Best Posts in Thread: expats in bike accident

Hi Jack and Pat, not sure about the Doctor part here, but for only P50 to P100 no matter how drunk you,, me or anyone here is, we can get home safe without killing ourselves or any innocent person, how hard is that? it's so easy to get a pedicab.

 

The man was bloody irresponsible driving in that state. Sorry if I offend anyone but if he had killed someone I love or relative or person I cared about, driving a motor cycle pissed up. No more words needed.

 

Being somewhat of an expert on drunks, as I was one for many years and have been sober for many years as well. I was in AA and worked on myself and helped others that had problems also. If a person wants to get drunk there is not much you can do to prevent it. You may stop it temporarily but they are the ones that makes the final decision and obviously this fellow made a bad decision that cost not only his life but someone else their life. Also a woman or women became widows and children became orphans because of the decision he made many times to drink instead of getting sober. The bar owner is not a baby sitter nor did he/she make the decision for this person to get drunk. It is human nature to try to blame someone like the bar owner rather than put the blame where it really belongs and that is to the one that got drunk.
This may seem harsh to some people but when it comes down to the "nut cutting" there is only one person at fault. JMO

 

I can understand Pats point of view and I can commend the thought But If we treat all Bar owners the same way we would none of us, have any where to Hold a Function, People get Stupid but that's a fact of life. People should take responsibility for their own actions. Not deny people because of it.
I understand that people Did in fact try and Stop this guy But..........
I am of course very Sorry for the other Guy and Condolences to his family.
As we say and it is more Prevalent, coming from a non religious man, "With the grace of God go we!" or do I mean Good Luck?

 

From the comments it appears that one guy was named Roger and he may have died from internal bleeding. The other guy probably died on the scene from severe head trauma. The picture seems to support this as one foreigner is seen receiving medical attention while the other is not.

Bottom line, driving motorcycles here is an extreme risk, no matter what you do.

My condolences to those involved, friends and family. This is a tragic event at any time. Tragic news for the holiday season. Also horrible for Flipflops as you never want to hear that one of your patrons was involved in a fatal accident after leaving your bar.

I don't even know how you could be fully safe driving a motorcycle, even sober. By getting from point A to point B in this country, you are taking many 3rd world risks. Driving motorcycles. Relying on the local emergency response system as well as the medical system. A lack of laws to protect you from yourself (no enforcement of traffic laws, including drinking and driving.)

Foreigners come here with little to no experience driving motorcycles. They drink and drive. Many have little to no money to deal with the consequences.

Driving in the West is so simple (though still dangerous.) Stay between your lines. Watch where you're going. Watch the signs. Here, it's like driving in a swarm with things coming at you in all directions. Your brain can't even handle the complexity of so much activity happening at once.

f*ck it. Take a pedicab or walk.

 

Hi Wrye. Tanjay PNP is an interesting place. Apparently, they like to handle things locally. The PNP summoned both parties to present their side of the story. My gf attended the meeting because her (Filipino) father was driving the motorbike. The idiot old man -- who was from Tanjay -- admitted fault and then the parties negotiated a settlement. Maybe the old man was just an honest person so he admitted fault. Maybe the old man knew there was a witness living along the road who saw his hat blow off, saw him attempt the U-Turn, and saw the accident. Anyway, we appreciated the old man's honesty so we were more accommodating regarding the settlement then we would have been if he tried to lie about what happened.

 

I saw the photos of this accident on the Dumaguete FB page. The photos are very graphic, but necessary (I believe) to generate a good discussion about wearing helmets.

I agree with Wrye! Wear a helmet! In fact, wear a full-face helmet! If you can afford a Spyder full-face helmet then get one -- and wear it. Many other helmets here might meet local safety standards, but I do not believe they are of the same quality as, say, Bell helmuts in America, so don't be fooled.

In addition, I recommend jeans, gloves (readily available diving gloves work good), and over-the-ankle boots. If you can stand the heat, wear a motocross jacket.

Riding around here often feels like the same level of hazard as riding on a motocross track -- actually worse in some ways because on a motocross track you land on dirt when you crash -- here you land on concrete.

Early this month some idiot on a 125cc made a sudden U-Turn on National Highway (near Tanjay) directly in front of my friend -- because the idiot lost his d*mn ball cap (wind blew it off) & he attempted a U-Turn to go back to get it. WHAM!!! Everyone ended up in the hospital. My friend's (non-Spyder) full-face helmet likely saved his life, but it also broke apart on impact and he sustained moderate facial injuries. The idiot old man on the other bike, and his daughter, and his grandson, were catapulted onto the highway -- they lived even though they were not wearing helmets.

A week later both drivers met at the PNP station where the idiot old man (who had no license & no registration) admitted fault & paid what he could afford, which was P15,000 -- that was only a fraction of the cost to my friend in motorbike damage & medical bills. So even if someone else causes the accident you may end up with a big financial loss.

Bottom Line: Some accidents cannot be avoided even with a high level of vigilance so expect the unexpected and dress properly!