Phuket road rebels: Law takes a backseat as foreign bikers run wild

Police have yet to take legal action against two foreign motorcyclists who were caught on video riding dangerously down a main road in Phuket.

A Thai motorist who witnessed the reckless actions of the two foreign riders yesterday, October 29, recorded a video of their traffic violations and shared it with Phuket Times, today, October 30. The news page shared pictures and videos of the foreigners with a caption that read…

“Two foreigners in Phuket caused chaos on the road. They lifted the wheels of their motorcycle along the way on Wiset Road in the Rawai sub-district, heading towards the Chalong Intersection.”

In the images and a video, the alleged foreign motorcyclists can be seen performing wheelies in the right-hand lane of the road. Many cars and motorcycles followed behind them, and a black pickup truck trailing the riders had to brake suddenly when the two lifted their wheels.

According to Thai law, motorcyclists are required to ride in the left lane on all roads. These two foreigners also violated traffic regulations by performing dangerous wheelies.

Following their violations, the two may face imprisonment of up to three months, a fine ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 baht, or both, according to Section 43 of the Land Transport Act.

As of now, the police have yet to intervene or investigate the matter. One Thai netizen commented that she had seen this pair earlier near the Banzaan Intersection in the evening on the same day and even wished they would crash their motorcycles to learn a lesson.

Another Thai man claimed that the black pickup truck seen in the video was in league with the two riders, with people in the vehicle filming the wheelies for the motorcyclists.

A Thai woman remarked that although she did not often travel in the Rawai area, she witnessed dangerous driving by foreign motorists every time she visited.

In a related incident, a Russian man crashed his black pickup truck on a road in the Kathu area this morning, October 30. Pictures shared by Phuket Times showed the road was wet from recent rainfall. The accident occurred on a dangerous curve of the road, which officials had painted red to warn motorists to slow down.

The Russian driver managed to escape the accident uninjured and was seen using his phone outside his overturned vehicle.