One picture - many issues: Family on motorbike gets much comment

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One picture - many issues: Family on motorbike gets much comment

 

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Thai Rath published a photograph of a father on a motorcycle with his wife cradling a young child. 

 

The child is attached to an oxygen tank that is strapped to the back of the bike. 

 

They are on their way to hospital. 

 

Dad is the only one wearing a helmet.

 

Thai Rath said it was just one picture but raised many issues and was widely commented upon on Thai social media. Many expressed sympathy for the family.

 

The Facebook poster - Chirapat Pinkonig" - said": "I can't speak. I don't know what caption to write". She said they were on their way to Mae Jan and the father was adjusting the oxygen at every intersection lights. 

 

She said it was blazing hot.

 

A person claiming to be the relative of the family said that donations to the child could be made by contacting the father on 09 4826 3057 ("Yimon")  or through an SCB bank account in the name of "Yimon Namsaeng" #636 232 9471 (names transliterated from Thai).

 

Source: Thai Rath

 

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2019-07-11

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[les Dennis]

Its only us westerners that can see the problem with this. Same as the image flying around Facebook of the Thai mother looking at her phone with her baby in front of her riding a motorcycle !

[intherealworld]

Thought it was a NOS kit for a minute. 

 

Hope the little fella is ok. 

[FarFlungFalang]

21 minutes ago, les Dennis said:

Its only us westerners that can see the problem with this. Same as the image flying around Facebook of the Thai mother looking at her phone with her baby in front of her riding a motorcycle !

There is hope as just yesterday I saw a guy stopped on the side of the road on his motor bike looking at his phone,all the many others I have seen looking at there phones on motorbikes were moving!

[Matzzon]

1 hour ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Why do I see only 3 people on the bike? This is uneconomical! The usual number in Thailand is 5 plus the family dog...

I would like to see that.  Can you please take only 5 usual photos today, and post a tread with that? Then all of us can get used to "your usual" Thailand.

This is a tragic picture, with a poor family that probably can´t afford a car or pay for a transport with their child. They do the best they can, with what they have.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Matzzon

[buanmeerugsaa]

A tragic indictment of society under elite rule. 

[aussie11950]

I also see a problem with the gas cylinder. Usually they contain liquid gas under pressure. They are usually held upright so the cold liquid inside, does not come out the exit.

nozzle.

[cornishcarlos]

1 hour ago, FarFlungFalang said:

There is hope as just yesterday I saw a guy stopped on the side of the road on his motor bike looking at his phone,all the many others I have seen looking at there phones on motorbikes were moving!

 

He'd run out of fuel.... Didn't notice as he was busy on Facebook ????

Edited July 11, 2019 by cornishcarlos

[Matzzon]

47 minutes ago, aussie11950 said:

I also see a problem with the gas cylinder. Usually they contain liquid gas under pressure. They are usually held upright so the cold liquid inside, does not come out the exit.

nozzle.

Yes, that´s right. I feel that I have to appologize for the family´s poor knowledge. Of course they should have been knowing that.

[MartiniMan]

• No Penalty
• No Points system
• No warning
• No fine
• No care

One of the worst road system in the world. It will only end in horrific accidents

[Artisi]

All joking and smart arse comments aside - unfortunately, this is how many of the poorer Thai people survive everyday. The real problem here is many well-off ex-pats have never seen it nor will they see it from their cosy bar stools, air-conditioned TV /lounge rooms etc. 

 

[kotsak]

At first glance I thought the bike was getting a nitro shot.. ????

[TKDfella]

Okay, I think most of us can see the problem in both the danger and the financial story that it tells. But would this not be a special case where the family could ask the hospital for conveyance? Perhaps someone here might know the rules on that; doesn't qualify for whatever reason? Maybe there is a fee?

[Burma Bill]

Very sad. Maybe a local health centre could have offered help with transport for the young child. Would "1669" have responded?

[tweedledee2]

1 hour ago, aussie11950 said:

I also see a problem with the gas cylinder. Usually they contain liquid gas under pressure. They are usually held upright so the cold liquid inside, does not come out the exit.

nozzle.

Portable medical grade oxygen tanks contain pressurized oxygen, not liquid oxygen. The position of the tank being either upright, on its side or upside down has no effect on flow release. 

[KhaoYai]

4 hours ago, Matzzon said:

This is a tragic picture, with a poor family that probably can´t afford a car or pay for a transport with their child. They do the best they can, with what they have.

Clearly, I note they can afford a crash helmet for the father whist the mother and child have no protection.

[atyclb]

5 hours ago, FarFlungFalang said:

5 hours ago, les Dennis said:

Its only us westerners that can see the problem with this. Same as the image flying around Facebook of the Thai mother looking at her phone with her baby in front of her riding a motorcycle !

There is hope as just yesterday I saw a guy stopped on the side of the road on his motor bike looking at his phone,all the many others I have seen looking at there phones on motorbikes were moving!

