So why don’t Thais want to wear their bike helmets?

[xylophone]

4 hours ago, z42 said:

Stupid reasons basically, if you can even call them reasons ?

Or just stupidity? 

 

And of course the law not being enforced...……….prime example: I was waiting at traffic lights when a few m/c riders came alongside me, none wearing helmets. Then a couple of cops on a m/c drew up alongside, looked at these and did nothing.

[marquis22]

Too hot.

[Kurtf]

If you have ever seen the education system in Thailand for the general public, you would know that Stupidity is the national pastime. I can't see that improving over the next century at least with the apathetic way they approach law abiding. Or rather I should say the un-law abiding that is prevalent throughout the country when it comes to driving any kind of vehicle.

[Ks45672]

1 hour ago, Thian said:

Yes a helmet is warm to wear but you get used to that. They should develop tropical helmets though with much better ventilation or even a fan on solarpower.

 

Now i don't care if the Thai won't wear helmets, it's not a danger to me or anybody else.

 

Driving against traffic is a much bigger danger to me since i have to keep lept where they drive against traffic ALL DAY LONG.

Once a policeman stopped me for not keeping left, i showed him all the motocy taxi's driving against traffic and he said i was right, it's too dangerous to drive there so he let me go without a ticket.

 

I want to buy a new helmet size XXL or XXXL in BKK but they don't have it, if you know where i can buy one let me know. 

Bkk don't have it?? 

[Tchooptip]

4 hours ago, DoctorG said:

You don't need a helmet if you have the correct amulet.

Once again in Samui not more than 20/30 % of westerners expats and tourist do not wear helmets old and young alike, sometimes three people on one motorbike, father mother an a young child, I do see that every single day for more than six years Samui.

So  it made me laugh this obsession of some members like if only the Thais were not wearing a helmet in this country  but I reckon  at least on this topic it is not off topic LOL  

The majority of Westerner are riding their bikes without a helmet at least in Koh Samui! As I said already I brought my own helmet since most Thai helmets are made of boiled cardboard 

[Thian]

24 minutes ago, Ks45672 said:

Bkk don't have it?? 

Nope. even not in Saphan Kwai at the row of motocy shops with helmets.

 

They had one in xxl from some stupid brand (made in thailand) but it already fell in pieces and the owner couldn't fix it or care.

 

I just need a jet-helmet in size XXL or bigger. With built in sunvisor.

[gaff]

I find them over stupid to not wear helmet, but who cares ? not my family, not my kids, their problem.

I am just happy that they are actually riding motorbikes and not driving cars, so they kill themselves and not me or other innocent people. Born stupid die stupid.

 

[Dap]

5 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

99% of the motor bike and push bike riders wear helmets in my area so as everything else here in LOS, there's no concessions across the country. 

99%, really? I find that very difficult to believe, and I've been from one end of this country to the other. 99%, wow!

Edited July 1, 2018 by Dap

[smotherb]

6 hours ago, maxcorrigan said:

Easy to understand in a climate like Thailand, who wants to stick a smelly old pot on their head when it's much nicer to feel the breeze in your hair (if you've got any) from a safety point of view not such a good idea, but as long as you can get away with the likes of a 10 press-ups punishment it will continue unabated!

Thais go without helmets, take small children in cars without child seats, do not wear seat belts and drive without caution. Few of those rules are enforced, so why bother?

However, no matter their nationality, many bikers prefer to ride without helmets. Ignorance of the risk involved is not the reason. Safety is not their main concern; if it were they probably would not ride bikes. It is, as you say, "much nicer to feel the breeze in your hair" to be out in the open and fly through the air.

[malibukid]

try to find a decent helmet under $100

Edited July 1, 2018 by malibukid

[Retiredandhappyhere]

5 hours ago, dick dasterdly said:

"it's much nicer to feel the breeze in your hair (if you've got any) from a safety point of view not such a good idea"

 

I agree with this 100%.

 

I noticed that a lot of Thai 'bike riders were wearing helmets in the various 'clips' in the video, and that reflects my experience.  i.e. Far more Thais are wearing helmets nowadays than a few years ago.  Although it probably depends on where you live.

Probably true, but my wife and I, when travelling home from the centre of Hua Hin  at night, on a journey of just 10 kms,  can always count at least 40% of motor cyclists without helmets and  (now a hobby of mine) count 7 or 8 with no rear lights.  A rear light bulb costs considerably less than a helmet but many do not even bother to pay for that, assuming of course that they ever bother to check their lights, let alone brakes.

 

When a mother with her young child on board (as we saw in a video a few days ago) is prepared to ride her motor cycle, while texting on her phone and even letting go of the handlebars to do so, one wonders if there is any hope of much improvement in road safety  in Thailand, without a massive education program and a complete review of the licencing system and policing methods.

[KKr]

the helmet advocate wears his helmet so loose he can take it off without unbuckling.
555555  at 0:25

reminds me of the motorbike rider that came frontally over the bonnet at her about 50 kmh
(our speed  standstill waiting for the opportunity to turn across) ,
wearing a helmet that was found some 15 meters away on the street, strap closed.

but on a constructive note, if someone were to create a woven i.e. ventilating kevlar head protection, with good sized ventilation slots, that would be a winner from day one in any hot country.

Edited July 1, 2018 by KKr

[KKr]

3 hours ago, Snow Leopard said:

The best one i heard said in a sarcastic way that wearing a helmet. "Messes up their hair" Ladies of course.

Don't mind messy hair as long as it is safe to do.
So, got myself a fancy helmet, for on my head, with racing numbers on the side.
will get a more expensive one as it is no good.
still no hair

[KKr]

2 hours ago, Thian said:

Nope. even not in Saphan Kwai at the row of motocy shops with helmets.

