Italian tourist, 59, dies in motorbike fall at Big Buddha viewpoint

[samsensam]

 

i did a quick poll while waiting for a bus in bangkok the other day, just to see how the police crackdown on wearing helmets was going; about 60% of riders wearing helmets,  only about 10% of passengers wearing helmets, here's the worrying statistic, almost all children being taken on motorcycles were not wearing a helmet.

[NCC1701A]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

Would the name of the Thai woman driving the bike help you?

It would depend on what she looked like.

[marioc]

3 hours ago, stevenl said:

Would the name of the Thai woman driving the bike help you?

There was not any Thai woman involved! It was a motorbike taxi!

[steven100]

4 minutes ago, marioc said:

There was not any Thai woman involved! It was a motorbike taxi!

but the thai gf ...  ?  and his mobile and cc.  ??

[stevenl]

6 minutes ago, marioc said:

There was not any Thai woman involved! It was a motorbike taxi!

From the article "The motorbike was driven by a Thai woman, who Lt Chanat declined to identify. Reports in the Italian media note that Mr Spatafora was travelling on a motorbike taxi at the time of the accident."

 

Thai woman seems more likely to me than motorbike taxi. And even if motorbike taxi, it could still have been a Thai woman.

[happyas]

11 minutes ago, samsensam said:

 

i did a quick poll while waiting for a bus in bangkok the other day, just to see how the police crackdown on wearing helmets was going; about 60% of riders wearing helmets,  only about 10% of passengers wearing helmets, here's the worrying statistic, almost all children being taken on motorcycles were not wearing a helmet.

Amazing outcry on this forum everytime a helmetless death occurs.

The death and disability rate in LOS from diet and drinking/smoking AKA "living daily life" is many many times higher than bike crash numbers.

This guy is an example and i see more and more that are similar.

PS and you don't have to be obese to be in the high death toll of bad lifestyle choices.

 

 

                                            

[KarenBravo]

43 minutes ago, happyas said:

Amazing outcry on this forum everytime a helmetless death occurs.

The death and disability rate in LOS from diet and drinking/smoking AKA "living daily life" is many many times higher than bike crash numbers.                                            

Oh well, that's OK then. Won't bother with the helmet anymore. Thanks.

[marioc]

58 minutes ago, stevenl said:

From the article "The motorbike was driven by a Thai woman, who Lt Chanat declined to identify. Reports in the Italian media note that Mr Spatafora was travelling on a motorbike taxi at the time of the accident."

 

Thai woman seems more likely to me than motorbike taxi. And even if motorbike taxi, it could still have been a Thai woman.

58 minutes ago, steven100 said:

but the thai gf ...  ?  and his mobile and cc.  ??

Apologies... I had just read Italian medias.

[happyas]

14 minutes ago, KarenBravo said:

Oh well, that's OK then. Won't bother with the helmet anymore. Thanks.

If you fit any of the criteria i posted, then you may as well not.

It's your choice if you want to die/be incapacitated either way huh.

[happyas]

1 hour ago, happyas said:

Amazing outcry on this forum everytime a helmetless death occurs.

The death and disability rate in LOS from diet and drinking/smoking AKA "living daily life" is many many times higher than bike crash numbers.

This guy is an example and i see more and more that are similar.

PS and you don't have to be obese to be in the high death toll of bad lifestyle choices.

 

 

                                            

PS too much crack can also be a killer

[cookieqw]

3 hours ago, impulse said:

 

I ride them every day in BKK.  It's a decision based on convenience and time saving, vs the increased risk of being killed.  Just like wearing/ not wearing a helmet is a decision based on the convenience vs the increased risk of being killed.  If I'm going from the house to the office, where I can stash a helmet on both ends, I wear one.  If I'm going from the house out shopping, I don't.  I'm not carrying a helmet around for hours for a 2 minute ride.  So I don't look with disdain at the folks who choose not to wear one.

 

I also do a quick calculation of the risk of picking up lice from loaner helmets, but that's another topic for another day...

Lice ? Is that why I’m always scratching my head reading TV

[Timbob]

I'd say about 50% of tourists don't wear a helmet. I'd love to see the police actually start enforcing the law and tourists should get fined double, as there's no way they'd do the same in their homeland.