 

i have hopped on a motorbike taxi and the driver continued to play a game on mobile for a about 20 seconds while driving. he had to finish the game

[Artisi]

1 hour ago, Matzzon said:

I am sure I can find that. I do not even have to Google for it. The question is still there. Does many pictures on Google, that might be collected over a period of many years, and the burden of proof that all are from Thailand, mean that this is a usual thing everybody see a lot of on a daily basis.

And no, I never asked you to do any work for me. The only thing I asked for was to show the reality instead of promoting an over negative persons wierd view of everyday situations. I know it exists, but it not a normal and usual thing. For that it has to be a minumum of more than 50% of the regarded drivers doing this on a daily basis, right?

Irrespective of the number of times you or anyone else see's it, it is a fairly normal occurance and a reality, it is not a negative person's weird view.

What rates as weird is someone trying to pin a number on the number of occurance's before it can be classified as something that does or doesn't happen on a daily basis. 

[from the home of CC]

See foreigners doing the same in Hua Hin when school is being let out during  the crazy traffic time. This bothers me more for these people had all the advantages of a good education and instruction from a social welfare country and still they're putting their kids at risk,  just morons who need a good slap in the head.

Edited July 11, 2019 by from the home of CC

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, MartiniMan said:

• No Penalty
• No Points system
• No warning
• No fine
• No care

One of the worst road system in the world. It will only end in horrific accidents

And "who cares" 

[Russell17au]

22 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Do you know what it is like to be poor, and expect to be for the whole of your life.

Do you know what it is like to kill your children and then expect to live a normal life with the knowledge that you are the cause of your childrens death

[GreasyFingers]

2 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Do you know what it is like to kill your children and then expect to live a normal life with the knowledge that you are the cause of your childrens death

No. I did not see death in the photo.

[Russell17au]

8 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

No. I did not see death in the photo.

Well, I see a mother and father on the reasonably new bike for which they must have had money to buy wearing helmets while they are carrying four children who are not wearing helmets and there is no way that the father could have full control of that bike with the two children in front of him. So if you cannot see death in that photo then you need to put your glasses on so that you can see things and as for the poor, I know many poor Thai's and they cannot even afford a bike so they use other means of transport with there children

[ocddave]

44 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

Do you know what it is like to be poor, and expect to be for the whole of your life.

So why not buy a helmets for the children, not for the parents? Are they expendable?

[metisdead]

Off topic posts and replies have been removed. 

[jonclark]

1 hour ago, KhaoYai said:

Clearly, I note they can afford a crash helmet for the father whist the mother and child have no protection.

I would wager they can afford 1 helmet..and the rider wears it as the police are more likely to pull a rider with no helmet than a passenger

[Myran]

7 hours ago, les Dennis said:

Its only us westerners that can see the problem with this. Same as the image flying around Facebook of the Thai mother looking at her phone with her baby in front of her riding a motorcycle !

Ridiculous comment. Are you seriously in such a need of patting yourself on the back? Both stories have been widely commented on by Thai people who've expressed great concern and alarm. But I guess some people just see what they want to see.

[richard_smith237]

7 hours ago, les Dennis said:

Its only us westerners that can see the problem with this. Same as the image flying around Facebook of the Thai mother looking at her phone with her baby in front of her riding a motorcycle !

 

 

Quote: "Thai Rath said it was just one picture but raised many issues and was widely commented upon on Thai social media"

 

 

The article itself suggests otherwise.... 

 

It has been my experience that Thai's observe the same failings we as Westerners do, they discuss the same issues on social medial and forums. However, as Westerners a combination of our arrogance and ignorance fails to recognize this - Our Arrogance as we Westerners commenting on forums such as this believe we are the only ones condemning these issues and ignorance that we can't read Thai and unable to read the Thai social media thus confirming our bias...

[richard_smith237]

30 minutes ago, jonclark said:

1 hour ago, KhaoYai said:

Clearly, I note they can afford a crash helmet for the father whist the mother and child have no protection.

I would wager they can afford 1 helmet..and the rider wears it as the police are more likely to pull a rider with no helmet than a passenger

Exactly that, wearing the helmet is not about safety its about avoiding the fines. 

 

The same with us driving in the West, we don't control our speeds due to safety, we control our speeds to avoid the fines... Fines Work (mostly).

[nickstav]

4 hours ago, Artisi said:

All joking and smart arse comments aside - unfortunately, this is how many of the poorer Thai people survive everyday. The real problem here is many well-off ex-pats have never seen it nor will they see it from their cosy bar stools, air-conditioned TV /lounge rooms etc. 

 

I agree with everything you said, but one thing troubles me, not just with this particular picture, but generally. How can you ride with your child and not have a helmet on them? They have helmets for children. Even if you want to ride without one, get one for the child. When my son turned 18 he got his motorcycle license in the states. I tossed him the keys to my 500cc Honda and said he could use it whenever he wanted, but that if I ever saw, or found out that he was riding without a helmet he would never see those keys again. By the way, our state did not have a mandatory helmet law.