I was absolutely mortified at what I witnessed yesterday.

[thaibeachlovers]

8 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

What you're suggesting is that people here forego wearing helmets simply because "this is Thailand," implying that it's a cultural norm. I agree to an extent - culture does play a role. However, effective enforcement of laws has the power to drive cultural change and shift attitudes. IMO, the apathy and complacent law enforcement fails to address the issue and actively perpetuates the high road fatality rates.

If you are so in love with oppressive western fear based culture, why are you not living in a western country?

 

This discussion isn't just about wearing helmets, it's about the entire soul of the nation. I don't want Thailand to become absorbed by the dark side, that is the west.

[harryviking]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:27 AM, BarBoy said:

Yesterday, on the way home from the pub (in a taxi), I witnessed a crash between a motorbike and a car. Traffic was backed up for a few minutes and when It was my turn to pass I saw the driver of the bike pick up a baby girl that had been with him on his scooter when it crashed - with no bleeding helmet! 

 

Thankfully the girl was still alive but was crying her eyes out and her leg was covered in blood.

That could easily have been her head.....

 

What is wrong with these people that they are so irresponsible as to not put a helmet on their child's head before driving the bike?

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

They can afford the bike, so why not a child's helmet from Tesco?

 

I see the same thing day in day out, parents driving bikes at high speed with kids on the front and no crash helmet...

Will the Thai's ever learn?

Tell me if you have ever seen a helmet for a baby! Does they actually exist??

[john donson]

sometimes death is better,  crash helmet on a baby? do they make those, but road rash all over the body till the bone is a life long in pain and operations, if you survive, adult, kids or baby...

[newbee2022]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:36 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Not usual, the worse is when the dodgy thai rider has one hand on the handlebar and one hand holding a baby

And special artists using their phone even 

[Andycoops]

After living here for 16 years and that 80% of RTA fatalities are on 2 wheels its a everyday occurrence, 50 deaths a day on the roads, not included are those that die later from injury sustained in the accident.

[fredwiggy]

3 hours ago, harryviking said:

Tell me if you have ever seen a helmet for a baby! Does they actually exist??

They do, buy not having a baby on a scooter is the smarter idea. They have no business on scooters in any event, and anyone who does this cares little for their welfare. This behavior will continue forever until someone in power loses a relative. Life simply doesn't mean much here.

[brewsterbudgen]

2 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

They do, buy not having a baby on a scooter is the smarter idea. They have no business on scooters in any event, and anyone who does this cares little for their welfare. This behavior will continue forever until someone in power loses a relative. Life simply doesn't mean much here.

 

I agree that such people don't seem to care about their life or their passengers.  But I guess it's cultural and for economic reasons.  In any case, it's not going to change any time soon!   

[impulse]

3 hours ago, harryviking said:

Tell me if you have ever seen a helmet for a baby! Does they actually exist??

 

And if they did, would you have to spend another 2 weeks' salary in a few months when they outgrow it?

 

2 weeks' salary, assuming you want a minimally functional real helmet, and not a useless plastic beanie.

[impulse]

10 minutes ago, brewsterbudgen said:

 

I agree that such people don't seem to care about their life or their passengers.  But I guess it's cultural and for economic reasons.  In any case, it's not going to change any time soon!   

 

Easy to come to Thailand with the nugget you made working back home, then pass judgement on how the silly brown people spend their meager wages. 

 

I had 2 scooter helmets.  One skullcap cost me 2 weeks' salary if I was making 300 baht a day.  The full face helmet cost me a months' salary at 300 baht a day.   And they weren't top of the line.  Just minimally functional.

 

Most Thai people are caught in the middle where there's a need to get around, matched up with wages too low for everyone to afford 4 wheels and a ton of steel.  So they haul their kids around on scooters...  It's not lack of love.  It's economic reality.

[BarBoy]

1 minute ago, impulse said:

Most Thai people are caught in the middle where there's a need to get around, matched up with wages too low for everyone to afford 4 wheels and a ton of steel.  So they haul their kids around on scooters...  It's not lack of love.  It's economic reality.

So they can afford the scooter but they can't afford the helmet?

 

Pull the other one, fella! 

[impulse]

14 minutes ago, BarBoy said:

So they can afford the scooter but they can't afford the helmet?

 

Pull the other one, fella! 

 

Yes.  That's exactly what I mean.  They offer multi-year loans for a $2000 scooter.  If you can barely afford that, a good helmet may be out of reach.  And a 500 baht plastic beanie is useless.  Probably worse than useless.  Except for getting through police checkpoints.

 

You keep looking at Thai life and the locals through your nanny glasses.

 

[Gottfrid]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:36 AM, BarBoy said:

Can't argue with that, Charlie.

 

But I also think it goes beyond just enforcement of the law.

 

I think there is a cultural element to it which I am still trying to figure out..

