Expat blames reckless riding — not U-turns — for Pattaya road tragedy, citing firsthand experience with high-speed motorbike crashes. PATTAYA, Thailand – In response to a recent report by Pattaya Mail titled “Thailand’s infamous U-turns claim another life — this time in Pattaya,” a long-term foreign resident has pushed back against what he sees as misplaced blame, arguing that reckless motorbike behavior is the real issue on Thai roads. The expat, writing to the publication in a letter to the editor, expressed confusion over why the report appeared to fault the U-turn maneuver by a truck, rather than focusing on the conduct of the speeding motorcyclist who struck the rear of the vehicle at high speed. “According to your article, the motorcyclist hit the rear of the lorry at very high speed,” he wrote. “The lorry could just as easily have been making a right turn. I presume it had rear lights, which would have been visible if the motorcyclist was looking ahead.” Drawing on personal experience, the expat recounted a similar incident involving his brother-in-law, whose truck was struck from behind by a young man on a powerful motorcycle. “I saw this happen. The motorcyclist had his head down (presumably to avoid wind blast) and was not looking ahead,” he said, adding that the rider fortunately survived with only bruises, but the truck was badly damaged. “There is a problem in Thailand with men on powerful motorbikes putting their heads down and using the roads as a racetrack, and not practicing defensive riding,” the letter continued. “I suspect this was the case with the motorcyclist in your article — he probably had his head down to protect his eyes from wind blast and was not looking ahead.” While acknowledging that U-turns are often hazardous and poorly designed across Thailand, the expat asserted that focusing solely on infrastructure overlooks a much broader issue. “Rather than it being a national U-turn problem, I consider this to be part of the national motorbike problem, since the vast majority of road accidents involve motorbikes,” he wrote. The letter comes as road safety remains a top concern in Thailand, which consistently ranks among the countries with the highest traffic fatality rates globally. Motorcyclists make up the overwhelming majority of traffic deaths, according to national accident data. Earlier Report: https://www.pattayamail.com/news/thailands-infamous-u-turns-claim-another-life-this-time-in-pattaya-512630