A British shipping chief died when he lost control of his motorcycle and crashed into an oncoming driver in Thailand this morning.

Robert Griffin, 48, was riding his white Honda Click motorbike to the local shops when he veered into the opposite lane and smashed into the motorcycle-and-sidecar in Krabi province, in the south of the country.

The collision sent him spinning toward the grassy roadside, where he was found by police officers in the Ao Nang district at around 10 am on Thursday, August 10.

Robert, from Fife, Scotland, was lying lifeless with severe head injuries next to his damaged motorcycle. He was pronounced dead at the scene before paramedics took away his body in an ambulance.

The other unnamed driver, 35, who had been riding a Honda Wave with a sidecar attached, was also at the scene waiting for the officers. He was taken to the police station for questioning.

Robert's Thai wife, who has not been named, said that he was visiting her for one of his regular holidays to Thailand and had only arrived in the country the day before.

She said: 'He still lived in Scotland and came to Krabi a day before the accident. I think he was tired from the flight. I had gone shopping in the city when the crash happened.

'I am still in shock. I always told him to be careful on the motorbike. I don't know how he could crash.'

Robert had previously lead operations on cargo ships, oil drilling vessels and rigs with shipping giant Maersk. He joined a global shipping agency last year to carry on working while giving him more time to study for shipping exams to fulfill his dream of becoming a captain - the highest rank onboard a vessel.

He is understood to have been on holiday when the crash happened.

Police believe Robert may have momentarily taken his eyes off the road, then swerved out of control when he found he was driving in the opposite lane. He then fell head-first onto the ground without wearing a helmet, causing his death.

Police Captain Thirakorn Thairit of the Aonang Police Station said: 'The police intend to interview the other driver and witnesses as part of the legal process. The dead man's body will be handed over to his wife for funeral arrangements.

'The British Embassy in Bangkok has been contacted and informed of the death of their citizen.'

Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

However, a lack of road safety education in schools along with notoriously easy driving tests, police failures to enforce road laws, and chronic under-investment in infrastructure, hamper the efforts.

Motorcycle are one of the biggest dangers and the majority of accidents are related to two-wheelers.