 

Having said that, I rented a scooter when I first came to Phuket as a tourist (about 7 or 8 years ago) and I did not wear a helmet. It was purely for vanity reasons... to not mess up my hair! And also because it seemed like nobody else bothered either. I always wear a helmet when I ride now and I look back and realise how stupid I was. Really, really stupid!

 

I was lucky. Mr Spatafora was not. May he RIP.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Timbob

[impulse]

44 minutes ago, happyas said:

1 hour ago, KarenBravo said:

Oh well, that's OK then. Won't bother with the helmet anymore. Thanks.

If you fit any of the criteria i posted, then you may as well not.

It's your choice if you want to die/be incapacitated either way huh.

 

From the minute we get out of bed, we're doing stuff that puts us at some risk of being hurt or killed.  (Ever seen how many people are killed in their bathroom?)   Some of the most fun and rewarding stuff also happens to carry some of the highest risks.  And some of the steps we can take to mitigate the risk aren't really worth the cost and the hassle. 

 

Ride a scooter, don't ride a scooter- up to you.  Wear a helmet, don't wear a helmet, same- up to you.  We all make our own decisions based on our own priorities.  I just like to have the data, as opposed to the emotional part of the argument.  And I realize that my decisions may not be in alignment with other people's beliefs.  To which, I don't care.

 

Edited December 28, 2017 by impulse

[impulse]

12 minutes ago, Timbob said:

I'd say about 50% of tourists don't wear a helmet. I'd love to see the police actually start enforcing the law and tourists should get fined double, as there's no way they'd do the same in their homeland.

 

Why?    If they're not putting me at risk, or costing me any money, why would I want them to be penalized by the cops for their decisions? 

 

Personally, I'd prefer the cops would focus on stopping the behaviors that put innocent 3rd parties (like me and my loved ones) at risk.

 

Edited December 28, 2017 by impulse

[watcharacters]

8 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

RIP.

I wonder who the driver was? And as usual no helmet. Even a cheap helmet may have saved his life.

 

 

 

You know as well as i do that the cheap helmets are worthless.

 

 

 

 

[Psimbo]

Ahhh- armchair Clouseaus on the case yet again. RIP.

[Timbob]

2 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Why?    If they're not putting me at risk, or costing me any money, why would I want them to be penalized by the cops for their decisions? 

 

Personally, I'd prefer the cops would focus on stopping the behaviors that put innocent 3rd parties (like me and my loved ones) at risk.

 

Why? To help prevent more deaths on the roads. I don't like reading about people getting killed, even if I don't know them personally. Also, those who don't wear a helmet are also more likely to ignore other traffic laws. It's the thin-end of the wedge. Zero-tolerance, IMO.

 

And it's not an either/or issue. The fines could help fund the policing of more serious violations (I'm assuming of course that the fines don't go in the back pocket!).

[beechbum]

It's more young kids with no helmet, to young to realise their heads as fragile as an egg.

Many years ago coming over the hill from Patong to Kathu i witnessed a mother beside the road holding the saging body of her child(maybe 6 or 7 yrs old) thats head was pulp on one side, brains everywhere, a fallen scooter nearby, no helmets.

For that reason parents, cops, teachers NEED to teach/insist kids wear helmets, it's so bloody easy to get then into the habit at a young age. 

[cat handler]

13 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

RIP.

I wonder who the driver was? And as usual no helmet. Even a cheap helmet may have saved his life.

 

No, a cheap helmet would be as good as half a watermelon on his head. I take my own helmet to Thailand, a Bell Rogue.

[dunroaming]

9 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

Been riding a scooter in Phuket for over thirty years and I'm still here without a limp. I have probably outlived quite a few car drivers, though, I get your point.

Yes I rode a bike in Thailand for nearly 14 years.  However I was taken out once by a hit and run driver in a pick-up running a red light.  After that my wife would go ape if I didn't strap on the helmet every trip.  I hated it and certainly used the car far more after that.

[KarenBravo]

14 minutes ago, dunroaming said:

Yes I rode a bike in Thailand for nearly 14 years.  However I was taken out once by a hit and run driver in a pick-up running a red light.  After that my wife would go ape if I didn't strap on the helmet every trip.  I hated it and certainly used the car far more after that.

I don't really have a choice.

Last time I drove a car was in 1976..................when I failed my driving test.

[CG1 Blue]

RIP signore.

