THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Motorbikes minus taillights are accidents waiting to happen

Motorbikes minus taillights are accidents waiting to happen

Crashes involving motorbikes account for most of the road accidents in Thailand, especially during national holidays.

I have 25 years of driving experience on Thai roads, and in the last three or four years I have noticed a rise in the number of motorbikes, most of them with pillion riders. Increasingly I see families with babies, school kids and grown-ups riding their Japanese bikes. They all have functioning headlights, brake lights and indicators – but so many of them have no taillights! 
Imagine this scene: Early evening, dark road, light rain and a speeding Toyota pickup with 40-per-cent tinted windscreen and 60-per-cent tinted windows. Ahead, on a Kawasaki 120cc, is a young family with their four-year-old daughter. They are wearing helmets – but there’s no taillight! They are almost invisible to pickup driver. The impact is horrific. Three broken, dead bodies. And their second-hand motorbike without a taillight. 
Count the number of bikes without taillights next time you’re out driving after dark. 
John K Lindgren 
“Auto” editor at Pattaya Today 

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