Foreigners not wearing helmets

[PumpkinEater]

Why the HELL are Governments and OTHER nosey people trying to "protect" me?

Let me the freak alone! If I dont want a helmet and crack my skull open in a crash its MY FREAKIN business!

 

Get a life and quit trying to control everybody, just because a stupid LAW says.

In the words of Richie Havens.."FREEEDOM...FREEEDOM...FREEDOM...FREEDOM"!!!

 

For gods sake let some of us have some FUN in life!

[Surelynot]

2 minutes ago, PumpkinEater said:

Why the HELL are Governments and OTHER nosey people trying to "protect" me?

Let me the freak alone! If I dont want a helmet and crack my skull open in a crash its MY FREAKIN business!

 

Get a life and quit trying to control everybody, just because a stupid LAW says.

In the words of Richie Havens.."FREEEDOM...FREEEDOM...FREEDOM...FREEDOM"!!!

 

For gods sake let some of us have some FUN in life!

How the hell is splitting your skull open fun? Why do I have to pick up some of the cost of your stupidity?

[CharlieH]

Flame post and subsequent responses removed.

[PumpkinEater]

How the hell is splitting your skull open fun? Why do I have to pick up some of the cost of your stupidity?

 

 

Ive been riding bikes no helmet (most of the time) for 50 years, NO cracked skull so far...

Thanks for "picking up the cost" for the others though..Ill do the same.

FREEDOM baby

[bluesofa]

3 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

This boy is setting an example to shame the dodgy no hat f'rangs .. 

And they can cook dinner in it later .. 

 

'Cook dinner in it later'.

A nice piece of tongue. pig's ears, sheep's brains, sheep's eyeballs, parson's nose, neck of lamb.

Oh, go boil yer 'ead.

[eisfeld]

12 minutes ago, PumpkinEater said:

Why the HELL are Governments and OTHER nosey people trying to "protect" me?

Let me the freak alone! If I dont want a helmet and crack my skull open in a crash its MY FREAKIN business!

 

Get a life and quit trying to control everybody, just because a stupid LAW says.

In the words of Richie Havens.."FREEEDOM...FREEEDOM...FREEDOM...FREEDOM"!!!

 

For gods sake let some of us have some FUN in life!

Check my post. It's actually not about you. They are not really trying to protect you. It's about protecting the society from the potential consequences of your actions. Same as gun laws don't exist to take away your fun, they exist to protect others from getting shot.

 

It amazes me how much of a burden some people feel wearing a helmet is. Oh noes! The horror!

[hobobo]

8 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

probably dont consider a helmet important for 20 kph trip to the end of the soi.

call me old-fashioned, or slow on the uptake of news, but has walking been banned as well under Covid-19 measures? My nearest 7-Eleven is 300 metres away, 600 metres for an all too-short round trip. In 6 years at this address I have never once gone to the shop by bike (I don't go shopping when it's pouring down). The g/f, on the other hand, has never ever walked. And her pathetic excuse - Why d'you buy the bike if you want to walk? Beyond words. She does have one or two good qualities; no, make that a one!

[Kerryd]

15 minutes ago, mr mr said:

so should that lame excuse not be shot down for the laundry list of other things that people chose to do that are irresponsible ? 

do you drink at all ? smoke ciggies ? eat garbage food ? 

heck even studies show that sitting on your fanny for the whole day has serious health effects. 

There is a world of difference between being irresponsible and breaking the law. 

Drinking ? Smoking ? Eating junk food ? As far as I know, all of that is still legal (although there are rules about drinking and smoking that people are expected to follow as well). Are they irresponsible ? Not necessarily (well, except maybe for smoking). There is no harm in having a couple of drinks now and then or eating some junk food. Frequently drinking to excess or living on a diet of nothing but junk food would be irresponsible, but still not illegal.

You know what else "studies" show ? 
That wearing a helmet greatly increases your chances of surviving an accident.

