Thread: End This Visa Run Madness: Phuket Expat Tells of Horrific Trip and Starts Campaign

End This Visa Run Madness:

Phuket Expat Tells of Horrific Trip and Starts Campaign for Change
By Reid Ridgway, of Visa Run Safety Forum Phuket
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Phuketwan 'Brave Enough to Change' Campaign

PHUKET: Reid Ridgway is raging mad and not prepared to play Russian Roulette any more. Here, the veteran expat describes his Visa Run nightmare at the weekend and explains why it's time other expats joined him in saying:

''Enough. For too long, our lives have been needlessly put at risk by these maniacs at the wheel. Let's stop this craziness now.''

ON SATURDAY, six expat residents of Phuket were forced into a van and held captive for a terrifying 12-hour ordeal, helplessly peering out the windows, racing at speeds exceeding 130kmh, as the driver flew around one blind curve after another in the oncoming lane.

The driver of the van ignored all pleas to slow down, laughing at his passengers' fear, and flashing a peace sign at them.

He tailgated truck and trailer rigs, then lurched into the other lane to speed around them - even if they blocked the view of any oncoming traffic, racing them around the outside of the curves, testing the limits of gravity.

He roared to the inside of curves, breaking to the right, counting on blind luck to avoid a spectacular head on collision.

Each passenger was forced to take the gamble with him at every turn, hoping his luck held out and their lives were spared.

Several times his luck didn't hold out, and we were all suddenly dependent upon the awareness and quick reflexes of other drivers - stunned by sudden appearance of the rocketing van bearing down on them in the wrong lane around a blind curve. Three cars blowing by one another at great speeds.

Each passenger could only pray that some driver coming the opposite way wasn't taking similar risks and passing on a blind curve - four cars would never be able to avoid certain tragedy.

The van driver blew by cars on narrow bridges, blew past a group of bicyclists, nearly killing a mother and child on a motorbike, honking at them as they attempted to turn right on to the highway.

One incredible risk after another, the maniac drove onward, somehow narrowing escaping the statistical odds.

The van never slowed until it reached Ranong, where the six expats were hustled onto a rickety boat, and taken across the border to Burma (Myanmar) . . . to get their passports stamped, then herded back into the same van for the equally terrifying ride home.

This was not an abduction. The driver, [ name deleted], is not considered a criminal but a professional driver for a tour company, even though he daily breaks every traffic law on the books, and makes a mockery of professional driving.

It's called a visa run, and it is the fate of several hundred expats every single day. These people are the paying customers of a poorly regulated offshoot of the tourism industry.

Nothing is exaggerated in the story above. Every word is true, I was one of the six terrified people, forced to endure the harrowing ride because my own vehicle is currently in the body shop, and because my visa was about to expire.

When I could take the mounting stress no longer, and after making it very clear I needed him to slow down on two occasions, I angrily shouted at the driver to stop taking chances with our lives as he pulled yet another stunt so stupid and dangerous that we all nearly lost our lives, taken away by a foolish jackass.

INSTEAD OF SLOWING down, he flipped me the bird, and sped up. I didn't back down and continued to yell for him to knock it off.

His next response? He lurched into the oncoming lane and played ''chicken'' around the inside of the very next bend.

There was no reason to be in the lane, no other car to pass. It was just to show me that he wasn't going to be told how to drive.

I called him an idiot, and threatened to call his company. He held up his mobile phone to test my resolve then pulled tp the side of the road, shouting: ''F*** you, get out now. Get out! You get out now.''

I refused. Even though I so badly wanted out, we were were in the middle of absolutely nowhere, hundreds of kilometers from Phuket, and I didn't have enough cash to make my own way back home.

He drove off. The madness continued.

Several more times we would narrowly escape collisions as three cars met on a curve and blew past each other.

Back on Phuket when the terror was over and the driver got out and switched vans with another driver, two of the other passengers confided to me that they had every urge to jump out, too.

They were sorry they had not supported me verbally. They said they were intimidated and afraid to speak their minds.

I was also afraid to speak up until I had this thought: ''What would I do if my children were in this car. Would I still say nothing?''

It was then I realised that I would never have put up with anyone risking their young lives in this way and causing them fear and stress. Not for one second.

I would have physically wrestled control of the vehicle to protect them if necessary.

Expats are forced into these vans by Thailand's immigration laws. Although I have three Thai children and a Thai wife, I am still forced to go in an out of the country constantly, and I have been for 12 years now.

GO AHEAD: Ask me why my own car happens to be in the body shop. I'm glad you asked:

While returning home from picking up my children from school three short weeks ago, we were the victim of a head-on collision by the driver of white tourist transport van used for visa runs.

The driver blatantly ran straight through a red light that had turned yellow then red, nearly six seconds earlier.

He got out of his van, waving his arms in anger, and later tried to kick me in the crotch at the police station because I called him a liar - as he was telling the police that his light was green.

When he tried to kick me, I had my one year old baby daughter on my shoulders.

