Famed British Grand Prix motorbike racer Scott Redding is going viral (more so than usual) this week for bashing Bangkok motorcyclists who unapologetically ride on the sidewalks.
“No f**ks given here,” he declared on his video, which was posted as part of an Instagram story on Monday, after placing 16th in the Thailand MotoGP race at Chang International Circuit in Buriram province this weekend.
In the video, Redding films five motorbikes — a la selfie cam — driving past him on a Bangkok sidewalk during a traffic jam.
“Traffic jam? No problem, babs. I’ll go up on the sidewalk and just go,” he commentates on the clip.
His video has since be re-shared by a Thai Facebook user and local media, causing it to go viral.
“My Thai brothers and sisters, please stop this,” writes Thanachaiwat Kaveevathit in the Facebook group MotoGP Thailand Family, which has since received over a thousand reactions from netizens.
“How embarrassing is this? We have to be lectured by a foreigner,” wrote one Thai commenter.
“Great! We need to change. Thanks @reddingpower,” wrote another.
For decades now, Thailand has been notorious for our disorganized and sometimes deadly motorcycle use, and every Bangkok resident knows a sidewalk is not limited to just walking.
In fact, almost three quarters of road deaths in Thailand involve motorcycles, making us the deadliest country on earth when it comes to getting around on two motorized wheels.
Which begs the inevitable question: if deaths and getting slammed by famous racers don’t work, what is it going to take for the country to clean up our motorbike act?