Here's a snip from one such study that looked at 900 motorcycle crashes in Los Angeles and 969 motorcycle crashes in Thailand.
Note: "Overall, unhelmeted riders were two to three times as likely to be killed, and three times as likely to suffer either death or survival with AIS (brain injuries)."
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7293161_Motorcycle_Helmet_Effect_on_a_Per-Crash_Basis_in_Thailand_and_the_United_States


Here's one from the (US) CDC:

"If all motorcyclists would have worn helmets in 2016, 802 more could have been saved.

Helmets reduce the risk of death by 37%.

Helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 69%."
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/mc/index.html

I could go on for pages, quoting stats and pasting links but they all pretty much say the same thing.

Which is why the authorities decided to make wearing helmets mandatory. Once again, it's not about "you", they aren't doing it to stick it to "you", they are doing it for "everyone" because they are looking at the overall impact of it, not on the hurt feelings of a few individuals.

The good news is, in Thailand if you don't wear a helmet you might get a 200 baht fine (and I'm told that you'd then be able to ride for a week without worry as long as you keep the receipt for the fine.)
 

[Andy from Kent]

6 hours ago, bkk6060 said:

I think it is a stupid law any place in the world.

A person can smoke themselves to death.

Drink themselves to death.

Etc.

All legal ways to potentially harm/kill ones self by these personal choices.

Not wearing a helmet should be a personal choice, not a law.

 

Sorry mate,

 

When you end up in a hospital with a bill you can't afford the hospital and government will not be focusing on your failure to pay.    They will focus on FALANGS who do not pay.

 

Next comes MANDATED  Thai health insurance for everyone!

 

We all pay in the end for the actions of others.

[Jaxxper]

Yeah apparently a lot ( most) foreigners here seem to go native in a very short space of time.

same goes for observing the other rules of the road.

[roo860]

1 hour ago, hanssna said:

The local Thai plastic helmets are useless, so I might as well drive without

 

Spend money on a decent quality one.

[cmrichsw]

7 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Yeah, all this disregard for safety.

 

Its messing with my mind.

Yes mind your OWN business

[2 is 1]

Normal thai helmet is same that you cut eye holes in bucket and put that in your head!

[KhaoYai]

Apart from the 500m up a quiet lane at possibly 40kmh to the local shop on my Scoopy, I wear a full face helmet at all times. I wouldn't dream of going out on my ER without a helmet. Neither would I wear one of those cheap crappy Index helmets.

 

What really p's me off is when I see a cop, riding on the foothpath in the centre of Korat without a helmet!

[transam]

7 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Yeah, all this disregard for safety.

 

Its messing with my mind.

When I was a kid in the UK we didn't have to wear a helmet, so I didn't. Became law to wear one in 1973, but I was on 4 wheels by then....

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, mr mr said:

as is your line.

 

we are well aware and happy to pay for our own medical bill as a result of the no helmet stance. i hope you neither drink or smoke because society should choose to not pick up the bills of those who get sick due to that life choice ? right ? 

 

 

You are a bit behind the times. Surgeons and anesthetists are now refusing to operate on smokers due to the risks involved, until they give up smoking. Airlines are progressing towards making obese people pay for two seats, or on a weight basis. Hospitals are sick of expensive bariatric equipment, and work claims from medical staff who are injured coping with lardasses. Drive a car in many countries under the influence of alcohol, and the insurance company will wash their hands of you if you are in an accident.

And they are right. Why should sensible people be paying for the life choices of idiots?

[lust]

So annoyed with these threads.. Mind your own business. Worry about yourself.

[Curt1591]

I very rarely see foreigners on motorcycles at all. Never when I'm out riding. Don't live in a heavy expat populated area.  

[Philipg114763]

Taking through your ass 99percent of thais do not wear them in most places in thailand so put a bung in your mouth

 

[bluesofa]

7 minutes ago, cmrichsw said:

8 hours ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Yeah, all this disregard for safety.

 

Its messing with my mind.

Yes mind your OWN business

Reminds me of the time a couple of years ago, I had just dropped my son off at school one morning. I rode the motorbike back to the main road. A couple of hundred metres along there was a ferang in his sixties laying in the road, his motorbike next to next him.

