have made it. We are happy everything turned out ok in the end. We will try not to dwell on it too much and just be thankful for the way things turned out. Take care!
Good on you for ignoring those forums! Honestly that sounds so frightening. Nothing (touch wood) has happened to me, but my bestie saw an old man hit and killed by a semi trailer. It took some months for the memories to fade for her, so have comfort that they will fade for you also over time.
I’ll stick to listening to my gut before I will ever listen to some strangers on a forum. Don’t get me wrong, some of the advice out there is extremely helpful, but at the end of the day you have to do what is right. Thanks for you comment, and we are sorry to hear about your friends bad experience. We are just glad the lady that got hit yesterday is ok…Take care.
It is no accident that you were in the right place at the right time to save a life! I’m sure both you and the woman involved will never forget what happened. I hope the driver of the minivan was charged for his actions.
I am sure you are right about not being able to forget. We didn’t want to stick around in the road for any longer than necessary, but I am sure the driver will see some sort of punishment. Things like that here are usually dealt with the at fault individual and the victim coming to a monetary settlement on their own. She deserves a lot for what she went through…
WOW! Very scary. That woman was lucky you were both there.
I’ve been in some crazy accidents when I was younger, all ones I walked away from unhurt. Nothing like that though.
Yeah, it is one of those things that you never expect to happen and are never fully prepared for…glad she is ok.
It will take a while to get this out of your head, but with this type of experience it might never escape your memory… but please know the shock will wear off, and it WILL eventually become a memory and a story to tell. Close to 15 years ago I was driving home from work and was stopped at a busy intersection, right behind a large mass transit bus. We were both waiting for the light to turn green so we could make a right hand turn. There was a woman standing on the corner waiting for the light too,… Read more »
That is an awful story, and we are really sorry that you had to see something like that. Nobody ever expects anything like that to happen. We are still shaken up. As I saw her go under the bumper I thought for sure she was going to be killed. I played it out in my head as we were trying to make it over to the minivan. Luckily for her the bumper was very low to the ground and the driver had a few other vehicles in front of him that prevented him from speeding off. Despite being hit she… Read more »
The other comments sum up my feelings. Glad you are ok and the poor lady. You did the right thing for sure.
Thanks Roger. We are glad everyone was able to walk away…
I am crying. You were in the right place to save a life. I think it is good that you have not seen accidents for nearly a year. This is high season with tons more tourists, probably makes the locals impatient. Thank you for writing this for everyone to read.
Sorry about that Lin. You are right, we have noticed the traffic getting a little worse as the days creep further into high season. Not two minutes after leaving the accident we saw a tourist that didn’t look both ways almost getting hit (at low speed) by a person turning into a shopping center on a motorbike. Everyone just needs to do a better job of paying attention. Patience will go a long way in keeping you safe on the roads over here. We will definitely do our best to be as patient as possible in the future. The way… Read more »
Thank you both for your actions. It saddens me to know that lots of accidents like this happen all the time with the drivers being completely oblivious or just don’t care about the pedestrians or their victims. Please be careful in your daily commute. And bless you both for saving the lady.
We hope she is doing ok tonight and we’d like to think that the minivan driver wouldn’t have tried to leave if he knew what we knew. This accident definitely will have us on our toes while we ride around in the future.
Wow! You did the right thing even if someone decided to blame it on the farang. Good going! Yes, safety gear is crucial there.
Yea, honestly that thought didn’t cross my mind until we saw that she was ok and things started to de-escalate. Don’t leave home without your helmet! It boggles my mind when I see tourists and backpackers cruising around without helmets. What really gets us is when we see someone riding around with their helmet in their lap or on their handle bars so they can quickly put it on if the police are around. Seems silly and like even more of a hazard!
Whoah…. what an ordeal!!!! Good on you for jumping in and preventing it from being a fatal accident. We are constantly in awe of the traffic here in Samui. Every day I am surprised when we don’t see an accident.
We think the same thing. In eight months we have only seen one accident happen (today) and see 3 right after the fact. In all 4 instances everyone walked away mostly unscathed. It blows our minds!
While touring Laos with a hired driver, we were passing through the rural countryside north of Vientiane when a motorbike passed our van at a high rate of speed. A few hundred meters in front of us was an enormous dump truck that began to make a left turn onto a farm road just as the speeding motorbike decided to pass him. from our van, I could see that this wasn’t going to end well. The motorbike barely clipped the front bumper of the truck and the rider and his motorbike flew through the air for about 20 meters and… Read more »
Sorry to hear about that Jim. I think due to the sometimes dodgy bureaucracy in SE Asia that a lot of people are taught it is better to just mind their own business. While understandable on a certain level we could never turn a blind eye if we have the opportunity to make a difference. We are surprised that after 8 months that this is the first bad accident we have come across. Hope we don’t see anymore…
Wow. No other words than..that’s scary. Glad you were able to help without getting injured. I don’t know how more people don’t get hurt seeing the way everyone drives without any safety gear.
We still keep replaying it over and over in our heads. We don’t even want to think about what would have happened if we weren’t there at that exact moment. It all just reaffirms the importance of driving defensively and being properly geared up over here.