My last visit to Pattaya was 6 years ago. This time I was very surprised to see the great number of motorcycle riders not wearing crash helmets. It looks like there is no law enforcement anymore. Noisy mufflers are on the rise too. I am residing in Philippines now and there, the roads and streets are getting noisier and noisier. Law enforcers are nowhere to be seen. It is really getting annoying. 

And....

I would say its the opposite  more and more wear a helmet,loud exhausts (pipes that don't save life's) well about the same

there are regular police stops around Pattaya..they check for helmet,drivers license,tax,insurance,alcohol and sometimes drugs.

12 hours ago, Gervais Bilodeau said:

I am residing in Philippines now and there, the roads and streets are getting noisier and noisier. Law enforcers are nowhere to be seen. It is really getting annoying. 

"It is really getting annoying"

 

Me think, in those 6 years of absence, you got a bit older, and a bit more sensitive

 

Six years ago, the noise level of Pattaya was very much the same as it is today. 

 

Loud pipes save lives, and the helmet enforcement has never changed.  You need a helmet at the end of the month, because that's when the boys in brown have spent all their earnings and need some tea money for the few days until the next payslip arrives

I think that the law saying motor cyclists MUST wear helmets should be scrapped. If a rider has an accident with a helmet, he/she will probably live but need very costly hospitalisation. If however they do not wear a helmet, then they will probably die and save the Health Service the cost of that treatment. Unfortunatley their funeral pyre will add to the air pollution. 

555

23 hours ago, johng said:

I would say its the opposite  more and more wear a helmet

I agree 

I get homicidal when I hear the idiots from the local village racing along my street at 10:30pm and 12:30pm each night. Add in the neighbor who goes out several times a night revving his motorcycle that has a 100 year old muffler and you can maybe understand.

I did a smart thing today though. I made friends with the local police and they will call around a couple of times a day to check on our place. We have a little box on the front where they sign in at different times of the day. I'm going to make friends with them and ask if they will put a roadblock late at night to catch the racers (I'd even be prepared to pay them for the service).

You shouldn't be surprised at the number of bike riders that aren't wearing helmets. Although Thailand has many road rules and regulations, few if any are enforced. There is a reason for this. Road deaths are Thailand's way for population control. So running red lights and u-turns where prohibited, unsafe lane changes, passing on curves, etc etc are never resulting in fines or punishment. So the people ignore those rules and do whatever they damn well feel like doing and the end result is Thailand has a HUGE death toll on the roads. The most per 100,000 of any country and that's what keeps the Thai population from exploding.

As a guess it's 50\50 helmets in Pattaya, occasionally police have official checkpoints but it's been quiet lately maybe due to high season. As for loud exhausts they don't seem to do anything about that

I noticed today in Hua Hin that many motorcyclists and their passengers wearing masks which are next to useless, but nobody was wearing a helmet!!!

TIT

1 hour ago, scubascuba3 said:

As for loud exhausts they don't seem to do anything about that

Even in Australia, home of some of the most draconian road rules on the planet, nothing seems to be done about loud motorbike exhausts, so I wouldn’t hold out much hope for Thailand.

6 hours ago, Pedrogaz said:

I get homicidal when I hear the idiots from the local village racing along my street at 10:30pm and 12:30pm each night. Add in the neighbor who goes out several times a night revving his motorcycle that has a 100 year old muffler and you can maybe understand.

I did a smart thing today though. I made friends with the local police and they will call around a couple of times a day to check on our place. We have a little box on the front where they sign in at different times of the day. I'm going to make friends with them and ask if they will put a roadblock late at night to catch the racers (I'd even be prepared to pay them for the service).

Problem is when you stop paying the noise will be back with a vengeance. Be careful.

A troll post and a couple of replies removed

Super loud mufflers are infesting Sukhomvit and surrounding sois in BKK. 

I'd love to string some piano wire across the street when one of these douches comes roaring by.

All aftermarket pipes are being handling fees of 1000 THB if police notice . . .