 

They had one in xxl from some stupid brand (made in thailand) but it already fell in pieces and the owner couldn't fix it or care.

 

I just need a jet-helmet in size XXL or bigger. With built in sunvisor.

in case you consider to order online out of desperation, be careful because a Western helmet is more oval than a local one, and the four resulting rubbing wounds are not pleasant.

[Ks45672]

3 minutes ago, KKr said:

in case you consider to order online out of desperation, be careful because a Western helmet is more oval than a local one, and the four resulting rubbing wounds are not pleasant.

Unless you have a Western head? 

[Chongalulu]

Because there’s little of any value inside to protect. Those that do choose a cheap helmet for a cheap head.

[Cheops]

6 hours ago, impulse said:

To a lot of Thai people, a decent helmet costs over a week of their salary.  Anything cheaper is pretty much useless, and they're smart enough to know that.

 

See how you'd feel about buying the replacement after someone steals 2 or 3 of them at one week's salary a pop.

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I don't walk around carrying a helmet on the off chance I'm going to be hopping on the back of a scooter taxi that day.  I do wear one when my trip is planned, and the point of origin and destination both have a safe place to leave a helmet.  But that's a rare trip for me since I no longer commute to the office that way.

 

It's a lot of the same economics that put so many Thais on scooters in the first place, instead of safely ensconced in a 4 wheeled vehicle with A/C, doors, a lot of steel and seat belts.  The safety Rubicon is crossed when they hop on the scooter in the first place.

 

Nobody steals helmets, since they will not be used 

[xylophone]

2 hours ago, Tchooptip said:

The majority of Westerner are riding their bikes without a helmet at least in Koh Samui

Almost the same here in Patong………….stupidity is catching by all accounts!

[Bangkok Barry]

 

The answer is very simple. Thais do not like to be told what to do, about anything. It is deeply ingrained in the culture. Maybe it's because it means giving in to someone and therefore losing face. I don't know. What I do know is that in neighbouring countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam well over 90 per cent wear a helmet, because it's the law and they know it's for their own protection. In Thailand over 90 per cent do not, because they believe they have the 'free will' to do whatever they like and never, ever think about the consequences of their action. Stupidity? Arrogance? Both, probably.

[richard_smith237]

‘Because they don’t think they have to...’

 

ultimately until the general populace is educated in road safety and understands the additional risks they take when not wearing a helmet why would they bother when enforcement is so lax?

 

How many people here set their children in rear facing car seats until they were about 4 years old? 

Not many would by my guess because we are only being educated on thr additional risk* now.

 

*5x the risk of serious injury in a frontal impact if a toddler is facing forwards compared to rear facing. 

 

The digression here is to outline how many of us won't or didn't know this (about toddlers sat rear facing), we can draw similarities between our ignorance on this issue with Thai's on the helmet issue.

Edited July 1, 2018 by richard_smith237

[hgma]

one reason only.....MAI SUWEE

[jackdd]

2 hours ago, malibukid said:

try to find a decent helmet under $100

Not difficult, alot of decent helmets for arround 3000THB available.

If you are lucky you can get a good helmet on sale: 2 weeks ago Paddock in Bangkok (near Huay Kwang MRT) had the HJC IS 17 for sale, normal price in Thailand about 7000THB, they sold it for 2900THB, maybe still available

[Billy Bloggs]

I find it especially funny everyone saying but in Vietnam they wear helmets, but they are the worst when it comes to riding on the wrong side of the road and in most places they dont have the centre divide excuse like they do here(and by the way that excuse doesnt wash either, spend 2 minutes to save ya life).

[ReubenM]

If the police really want a new revenue stream, they could start enforcing noise regulations on motorbikes as well. In Kamala it's become intolerable.

 

[Guitar God]

What I find uncomfortable about not wearing a helmet is permanent brain damage if you have an accident. 

 

I also find eye damage uncomfortable. Even though I wear glasses or prescription sunglasses when I drive, I get hit in the face with large, hard bugs and some get in my eyes. I almost never drive without a visor down. 

 

I also have a sun visor on my helmet so I don’t have to drive one-handed with my elbow blocking the sun from my eyes if I’m driving into the Sun. 

[fasteddie]

It would help if the geezer from Thaiger talked about proper helmets, that one he had wouldn't save you from a headache, then he rides off with the chinstrap so slack it's hanging on his chest.

[Thian]

5 hours ago, KKr said:

in case you consider to order online out of desperation, be careful because a Western helmet is more oval than a local one, and the four resulting rubbing wounds are not pleasant.

I have 4 helmets bought in thailand, even an XXL but they all hurt me, after an hour i get a serious headache from it. So i need a good one now in my size, i will buy it in Europe. But i noticed that if you bring a nice cardboard box along the customs they will pick you out and scan it. The helmet can't be over 250 euro if i bring it or i have to declare it.

[chickenslegs]

45 minutes ago, Guitar God said:

I also have a sun visor on my helmet so I don’t have to drive one-handed with my elbow blocking the sun from my eyes if I’m driving into the Sun. 

Also leaves one arm free for carrying the baby.

[Bangkok Barry]

11 minutes ago, Thian said:

I have 4 helmets bought in thailand, even an XXL but they all hurt me, after an hour i get a serious headache from it. So i need a good one now in my size, i will buy it in Europe. But i noticed that if you bring a nice cardboard box along the customs they will pick you out and scan it. The helmet can't be over 250 euro if i bring it or i have to declare it.

 

And maybe pay tax on it. How much is your life worth?

[cyberfarang]

I`ve spoken about this to my wife`s young nieces and nephews. And what they told me was; young people don`t think it`s fashionable to wear helmets, it`s not cool they say. Of course they will never be involved in an accident, it`s always going to happen to someone else and not them.