Yeah, you definitely need to learn the culture.

[impulse]

1 minute ago, Gottfrid said:

On 12/7/2024 at 9:36 AM, BarBoy said:

Can't argue with that, Charlie.

 

But I also think it goes beyond just enforcement of the law.

 

I think there is a cultural element to it which I am still trying to figure out..

Yeah, you definitely need to learn the culture.

 

Here's a good start to understanding "the culture".  Walk out of your house with 50 baht in your pocket each morning for a month.  No plastic and no quickpay.  Just 50 baht.  Because that's all the discretionary money you'd have if you made a Thai salary, especially with a wife and kids at home.

 

You'll quickly figure out a lot of the idiosyncrasies you see every day.  Then thank your lucky stars you have that nanny state nugget you made before you moved to Thailand.

 

[NoshowJones]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:36 AM, scubascuba3 said:

Not usual, the worse is when the dodgy thai rider has one hand on the handlebar and one hand holding a baby

I see all this regularly in my village/small town, while riding my pedal bike. People riding up the wrong side of the main road holding a baby, sure it has a lot to do with the low IQ's.

[hotandsticky]

2 minutes ago, NoshowJones said:

I see all this regularly in my village/small town, while riding my pedal bike. People riding up the wrong side of the main road holding a baby, sure it has a lot to do with the low IQ's.

 

 

Put low IQ with zero meaningful education..... would that tick your box?

[NoshowJones]

On 12/7/2024 at 9:30 AM, Celsius said:

 

Where? In UK, Philippines or Indonesia?

This is a Thai forum. Unless the poster mentions another country, it is about Thailand.

[BarBoy]

13 minutes ago, impulse said:

You'll quickly figure out a lot of the idiosyncrasies you see every day.  Then thank your lucky stars you have that nanny state nugget you made before you moved to Thailand.

The nanny state gave me nothing except a high school education.

 

All my money has been made from investments and business away from my native country.

 

Now what?

[NoshowJones]

On 12/7/2024 at 10:43 AM, richard_smith237 said:

 

Fair point - If this is Bob, surely the Mods can view the IP from which the post was made and establish is this is another trolling account or not....   Mods ? is this possible ?

Ever since the recent changes on AN, it seems the mods are much less heavy handed, for the first time in many years, I can now post without stepping on egg shells.

[ikke1959]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:27 AM, BarBoy said:

Yesterday, on the way home from the pub (in a taxi), I witnessed a crash between a motorbike and a car. Traffic was backed up for a few minutes and when It was my turn to pass I saw the driver of the bike pick up a baby girl that had been with him on his scooter when it crashed - with no bleeding helmet! 

 

Thankfully the girl was still alive but was crying her eyes out and her leg was covered in blood.

That could easily have been her head.....

 

What is wrong with these people that they are so irresponsible as to not put a helmet on their child's head before driving the bike?

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

They can afford the bike, so why not a child's helmet from Tesco?

 

I see the same thing day in day out, parents driving bikes at high speed with kids on the front and no crash helmet...

Will the Thai's ever learn?

No Thais don't learn anything. In my neighbourhood a young boy died because he crashed into a big truck. The family and his brother deeply in mourning as was not wearing a helmet and speeding.  A few weeks later his younger brother drove in the middle of the road no helmet with a speed of at least 90 km an hour.. laughing and having fun... He did not learn from the death of his brother too..And so there are many more examples... 

[BarBoy]

1 minute ago, NoshowJones said:

Ever since the recent changes on AN, it seems the mods are much less heavy handed, for the first time in many years, I can now post without stepping on egg shells.

and long may it continue!

 

Make AN Great Again! 

[BarBoy]

2 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

No Thais don't learn anything. In my neighbourhood a young boy died because he crashed into a big truck. The family and his brother deeply in mourning as was not wearing a helmet and speeding.  A few weeks later his younger brother drove in the middle of the road no helmet with a speed of at least 90 km an hour.. laughing and having fun... He did not learn from the death of his brother too..And so there are many more examples... 

indeed, just as I suspected. tbh I don't really care, though even someone as insensitive as me felt a little sad when I saw that baby thai girl crying and covered in blood at the side of the road.

[impulse]

2 minutes ago, BarBoy said:

The nanny state gave me nothing except a high school education.

 

All my money has been made from investments and business away from my native country.

 

Now what?

 

Are you claiming you never had a job?  Where did you get your startup funds to invest?  The nanny state provided a safely regulated market for those investments. 

 

I'd bet a month's salary that you couldn't survive Thailand for a month leaving the house with 50 baht a day of discretionary money.  I couldn't.  So I don't pass judgment on Thai people who can, nor the choices they make in doing so.  I'd behave a lot differently if I had to even try.

