Irishman dies in motorcycle crash

[aussie dollar]

Saturday, January 21, 2006

Irishman dies in motorcycle crash


NAKALAY: Paul Dooley from County Cork in the Republic of Ireland died of head injuries at around 2 am on Wednesday, January 18, after a motorcycle crash on the Kalim-Kamala road, near the Thavorn Beach Village & Spa. He was 27.

Hélène Fallon-Wood, the Irish Honorary Consul in Phuket, told the Gazette that Mr Dooley had been living in Kamala for around three months, after having spent some time on Koh Samui. She said that he had planned to make Phuket his home.

Ms Fallon-Wood said that, according to the police report of the accident, Mr Dooley’s motorcycle left the road on a bend on a recently relaid stretch of road, and he collided head-first with what police described as “rocks in a bag on the grass verge”.

Mr Dooley’s brother arrived in Phuket today to take his remains back to Ireland.

[jimholio]

Thats realy sad, 27 years old. I wonder how it happend tho, if it was due to high speed or if he had to avoid something on the road. Either way, realy sad.

[odysseus]

Originally Posted by jimholio

Thats realy sad, 27 years old. I wonder how it happend tho, if it was due to high speed or if he had to avoid something on the road. Either way, realy sad.

no way of telling, don't appear to have been any witnesses.
but 2am - was certainly dark, weather conditions?
new road surface - can be really treacherous plus sand/debris/other sh*t on the road can = big problems.
puts into some context a recent thread about BM's learning to ride m'bike on the island, even the most experienced riders not immune to binning it.
At home i wouldn't consider going out unless fully armoured ie full leather, armoured boots, gloves, proper helmet. Last trip somehow thought little of riding ZX9 and Fireblade in shorts, flipflops and cheap lid - TIT and holiday mode but makes me wonder. Lucky, i quess
agree, very sad indeed. someone living the dream and ended so young RIP
Odysseus

[dogblower]

Whilst I have every sympathy for this man and for his loved ones, I have to ask "Was he wearing a helmet?". Head first into a pile of rocks sounds like it was probably head injuries.

[Crunch]

Originally Posted by aussie dollar

Saturday, January 21, 2006

on a recently relaid stretch of road

Tragic
relaid stretch of road= dodgy going for bikes.
Probably wont have even seen the different surface at 2am either.

[LivinLOS]

The death rate here on the roads is terrible..

As to helmet or not.. Those little plastic sandcastle buckets would have about the same protective effect as most Thai helmets..

[IRISH JONNY]

IN SOME ARTICLE THAT I READ LAST WEEK THE AVERAGE DAILY DEATH FROM MB ACCIDENTS IS 38

[syeatman]

Originally Posted by IRISH JONNY

IN SOME ARTICLE THAT I READ LAST WEEK THE AVERAGE DAILY DEATH FROM MB ACCIDENTS IS 38

and it's consistently 20 or more deaths in a month in Phuket, with normally one car and the rest are bikes!

Wonder how many are tourists, and how many actually ride bikes at home?

[stevem]

One day I was driving to the airport, and just around that last sharpish right hand corner, an airport taxi heading out of the airport, had run off the road and overturned. I could see at least 2 farang in the back, looked alive but pretty battered up.

What a welcome to Thailand they got!!!!

[fun2have]

i watched a couple of men hire one of those fast bikes down by the beach one time.

they just completed the formalities, and neither had a $10 helmet on, the rider sat on the bike with pillion, and ran the bike upto a huge amount of revs and was about to put into gear when the thai man stopped him.

it was an accident waiting to happen.

tourist riders out to damage themselves i think.

[fun2have]

i have known some bgs talk to their friends on arriving at a bar on the back of the bike with their bf of the moment.

and sometimes all i hear is the word kluah (scared), thais grow up on these things, so i think some of the holiday riders must terrify them.

[syeatman]

Originally Posted by stevem

One day I was driving to the airport, and just around that last sharpish right hand corner, an airport taxi heading out of the airport, had run off the road and overturned. I could see at least 2 farang in the back, looked alive but pretty battered up.

What a welcome to Thailand they got!!!!

yeah, those airport taxis (silver Toyota's) drivers are mental. Almost everyone I have been in have driven like headcases, especially coming over the hill dropping into Patong. Pretty scary sometimes.

I was nearly run off the road coming down the hill on my bike by one a while back. he just completely cut the corner when we were going round it, and he knew I was there as he had just passed me. I guess they are gagging to get back to the airport asap so they can get another fare.

The two worst taxi drivers I've ever had were on the same day going to Singapore. First from Patong to airport, in a clapped out Honda, the guy just could not drive a car - and it didn't help him wai'ing going over the hill past the chinese temple and heroines monument - no hands!! the worst thing was I'd booked him to bring me back in the evening already!

..and then the guy in Singapore driving with no shoes on and tailgating every car to about 2 feet and hounding them out the way, Thailand I sort of expect it but not in singapore!

[Warrior]

It was said before in this thread, you wonder how many of them have any bike experience back home
Even Thai sometimes think the circumstances on the road are dangerous and scary, so let alone an unexperienced driver...
But I know... driving a bike is goodlooking, relatively cheap, so what more can they wish for, apart from a lucky angel on their shoulder?

The alternative is sitting on the backseat of their BG´s motorbike.