Luckily a closed circuit camera caught the whole crash on video, including the state of the traffic lights, and his insurance is paying to fix my truck.

My rented car is unfortunately not allowed to leave the island.

I AM AN EXPERT in mass communications and media. I have worked at the highest levels of the tourism industry, serving briefly as a regional director of the largest and oldest tourism association in Asia, and as a consultant to the Lao Government to help them understand the human resources component of tourism.

I can tell you this about tourism. It is an industry extremely dependent upon customer satisfaction.

Individual tourism businesses normally compete to provide exceptional service quality: the expert care of needs, desires, safety, and comfort for their guests.

The industry polices itself because if people aren't satisfied, they don't come back. Today, with social media and sites like TripAdvisor, neither do any of their friends.

The visa run industry is exempt from this duty of care - only because tourists have no choice but to get into these vans.

It is not an elective tour activity which competes with other entertaining things to do. It is a nightmare that people must face if they want to stay more than a month on Phuket without becoming an illegal alien.

There is little to zero regulation or oversight on the drivers and the industry has filled up with grown men who drive like 14-year-old adolescents, showing off to one another.

There was actually a second van full of people suffering along with us. Several of them admitted their terror to me at the lunch stop and on the boat ride to Burma.

THERE IS NOTHING unique about the event I am describing. It is the same across almost every visa run company on Phuket.

I had a similar experience with a different company seven months earlier, on a trip to Penang in Malaysia.

Nearly everyone who has been on these visa runs will admit to you that they they become terrified by the idiotic driving they are forced to endure.

Even the burly Swedish biker sitting next to me was white knuckled and kept shaking his head in disbelief.

Very few people have the courage to say something because they are, after all, guests here in Thailand.

More seasoned expats just feel that it's only going to make the situation worse if the driver gets angry and agitated.

They may have a point.

Even if you haven't been in one of the vans yourself, nearly every one of us has a story of being placed in grave danger by one of them: dangerously passed by one, crowded off the road by one, cut off by one, or nearly colliding with one around a blind curve.

I'm speaking up and I'm asking everyone to stand together, to confront this problem, and speak up with me.

Report these drivers to their companies. Video their driving on your smart phone and turn them in.

I call upon the tourism industry to set some standards for hiring and for monitoring ground transportation drivers.

I call on the authorities to police this Visa Run industry, and revoke the driving privileges of those who gamble with peoples' lives.

Fine them, jail them. Their actions are criminal.

It is no different to spinning the magazine of a revolver with one live round in it, aiming at another's face and pulling the trigger and laughing at their terror, a game of Russian Roulette.

One of the last passengers to leave the vehicle on Saturday turned to me before he got out and said: ''I recently had a good friend who died on a visa run to Penang.''

Nobody goes on one of these trips with the desire to come home in a body bag. Enough of this nonsense.

I've had it. You've all had it. You don't have to put up with it. I'm speaking out, and I'm not going to stop speaking out until I affect change.

I'm going to print news and radio. I'm going to the insurance companies. I'm going to tourism industry itself.

I'm going to circulate petitions in the expat community and I'm going to present them to the Tourism Authority of Thailand and the Governor of Phuket.

Please sign a petition when it comes to you. I have started a Facebook page for people to report their experiences with these companies.

And possibly to start a non-profit van pool for people to share the cost of renting a van and driving themselves to the border - or hiring a driver who can demonstrate the maturity to drive safely.

Let's get this industry under control and save some peoples lives. It might just be your own, or a good friend of yours, after all it's just a lottery, a random chance.

But the statistics always bear out eventually, and it is going to be one of us who pays the ultimate price for not speaking up.

Let's demand these companies list their phone number front and center of the vehicle, and a second number for the police hotline if they can't get any help from the boss of the companies.

Let's demand all ground transport vehicles install a working dashboard cam to record the truth of the situation.

Let's stick together. It's a powerful thing when people are fed up and stand their ground in unison.

Who knows? Maybe some day we can even end the stupidity altogether and get Thai Immigration to collect all this wasted money for themselves, and stamp visas right here on Phuket.

Wouldn't that be amazingly intelligent?

JOINTHE Facebook group Visa Run Safety Forum Phuket and sign the online petition at: http://chn.ge/NK1hsJ

Contact the author directly at: [email protected]

Phuketwan accepts that there are some good visa run drivers, just not enough of them. Dashboard cameras and prominently displayed telephone numbers for instant complaints are good ideas. We wholeheartedly endorse Reid Ridgway's campaign.

phuketwan.com

Wahhhhmmmmbulance....


Tourists don't do visa runs.
You're not a tourist.
Despite having expert level jobs in many industries you don;t have 400k to put in the bank?


Wahhhh.

Originally Posted by Mid

He drove off. The madness continued.

and the madness was to stay with the van also.
there by the grace of chance
did he make it back.

next time maybe not.

he must love where he's staying to put up with that shit.