 

[BarBoy]

7 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Are you claiming you never had a job?  Where did you get your startup funds to invest?  The nanny state provided a safely regulated market for those investments. 

 

I'd bet a month's salary that you couldn't survive Thailand for a month leaving the house with 50 baht a day of discretionary money.  I couldn't.  So I don't pass judgment on Thai people who can, nor the choices they make in doing so.  I'd behave a lot differently if I had to even try.

 

I don't know a single Thai person that has only 50 baht a day in their pocket to live on.

 

Most of my thai acquaintances have a daily disposable of around 5,000.

They get the beers in every night but guess what? They don't buy helmets for their kids.

 

Now what?

[kingstonkid]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:27 AM, BarBoy said:

Yesterday, on the way home from the pub (in a taxi), I witnessed a crash between a motorbike and a car. Traffic was backed up for a few minutes and when It was my turn to pass I saw the driver of the bike pick up a baby girl that had been with him on his scooter when it crashed - with no bleeding helmet! 

 

Thankfully the girl was still alive but was crying her eyes out and her leg was covered in blood.

That could easily have been her head.....

 

What is wrong with these people that they are so irresponsible as to not put a helmet on their child's head before driving the bike?

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

They can afford the bike, so why not a child's helmet from Tesco?

 

I see the same thing day in day out, parents driving bikes at high speed with kids on the front and no crash helmet...

Will the Thai's ever learn?

 

This is an Asian thing.  They have been doing it so long that they just do it.  TYo them helmets are strnge as well as seatbelts.

 

 

consider that in the west we really did not start wearing helmets until they were made mandatory and people got fined.

 

I agree law enforcement  is the way.  The simple solution is to start at the schools.  

 

During saily routine it is simple.

 

Set up check points that not only stop them and fine them but confiscate the bike until they return with a bill of sale for a helmet and the helmet.  That or make a deal with a helmet company to set up at the check point and sell the helmets.  

If you can not pay then you lose the bike.  

 

At the schools start taking the bikes away from the kids if they are not wearing helmets and if there are more than 3 on the bike then stop them for that also.

 

[Burma Bill]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:27 AM, BarBoy said:

parents driving bikes at high speed with kids on the front and no crash helmet...

Will the Thai's ever learn?

 

Regretfully "no"! 

This has been a common sight during my 20 years of living in rural areas of Lanna and Isaan (North Thailand) 

 

[still kicking]

1 minute ago, Burma Bill said:

 

Regretfully "no"! 

This has been a common sight during my 20 years of living in rural areas of Lanna and Isaan (North Thailand) 

 

At least they wearing a facemask 

[kingstonkid]

2 minutes ago, Burma Bill said:

 

Regretfully "no"! 

This has been a common sight during my 20 years of living in rural areas of Lanna and Isaan (North Thailand) 

 

 

The challenge is that bikes are cheap when compared to cars.  Most Thais that rides bikes probably have no idea how to drive a car. nor the desire to learn.;  this is the way they were brought up and it was alright for them so it is alright for their kids.

 

As I said earlier it is not much different than the west. Let's face it until the cops started doing seatbelt checks and it started to cost people money, points and insurance most Canadians and American s did not wear the seatbelt. 

[Nobbie49]

On 12/7/2024 at 8:27 AM, BarBoy said:

Yesterday, on the way home from the pub (in a taxi), I witnessed a crash between a motorbike and a car. Traffic was backed up for a few minutes and when It was my turn to pass I saw the driver of the bike pick up a baby girl that had been with him on his scooter when it crashed - with no bleeding helmet! 

 

Thankfully the girl was still alive but was crying her eyes out and her leg was covered in blood.

That could easily have been her head.....

 

What is wrong with these people that they are so irresponsible as to not put a helmet on their child's head before driving the bike?

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

They can afford the bike, so why not a child's helmet from Tesco?

 

I see the same thing day in day out, parents driving bikes at high speed with kids on the front and no crash helmet...

Will the Thai's ever learn?

The answer is not a question of law enforcement or increased penalties. The almighty solution is the suppression of the hammered in slavish believe in Karma. It is pumped into every Thai by the teacher, monk or phuyay from a very early age and good luck trying to fight those forces

[BarBoy]

4 minutes ago, Nobbie49 said:

The answer is not a question of law enforcement or increased penalties. The almighty solution is the suppression of the hammered in slavish believe in Karma. It is pumped into every Thai by the teacher, monk or phuyay from a very early age and good luck trying to fight those forces

...Rome wasn't built in a day.

 

I do see more and more younger Thai's waking up to the fact that religion is a load of BS, which is definitely nice to see!

[PopGun]

On 12/7/2024 at 5:43 AM, Yagoda said:

Whats your record? I have a family of 5 many times

I witnessed a man riding a motorbike in South Pattaya, carrying 10, car tyres.

He wasn't wearing a crash helmet.