I'm sure there are lots of tourists who would secretly prefer to wear a helmet, but the uncool image of riding a Honda Click down the road in one of those crappy looking helmets (like the Chinese do) puts them off. If the police enforced the law the tourists wouldn't have a choice.

Alternatively somebody should invent a new low cost cool looking accessory that would protect the head. Something the western tourists would want to wear.  I want some royalties though...

Edited December 28, 2017 by CG1 Blue

[NamKangMan]

1 hour ago, CG1 Blue said:

RIP signore.

I'm sure there are lots of tourists who would secretly prefer to wear a helmet, but the uncool image of riding a Honda Click down the road in one of those crappy looking helmets (like the Chinese do) puts them off. If the police enforced the law the tourists wouldn't have a choice.

Alternatively somebody should invent a new low cost cool looking accessory that would protect the head. Something the western tourists would want to wear.  I want some royalties though...

 

"Alternatively somebody should invent a new low cost cool looking accessory that would protect the head." - it's already been invented.  It's called, a taxi.  

 

Unfortunately, this invention is not "low cost" here, due to criminal influence, thus, Phuket's road death, per capita of road users, is one of the highest, if not the highest, in the world.  

 

 

 

 

[4MyEgo]

16 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

RIP.

I wonder who the driver was? And as usual no helmet. Even a cheap helmet may have saved his life.

Where were the cops to stop people riding without helmets, especially tourists, isn't there a blitz on ?

 

Did the police check if the bike was a rental, that he was provided with a helmet, and if not, are they going to lay charges, doubt it.

[swbaggies]

1 hour ago, CG1 Blue said:

RIP signore.

I'm sure there are lots of tourists who would secretly prefer to wear a helmet, but the uncool image of riding a Honda Click down the road in one of those crappy looking helmets (like the Chinese do) puts them off. If the police enforced the law the tourists wouldn't have a choice.

Alternatively somebody should invent a new low cost cool looking accessory that would protect the head. Something the western tourists would want to wear.  I want some royalties though...

The uncool image? Hope thats a joke.

If they are to worried about their vanity maybe they should stick to the beach or gym rather than riding bikes.

I agree on the law enforcement but tourists (and locals) stupidity for not wearing helmets lies at the feed of the rider. I wer a helmet to protect me not to stop me getting a fine.

Edited December 28, 2017 by swbaggies

[CG1 Blue]

2 minutes ago, swbaggies said:

The uncool image? Hope thats a joke.

If they are to worried about their vanity maybe they should stick to the beach or gym rather than riding bikes.

Sadly it's not a joke. This is the mind set among a lot of younger western tourists, and many older (vain) ones

[swbaggies]

8 minutes ago, CG1 Blue said:

Sadly it's not a joke. This is the mind set among a lot of younger western tourists, and many older (vain) ones

i know your right, i was once told by a thai mom that her son (teens) wont wear a helmet as it makes his hair not handsome.

[NamKangMan]

7 minutes ago, swbaggies said:

i know your right, i was once told by a thai mom that her son (teens) wont wear a helmet as it makes his hair not handsome.

 

This is the reason many Thai women, legit, and hookers, do not wear a helmet.  They say it messes up their hair, which is true, and they don't care about the possible consequences of not wearing one, as long as their hair remains in place. 

[billd766]

12 hours ago, KarenBravo said:

You can have an accident in the first, or last minute of your journey.

I hang my helmet from my mirror, not lug it around. Never a problem.

 

I hang my helmet where it should be, which is on my head with the strap properly tightened, the same as I have done all the time I have ridden bikes apart from a couple of months in Thailand about 12 years ago.

 

Then I realised how stupid I was and ever since then I ALWAYS wear a helmet even for a couple of hundred metres.

[Old Croc]

11 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Why?    If they're not putting me at risk, or costing me any money, why would I want them to be penalized by the cops for their decisions? 

 

Personally, I'd prefer the cops would focus on stopping the behaviors that put innocent 3rd parties (like me and my loved ones) at risk.

 

Road accidents and associated death and injury cost the community an enormous amount of money.

To say someone riding helmetless is only a risk or cost to themselves really shows ignorance.

See the attached breakdown of road deaths in Thailand. A couple of things stand out for me - the fact that bikes contribute 73% of all road deaths, and that Thailand loses 3% to 5% of it's GDP due to road crashes.