I was absolutely mortified at what I witnessed yesterday.

[BarBoy]

3 minutes ago, NanLaew said:

 

yes, they are way more capable of learning than you are of insulting them

so why the constant negligence and blatant disregard for laws on the road then?

[Liverpool Lou]

7 hours ago, CharlieH said:

As with many things, it starts with enforcement, and there rarely is any.

It also requires the police force to be provided with a budget sufficient to enable it to enforce the laws.

[Yagoda]

3 hours ago, scottiejohn said:

Doing what?

Riding on a 10 year old Honda Dream

[bobandyson]

6 hours ago, NoDisplayName said:

Before the drove off, I asked them to do me a favor.  Gave the 50 to mom and had her promise to buy a kiddie helmet for the kidlet.

 

Where does one buy a kids/childs helmet? I mean, a proper helmet and not a novelty one, like the one I saw with a 1.5 inch bolt that fastened the strap to the shell of the helmet. The bolt was placed right next to where someones temple would be. 

[soalbundy]

It all seems quite normal to me living in the sticks. Wife drives the bike with a two year old granddaughter standing on the 'floor' at the front and a four year old sitting at the back, off to pick up my 17 year old son from school, no helmets. My step daughter holds a 6 month old in her arms with a two year old sitting behind, it's evening and about to rain, I offer to drive them home by car, not necessary, it's only 200 meters. This has become so normal that it doesn't shock me now, in fact I am guilty of doing the same thing now within the village, it's normal.

[NoDisplayName]

2 minutes ago, bobandyson said:

 

Where does one buy a kids/childs helmet? I mean, a proper helmet and not a novelty one, like the one I saw with a 1.5 inch bolt that fastened the strap to the shell of the helmet. The bolt was placed right next to where someones temple would be. 

 

Scooter store.

Fitness shop at the mall.

Motorsickel shop.

Taobao/Lazada.

Bicycle shop.

[RSD1]

Cob Bolin I much prefer your windups about how rich, how drunk, and how unappreciated you are in Thailand and how you then go over to Soi 6/1 to make it all better.
 

Cmon, a yarn about a motorcycle accident in Thailand is so cliched. An average of 60 Thai people die in motorcycle accidents in Thailand every single day. Same ole same ole. 

[pomchop]

Taught a bit at a rural thai high school in north.  They had a big wear a helmet push for a while...big full color signs encouraging helmets posted all along the main road in/out of the school.  Almost all the teachers who rode motorbikes never wore a helmet.

 

Great role models...and of course kids didn't wear helmets either.  And i would bet that most of the teachers who drove cars did not fasten a seat belt.   If you can't even get the so called teacher role models to wear a helmet or buckle up then good luck getting a bunch of teen age thai students to do it.

 

IF IF they had been serious the teachers who did not wear helmets should have been fined or punished.  I believe the campaign came from the top school department officials in Bangkok which sounded good and had a nice budget but obviously no attempt to get the teachers on board.  To my knowledge nothing like any kind of reprimand or punishment ever happened and I suspect never will.

[scottiejohn]

9 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

it's normal.

And potentially dangerous to you and your family!

You might have accepted it wrt yourself but what about the  kids who know no better and need to be lead by example?.

[Sandboxer]

I don't care anymore. Free booze at funerals.

[soalbundy]

1 minute ago, scottiejohn said:

And potentially dangerous to you and your family!

You might have accepted it wrt yourself but what about the  kids who know no better and need to be lead by example?.

It's all very well moralizing but the kids see it as normal, when my son was younger, 7-8 years old I tried forcing at least he should wear a helmet when his mother drove him on the 1km trip to school, it ended in tantrums and arguments, when I persisted I found out he removed the helmet when he was out of my sight which was why he wanted his mother to drive him (no license) instead of me (with license), you see nobody else at school wore a helmet, not even the teachers, he didn't want to be different. It's different when people leave the village to drive to the 17km distant market town because they don't want to be fined. I've lived in the village for 19 years, I've assimilated.

[scottiejohn]

37 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

It's all very well moralizing but the kids see it as normal,

That is my point!

They should NOT see helmetless driving as normal and as a parent you should be setting a proper, not false example, to the kids!

[BarBoy]

3 minutes ago, scottiejohn said:

That is my point!

They should NOT see helmetless driving as normal and as a parent you should be setting a proper, not false example, to the kids!

spot on.

[soalbundy]

Just now, scottiejohn said:

That is my point!

They should NOT see helmetless driving as normal and as a parent you should be setting a proper, not false example, to the kids!

While I agree with your sentiment I just live here in the existing environment, most of it is good but like everywhere else it has its bad points, I don't intend to break a lance for western sensibilities. One of my son's cousins to whom he had an emotional attachment died in a motorbike accident, aged 14. I went to the funeral to find I was the only person who showed any sadness (genuine) everyone else seemed 'matter of fact' I asked my son what he felt, he said it was a shame. Some days later I asked, don't you think of him at all?....yeah sometimes, I could see it was done and dusted. At the funeral I didn't see his parents weeping, not even his mother, quietly upset describes it....this was some years ago now. It's the way it is. Luckily my son is a nerd who doesn't socialize after school with his classmates but prefers his computer and his online friends.

