Travel Insurance, Motorbikes, Helmets

[Mr Floatplane]

I went to visit a friend of mine a few days ago in a private Samui hospital – he was due to be released, but his stay was extended due to contracting food poisoning while at that establishment! The luck of the Irish!

In a bed down from my mate is a young lad who has just regained consciousness after yet another motorbike accident. It is beyond me why falangs come here and hire powerful big bikes when you can barely hit 50kph on the Samui roads. I scare myself enough with my 100cc Honda.

The poor fellow was not wearing a helmet...he has 200 stitches in his head, numerous broken bones, and no feeling in his legs – he also has no travel insurance and so far his bill is twenty thousand euros! I was told he will not be able to leave Thailand until he pays - his friends say he has no money - so the lad is in a pickle.

If you can’t afford travel insurance, then you can’t afford to travel. I do not know if it is common to travel without insurance, but I have been guilty of venturing off with no coverage – although it is friggn stupid.
I have also been guilty of not wearing a helmet on the Thai roads – and that is even dumber…

The nurses told me that in Samui there are 3 to 4 motorcycle deaths a month ( mostly Thais) but the official figures do not reflect this as deaths 6 hours after an accident are recorded as a death by natural causes! Go figure! Whatever the true numbers, every day I see Falangs bandaged up with motorcycle injuries.

- forget the recent sensational murder stories, if you are going to die in Thailand, the chances are it will be on the road…

I too like the freedom of roaring around without an armored skull – but I like living more…

If you value your life wear a helmet – and not those sh*t ones that come with hired bikes…Get a decent one that fits you…You can bye reasonable helmets at Tescos for a thousand baht.
If you don’t want to take it home, leave it with Nicke when you go, for the next BM to use, should it fit them.

Enjoy your holiday!

[JayBee]

Originally Posted by Mr Floatplane

I went to visit a friend of mine a few days ago in a private Samui hospital – he was due to be released, but his stay was extended due to contracting food poisoning while at that establishment! The luck of the Irish!

In a bed down from my mate is a young lad who has just regained consciousness after yet another motorbike accident. It is beyond me why falangs come here and hire powerful big bikes when you can barely hit 50kph on the Samui roads. I scare myself enough with my 100cc Honda.

The poor fellow was not wearing a helmet...he has 200 stitches in his head, numerous broken bones, and no feeling in his legs – he also has no travel insurance and so far his bill is twenty thousand euros! I was told he will not be able to leave Thailand until he pays - his friends say he has no money - so the lad is in a pickle.

If you can’t afford travel insurance, then you can’t afford to travel. I do not know if it is common to travel without insurance, but I have been guilty of venturing off with no coverage – although it is friggn stupid.
I have also been guilty of not wearing a helmet on the Thai roads – and that is even dumber…

The nurses told me that in Samui there are 3 to 4 motorcycle deaths a month ( mostly Thais) but the official figures do not reflect this as deaths 6 hours after an accident are recorded as a death by natural causes! Go figure! Whatever the true numbers, every day I see Falangs bandaged up with motorcycle injuries.

- forget the recent sensational murder stories, if you are going to die in Thailand, the chances are it will be on the road…

I too like the freedom of roaring around without an armored skull – but I like living more…

If you value your life wear a helmet – and not those sh*t ones that come with hired bikes…Get a decent one that fits you…You can bye reasonable helmets at Tescos for a thousand baht.
If you don’t want to take it home, leave it with Nicke when you go, for the next BM to use, should it fit them.

Enjoy your holiday!

The trouble with helmets is carrying them around after you get off your bike. If it is one of the crappy generic helmets, no problem, leave it with the bike, who would take it? But if it is a new, better helmet, then wouldn't someone walk off with it?

[LivinLOS]

Usually bigger bikes have some kind of locking system with a hook under the seat that hooks into the strap.. In fact the newer generation of mio / nuvo style bikes all have a helmet storage spage under the seat also..

I too am guilty of enjoying riding no helmet but I realise its reckless on big bikes.. On the scooters you can go about that pace ona MTB so I tend to only throw the lid on if I am going where police stop you..

[bigsquat]

Again- a question for the yanks- We don't really have "travel insurance" that I'm aware of- does anyone know if your typical blue cross health insurance would cover this? of course i'll call my agent tommorrow- just wondering if anyone has any first hand experience using american health coverage in thailand

[jimholio]

Ofcourse you have travel insurance, just call your local insurance company.
Even if its not named "Travel insurance" you definitly have something else to cover travels? Perhaps your home insurance?

[stevem]

It should be compulsory and checked at checkin at the airport. No insurance, no boarding. These days it can be as simple as just using your credit card and your covered.

[andy50]

read your policy small-print !!
you will probably find that riding a m/cycle is not covered!
some policys do cover up to 125cc engines -even then ,the cover is shi-te
saw a farang guy crash his honda sport bike into a wall and a thai on his bike
at the bangla cross road at the entrance to soi san sabai 2 days ago
it was a miracle he survived without too much damage
both bikes were totalled(and he wasn,t wearing a helmet !just a b/ball cap !

[Stevie42]

i'm not to sure about travel insurance but i have medical insurance (maybe not cheapest). i think this is your best bet when travelling cos the worst thing you can get hit with is medical bills when abroad. i use BUPA and am covered worldwide apart from U.S for some reason. gives me piece of mind to know i will be medi-vaced to a decent hospital and not the local witch doctor.

[Stevie42]

oh and if ur going to ride a cbr 600 with no bucket on u shouldn't be on it in the first place. these bikes are not toys. i dont like riding without leathers.