A motorist was seriously injured when a motorcycle taxi made an illegal U-turn at a zebra crossing in Thailand.

The male rider, whose name was not disclosed by police, was struck by Thai taxi driver Jetsadapornphong Tonnoi, 23, along Jomtien Second Road in resort town Pattaya.

The impact knocked him off his Triumph Trident 660 motorbike and left him with severe injuries.

A rescue team arrived at the scene after being notified about the crash at 10 pm local time on Tuesday.

They found Jetsadapornphong, a driver for the Bolt ride-hailing app, lying in the middle of the road, while his Russian passenger was on the median reservation suffering back and chest pains.

Some 1,000 feet (300 metres) away from them was the damaged Triumph Trident vehicle.

All three men were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Police Captain Chainaret Pengkaen of the Pattaya City Police Station, said: 'Witnesses said the Thai driver was making a U-turn at the median strip near the zebra crossing when another motorcycle slammed into him, sending the rider crashing into a palm tree and leaving him badly injured.

'We will review the CCTV footage from the scene to determine the true cause of the accident and take legal action accordingly, to ensure fairness for everyone involved.'

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, all appear to hamper the efforts.