 

I was just about to stop when I noticed he was speaking to a Thai next to him who was on the phone calling an ambulance. The Thai guy's English was good. Because of that I didn't stop, everything seemed in hand.

I noticed the ferang had blood pouring from the side of his head. No helmet.

Makes me wonder if I had stopped, would the ferang have said, "Mind your own business"?

[transam]

3 minutes ago, Philipg114763 said:

Taking through your ass 99percent of thais do not wear them in most places in thailand so put a bung in your mouth

 

I think your % thing is way out, as for the rest, that ain't nice is it....????

[Greg O]

Not wearing a helmet once you leave your driveway is essentially suicidal here and another important reason is eye protection. There is so much flotsam and debris being thrown up and the Thai riders without helmets or eye protection simply can't see ahead clearly. If you are unfortune and crash then first thing that happens is you instinctively put your hands out then the sudden deceleration snaps your head down and it Will hit the ground. I won't go 1 km to 7 Eleven without a helmet ....but I know " won't happen to me right" ..

[lust]

5 minutes ago, bluesofa said:

Reminds me of the time a couple of years ago, I had just dropped my son off at school one morning. I rode the motorbike back to the main road. A couple of hundred metres along there was a ferang in his sixties laying in the road, his motorbike next to next him.

 

I was just about to stop when I noticed he was speaking to a Thai next to him who was on the phone calling an ambulance. The Thai guy's English was good. Because of that I didn't stop, everything seemed in hand.

I noticed the ferang had blood pouring from the side of his head. No helmet.

Makes me wonder if I had stopped, would the ferang have said, "Mind your own business"?

Yeah, you probably would have been lecturing him on the importance of wearing a helmet instead of calling the ambulance.

[UbonThani]

1 hour ago, eisfeld said:

Check my post. It's actually not about you. They are not really trying to protect you. It's about protecting the society from the potential consequences of your actions. Same as gun laws don't exist to take away your fun, they exist to protect others from getting shot.

 

It amazes me how much of a burden some people feel wearing a helmet is. Oh noes! The horror!

Its about freedom

[Greg O]

You're quite right it's a huge burden without it ( to your survivors) ...

[jvs]

1 hour ago, mr mr said:

as is your line.

 

we are well aware and happy to pay for our own medical bill as a result of the no helmet stance. i hope you neither drink or smoke because society should choose to not pick up the bills of those who get sick due to that life choice ? right ? 

 

 

nice try but the topic on hand is the (not) wearing of helmets.

[bluesofa]

22 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

You are a bit behind the times. Surgeons and anesthetists are now refusing to operate on smokers due to the risks involved, until they give up smoking. Airlines are progressing towards making obese people pay for two seats, or on a weight basis. Hospitals are sick of expensive bariatric equipment, and work claims from medical staff who are injured coping with lardasses. Drive a car in many countries under the influence of alcohol, and the insurance company will wash their hands of you if you are in an accident.

And they are right. Why should sensible people be paying for the life choices of idiots?

That's interesting regarding 'Surgeons and anesthetists are now refusing to operate on smokers due to the risks involved'.

Are you referring to the risks for the patient, or something else?

What about the Hippocratic Oath - is that morally correct? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they should, but but I'm interested in the other aspects of this.

Btw, it's ages since I heard the expression lardass!

[liddelljohn]

No need for a helmet as most of them dont have a brain to protect !!!!!!!

[bluesofa]

14 minutes ago, lust said:

Yeah, you probably would have been lecturing him on the importance of wearing a helmet instead of calling the ambulance.

Nah, I'd have saved that until he was more coherent.

[Gandtee]

10 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

Depends on local enforcement, usually if the local police dont enforce it, Thais and foreigners in equal amounts are not wearing helmets.

During lockdown and restricted travel etc, you could probably assume anyone out and about is doing a very local trip, the corner shop etc close to home. probably dont consider a helmet important for 20 kph trip to the end of the soi.

Wasn't there a warning in the UK that most accidents happen within one mile of your home?