[BarBoy]

7 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

While I agree with your sentiment I just live here in the existing environment, most of it is good but like everywhere else it has its bad points, I don't intend to break a lance for western sensibilities. One of my son's cousins to whom he had an emotional attachment died in a motorbike accident, aged 14. I went to the funeral to find I was the only person who showed any sadness (genuine) everyone else seemed 'matter of fact' I asked my son what he felt, he said it was a shame. Some days later I asked, don't you think of him at all?....yeah sometimes, I could see it was done and dusted. At the funeral I didn't see his parents weeping, not even his mother, quietly upset describes it....this was some years ago now. It's the way it is. Luckily my son is a nerd who doesn't socialize after school with his classmates but prefers his computer and his online friends.

Just like Jim Morrison said in 1967...

 

"The West Is The Best..."

[soalbundy]

Just now, BarBoy said:

Just like Jim Morrison said in 1967...

 

"The West Is The Best..."

Whatever.

[BarBoy]

12 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

Whatever.

I guess we should all follow Thailands lead, shouldn't we??

 

Imagine the state of the world then by christ.

 

Back to the dark ages..

 

[Screaming]

3 hours ago, soalbundy said:

It all seems quite normal to me living in the sticks. Wife drives the bike with a two year old granddaughter standing on the 'floor' at the front and a four year old sitting at the back, off to pick up my 17 year old son from school, no helmets. My step daughter holds a 6 month old in her arms with a two year old sitting behind, it's evening and about to rain, I offer to drive them home by car, not necessary, it's only 200 meters. This has become so normal that it doesn't shock me now, in fact I am guilty of doing the same thing now within the village, it's normal.

To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant. (Amos Bronson Alcott)

[soalbundy]

Just now, Screaming said:

To be ignorant of one's ignorance is the malady of the ignorant. (Amos Bronson Alcott)

only worry about things you can change....Marcus Aurelius.

[BarBoy]

2 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

only worry about things you can change....Marcus Aurelius.

such a weak, defeatest attitude.

 

Martin Luther King would be turning in his grave!  

[soalbundy]

15 minutes ago, BarBoy said:

I guess we should all follow Thailands lead, shouldn't we??

 

Imagine the state of the world then by christ.

 

Back to the dark ages..

 

You adjust to the society you live in and accept it for what it is, are you going to end corruption? change the school system? change the driving habits? It's not your country.

[soalbundy]

11 minutes ago, BarBoy said:

such a weak, defeatest attitude.

 

Martin Luther King would be turning in his grave!  

yes, he's dead.

[BarBoy]

3 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

It's not your country.

How do you know I am not Thai?

[BangkokReady]

10 hours ago, BarBoy said:

Are they lacking in education, awareness or are they just too damn lazy to do it?

 

Yes.

 

10 hours ago, BarBoy said:

Will the Thai's ever learn?

 

No.

[Lacessit]

5 hours ago, BarBoy said:

so why the constant negligence and blatant disregard for laws on the road then?

Lack of effective enforcement.

 

It's a 200 baht fine for not wearing a helmet, and I'd say 80% of scooter riders in my area don't wear helmets. Even some Westerners.

[soalbundy]

Just now, BarBoy said:

How do you know I am not Thai?

If you are you are entitled to fail at trying to alter Thai society within your lifetime......but be careful not to tread on anyone's toes, it could end badly, more than one has come a cropper for trying to end corruption or trying to change the political arena. Societies systems and customs grow biologically, Thailand has lots of good laws in its books but if they aren't accepted by the people they are pointless, have you never seen policemen directing traffic in front of a school so that 12 year old kids without helmets can drive their motorbikes out of the school yard? It becomes accepted behaviour when the people say its OK, laughable to think a falang can change anything and why should they, they are here by choice.

[BarBoy]

4 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

If you are you are entitled to fail at trying to alter Thai society within your lifetime......but be careful not to tread on anyone's toes, it could end badly, more than one has come a cropper for trying to end corruption or trying to change the political arena. Societies systems and customs grow biologically, Thailand has lots of good laws in its books but if they aren't accepted by the people they are pointless, have you never seen policemen directing traffic in front of a school so that 12 year old kids without helmets can drive their motorbikes out of the school yard? It becomes accepted behaviour when the people say its OK, laughable to think a falang can change anything and why should they, they are here by choice.

Fair point & duly noted. 

 

Just let em carry on regardless and to hell with the consequences...

 

One less Thai on the take, right?

[Lacessit]

3 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

It also requires the police force to be provided with a budget sufficient to enable it to enforce the laws.

When checkpoints are operating in my area, there are 2 or 3 police actually working, and another half dozen standing around doing squat.

 

The fixed checkpoint past the 118 heading towards Phayao is only manned in the morning, never in the afternoon or evening.

 

Yet when some VIP comes to Chiang Rai by car, there are police stationed every 500 metres  on both sides of the highway for about 20 km.

 

IMO the police are not short of personnel, they lack any work ethic. Throwing more money at them won't change the culture.

[soalbundy]

Just now, BarBoy said:

Fair point & duly noted. 

 

Just let em carry on and to hell with the consequences. 

 

One less Thai on the take, right?

Their country their choice, for all the chaos here I still prefer to live here than in my adopted country Germany with their strict obedience to law and order or my home country where you can be arrested for upsetting someone online. Chaos has a charm of its own, one just has to know its unwritten rules and be willing to accept the consequences, banging on the table saying they should be like farangs is hopeless.....and I like them the way they are.

[BarBoy]

6 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

and I like them the way they are.

I don't.