He had the chance to get out and chose not to. He lives in a country on tourist visas by choice. Boohoo.

^^^Yep to all.

Originally Posted by Mid

racing at speeds exceeding 130kmh

must be a Thai Visa mod.

Catch the big bus, it's slower, but safer.
When I lived in Samui did one mini van run, never again, big purple double decker, slow but sure.
Want a one day turn around, you need speed.

Doing my border run tomorrow, on my motor bike, day out in Lao.

... You lot who are mocking the article had better hope it's not your wife and kids that the next minivan smashes head on into around a blind bend

Fair call. But if I it wasnt for these cheap charlie visa run tossers we wouldnt have this problem at all.

the six expats should have hired their own car and driven themselves. probably cheaper too.

shouldnt be too difficult for expats to organise this. anyone who has been here for more than 10 minutes knows that putting your or your families safety in the hands of coach drivers and mini bus drivers is not the most sensible thing to do if you value your life.

Originally Posted by kingwilly

... You lot who are mocking the article had better hope it's not your wife and kids that the next minivan smashes head on into around a blind bend

Fair call. But if I it wasnt for these cheap charlie visa run tossers we wouldnt have this problem at all.

The issue is that he knew the risks, and he had the opportunity to get out and get the bus, which many of us would have done. I suspect that's why people don't like the article, and I had the same sense.

It doesn't mean there isn't a real issue with the drivers though - they do need somewhere between a good kicking and jail time BEFORE they kill people.

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Catch the big bus, it's slower, but safer.

Yes Jim - simple fucking logic innit.

Big bus - government bus drivers - on a salary - proud of their job.

Minivans - tin box on wheels - driven by crackheads - on the clock.

The choice is yours - think wisely.

Although I have three Thai children and a Thai wife, I am still forced to go in an out of the country constantly, and I have been for 12 years now.

No he isn't. If he has 3 children and a wife and he can't show either 40k p/m income or 400k in the bank to extend his visa for 12 months something is up.

Let's stop this craziness now.'

you will never stop the craziness by means of a public campaign, or by requiring drivers to be licensed, tested and vehicles to be checked.

there are already laws in place covering all those things, and there are ways around all those laws too.

if you want the craziness to stop, then just stop using their services and drive yourselves. without customers, the companies will not survive.

One way to deal with such idiots would be to first call the company and request them to call the driver and tell him to drive safely as he has already refused the requests of the passengers, and if he doesn't it is being video'd on the passengers smart phones and the videos of such will be given not only to the police but all manner of media outlets with the name of the company listed.

Originally Posted by ACT

It's the driver not the vehicle is dangerous

"that is dangerous" (thought with an MA you'd know that)

In 2D obviously, but when you look at the big picture it's very relevant what vehicle you are in.

Originally Posted by ACT

If he has 3 children and a wife and he can't show either 40k p/m income or 400k in the bank to extend his visa for 12 months something is up.

Yes - he doesn't have much money.

He does have a point.

The power of it is unfortunately lessened by the fact that he's so self evidently a complete and utter cock.

Everyone on board the bus should have gotton off when they had the chance and called the tour company from the roadside .
The driver is hardly going to arrive at his destination with no passengers

Originally Posted by jamescollister

Catch the big bus, it's slower, but safer.
When I lived in Samui did one mini van run, never again, big purple double decker, slow but sure.
Want a one day turn around, you need speed.

Doing my border run tomorrow, on my motor bike, day out in Lao.

agree, travel slowly

the article is quite off I think
Thai immigration authorities do not prescribe the use of vans

Originally Posted by Fluke

Everyone on board the bus should have gotton off when they had the chance and called the tour company from the roadside . The driver is hardly going to arrive at his destination with no passengers

The driver would have happily done that. You really do live in a fantasy world Fluke.

Originally Posted by pickel

Originally Posted by Fluke

Everyone on board the bus should have gotton off when they had the chance and called the tour company from the roadside . The driver is hardly going to arrive at his destination with no passengers

The driver would have happily done that. You really do live in a fantasy world Fluke.

I really dont think that he would have , how would the driver explain to his Boss turing up at his destination with no cargo?

Originally Posted by Fluke

how would the driver explain to his Boss turing up at his destination with no cargo?

He would say "farang mai dee, poot mak, think too mut" and his boss would say okay fair enough.

Originally Posted by pickel

Originally Posted by Fluke

Everyone on board the bus should have gotton off when they had the chance and called the tour company from the roadside . The driver is hardly going to arrive at his destination with no passengers

The driver would have happily done that. You really do live in a fantasy world Fluke.

I've done hundreds of bus journeys - like most of us have.

I've seen this shit a few times.

To be expected with the way the Thai labour market works, no laws and a .000001% unemployment rate.

If you get one of these fucks - get out at the next traffic lights. Maximum time lost 2-3 hours. Never put your life in the hands of someone who doesn't give a fuck about your life or theirs. Don't sit and argue the fvcking toss. That's just how it is and life is short

No brainer