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'Rescue' sticker on cars


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Hi just a quick question. I noticed a lot of cars with stickers on the back of them like this one.

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I managed to find this one in a shop. Unfortunatley the one with the girl removing or putting on her pants was sold out... :D

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Whats the story with these stickers ? Just wondering why so many people have them on their cars ?

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Hi just a quick question. I noticed a lot of cars with stickers on the back of them like this one.

Whats the story with these stickers ? Just wondering why so many people have them on their cars ?

Two quick reasons, there are either one of the many loser guys involved in volunteer rescue teams as it gives them a sense of excitement, purpose and power for their untrained boring lives. Or, as the rescue stickers have become somewhat 'trendy' over the years for a particular segment of the young male section of the community as it involves a myth of 'heroic guys rescuing sexy, injured young women', then for some the stickers represent a projection of self-image they seek.

I am being a bit harsh here but it with foundation. There are a lot of bored, drunk and violent guys involved in these rescue teams, commonly know as 'body snatchers/collectors'. It is not uncommon for them to fight over accident victims, especially a deceased as this is how they earn an income from the foundation they volunteer for, of which there are 3 main ones in BKK.

There have been numerous instances rescue guys shooting each other. There used to be turf wars but most areas are now well demarcated. You can see these guys having out at major intersections at night waiting for a report of an accident. They are in the whole not medically trained, have little rescue skills and drive like maniacs.....and that is when they are not drunk.

The Post and Nation have done some good back grounders over the years a The Big Chilli had an article on them earlier last year. The BMA is working towards establishing proper ambulance and rescue response but it is some years (decades) away.

If I had an accident the last people I would want to take me to hospital is from a rescue team.

I will copy a post from a Thai person taken from another site:

I have a few friends that WERE bodysnatchers. Usually they are a group of friends that hang around gas stations at night. They put on their uniforms and drink, talk all night. Yes they drink, beer, whiskey you name it. They wait with their tricked out pickup trucks, tricked out meaning they have turbos, dvd monitors, 1,000 watt sound sytems with 15" subwoofers, and lowered suspension, etc. They can do this because they are considered a service to a community, other people would have police writing out tickets to them. So they drink, talk and listen to the radio until they hear a "4-0" which is the code for a motor accident. Then voom they take off. Seriously some are drunk and all drive like crazy weaving in and out of traffic. I mean really crazy, and dangerous like weaving at 120-140 km/h. Sometimes I wonder if they really want to help at the accident scene or to just get their faster than the other foundations.

They only recieve a few hundred baht per person they send to the hospital which the hospital pays which then charges the patient. They receive a bit more for bodies collected and motocycles.

In one way its nice to have a these people help out at the accident because the police and emergency services in Thailand are so inadequate. But sometimes these people just put on their uniforms so that they can have some respectabilty and power that come with the uniforms. Most just put on their uniforms at night so that they can have a few drinks and some excitement in their usually morbid lives and low wage day jobs. Their is no reason to have children put on these uniforms because kids can't really help at an accident scene. Sometimes I think they have gone too far, instead of helping people they compete with each other for merits.

And from a Post article from Nov 08 after an incident in which 3 rescue guys were shot in a confrontation some weeks before;

Violent clashes between rescue agencies, particularly in the Greater Bangkok area, have long been a problem, but the situation had improved in recent years when the two largest foundations - Poh Teck Tung and Ruamkatanyu - reached an agreement on operating areas and times, often working on alternate days so their workers wouldn't fight over dead bodies and accident victims.

But an old player - the Siam Ruamjai Foundation - is back in town and has upset the delicate balance. Bangkok, it seems, is not big enough for three rescue agencies, so it's back to the bad old days. And yes, it does read like something from a Mario Puzo Godfather novel. In September last year, a Siam Ruamjai Foundation volunteer fired on a Ruamkatanyu rescue vehicle on Seri Thai road, wounding two people. The incident sparked a new wave of violence between the organisations.

After the shooting at Nopparat Rajathanee Hospital, on Sept 28 Ruamkatanyu's rescue vehicle was ambushed in the Bang Kapi area by assailants hurling rocks and fire-bombs. Two people were injured. The victims told police they were attacked by Siam Ruamjai volunteers. On the night of Oct 1, Siam Ruamjai and Poh Teck Tung volunteers clashed with knives and guns at a PTT petrol station on Ekkachai road in Bang Bon district. Four people - one from Siam Ruamjai and three from Poh Teck Tung - were injured.

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Hi LakeGeneve, thanks for your detailed and fascinating reply. I had thought they were a fashion thing like you say, maybe a subconscious projection of self image. But I wondered if these were characters from some Thai cartoon/ film or literary source.

Your quoutes about the Rescue Teams/ bodysnatchers was something I'd never heard of before and very interesting to read. :D Thanks.

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The funny part is that I have been wondering the same thing for years. Even experienced expats I ask only seem to have an "idea" about what the stickers signify. I've asked Thais too but either they don't quite get why I'm asking or they don't know either because I tend to get a very short answer and then an immediate change of topic. :-)

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