Mark Steven Morrison, 45 from Ripon, North Yorkshire in England was pronounced dead on Pattaya Beach Road on Thursday, after falling from a Baht Taxi. The driver of Baht Bus Number 549, Khun Kempet aged 41 was arrested and placed behind bars pending further enquiries into the incident.
Witnesses explained that Mr. Morrison had spent the night drinking and was thought to be intoxicated. He summoned a Baht Taxi at the end of the road on Pattaya Beach. He stood on the platform at the rear of the vehicle. A sudden burst of power from the baht Bus caused him to be thrown off the back of the bus.
He hit the road, head first and sustained a fatal head wound and died at the scene.
http://www.pattayacitynews.net/news_08_11_50_2.htm
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Brit dies in fall from Baht Taxi
Started by DollyLamma, Nov 10 2007 11:05 AM
6 replies to this topic
#2
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Posted 11 November 2007 - 11:21 PM
You cant tell me they are more dangerous than those motorbikes?
I'd sooner be in the egg box.
Sounds like its the Brit who must shoulder the blame here. Arsehole gets pissed, arsehole thinks he's Superman, arsehole falls from taxi. Arsehole's problem. Or is it the old "oh he was only out enjoying himself and the taxi driver should have been more careful" routine?
I'd sooner be in the egg box.
Sounds like its the Brit who must shoulder the blame here. Arsehole gets pissed, arsehole thinks he's Superman, arsehole falls from taxi. Arsehole's problem. Or is it the old "oh he was only out enjoying himself and the taxi driver should have been more careful" routine?
#3
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Posted 12 November 2007 - 12:29 PM
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You cant tell me they are more dangerous than those motorbikes? I'd sooner be in the egg box.
I suppose we could all go by overloaded boat too, if the lunacy of driving on the back of some motorcylce taxi whose octane invariably exceeds the driver's IQ is to be the barometer for judging the safety of public transport here.
Piling people into the back of an open-air converted pick-up truck with absolutely no safety standards or protection, is not my idea of acceptable public transport - unless we're talking about the most primitive of impoverished third-world countries - which I don't think the Thai elite would consider their country to be. Unfortunately, public transit in Pattaya is just another example of how this country is run for the rich and privileged, with things like public safety of little concern to the Mercedes 500 crowd.
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Posted 12 November 2007 - 04:49 PM
Guess you're right Hedda.
Next time I'm in Thailand and a bunch of guys force me at gunpoint to get into a baht taxi I'll be sure to protest even louder.
Sorry for the sarcasm but there is a choice. Walk / wait for a bus / get your own bike or car but the last person to blame is the driver. Could it be better? - yes of course but that is up to people to stop using these things and demand improvement. If people just make do then it will never change. Just for the life of me cannot see why the driver is arrested for doing what hundreds of others do all day long.
Next time I'm in Thailand and a bunch of guys force me at gunpoint to get into a baht taxi I'll be sure to protest even louder.
Sorry for the sarcasm but there is a choice. Walk / wait for a bus / get your own bike or car but the last person to blame is the driver. Could it be better? - yes of course but that is up to people to stop using these things and demand improvement. If people just make do then it will never change. Just for the life of me cannot see why the driver is arrested for doing what hundreds of others do all day long.
#5
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Posted 12 November 2007 - 06:48 PM
QUOTE(Steve1903 @ Nov 12 2007, 05:49 AM) 
Guess you're right Hedda.
Next time I'm in Thailand and a bunch of guys force me at gunpoint to get into a baht taxi I'll be sure to protest even louder.
Sorry for the sarcasm but there is a choice. Walk / wait for a bus / get your own bike or car but the last person to blame is the driver. Could it be better? - yes of course but that is up to people to stop using these things and demand improvement. If people just make do then it will never change. Just for the life of me cannot see why the driver is arrested for doing what hundreds of others do all day long.
I agree to a point. They're cheap (10 Baht), run every couple of minutes, and are clean. So what does everybody want? Taxi's like in Bangkok? I think not. That would make travelling around here too expensive. Motorbike taxi? Well, as pointed out they're not particularly safe, but they're fast and depending upon your negotiating skills, cheap. They tried the busses for a while when I was here before. Are they still running? Haven't seen one this trip, and have never ridden in one (they're 20 baht).
Don't let one drunk falling off a baht bus of the probably tens of thousands of people who ride a day make everybody think they're dangerous. They're dangerous if you're drunk, or an old man who has trouble stepping up a couple of steps to get on. Does anybody know of the last time somebody died on one of these? Just remember to hold on. Tight.
#6
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Posted 12 November 2007 - 07:25 PM
"motorcylce taxi whose octane invariably exceeds the driver's IQ "
Lines like that get me mad! Why couldn't I write it? Well, I can steal it.
Lines like that get me mad! Why couldn't I write it? Well, I can steal it.
#7
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Posted 13 November 2007 - 01:01 PM
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They're dangerous if you're drunk, or an old man who has trouble stepping up a couple of steps to get on.
Don't look now, but you just described virtually all of the expats living here.
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Does anybody know of the last time somebody died on one of these?
Are we talking capital punishment or safe public transit ?
