Thread: Phuket Motorcycles Crash, Killing European Tourist and Burmese Man

Phuket Motorcycles Crash, Killing European Tourist and Burmese Man - Phuket Wan

Phuket Motorcycles Crash, Killing European Tourist and Burmese Man

By Sert Tongdee
Monday, April 30, 2012

PHUKET: An Austrian tourist and a Burmese laborer died on a Phuket road at the scene when their motorcycles collided on Phuket's holiday west coast last night.

Police were today still trying to determine the cause of the unusual crash, wondering especially why the Burmese man was on Patak Road in Kata at 11.40pm.

The Austrian man was travelling towards Chalong Circle while the Burmese man, Goh, 34, was riding in the opposite direction towards Karon Circle.

An international driver's licence established the identity of the 39-year-old Austrian man. Phuketwan has a name but will refrain from publishing it until his family have been informed.

His pockets contained 1000 baht and a key for the Rawai Gardens Resort. The motorcycle he was riding, a Yamaha Mio, had been rented from April 27 to May 6.

Burmese Mr Goh was riding a red Honda Wave. Neither of the motorcyclists was wearing a helmet.

The crash came near the Kata Temple, near a t-junction where traffic lights now operate.

Police are questioning why the Burmese man was on the road so late at night but the Phuket curfew of 8pm for Burmese has not been enforced for several years and Burmese are allowed to sit for Thai motorcycle and driver's licences, and use mobile telephones.

Mr Goh was a legal worker on a Phuket construction site.

Expats make up an unusually high proportion of deaths on motorcycles on Phuket. Although road deaths on Phuket are trending down, thousands of people are injured and maimed on motorcycles every year.

Lack of an efficient public transport system on Phuket is blamed for the high number of people who are obliged to use motorcycles.