Just now, Harrisfan said:

Most cops don't go near the open roads unless near borders. You can drive from CM to Khon Kaen and not see one. I did it. Not one cop. The cops set up check points near borders for the Burmese or others. They don't care about farangs. They set up check points in Phuket to catch dumb tourists without helmets. They don't care about cars.

 

See them daily in Chonburi pulling motorists over.

Just now, Ralf001 said:

 

See them daily in Chonburi pulling motorists over.

I never go to Chumpburi.

Just now, Harrisfan said:

I never go to Chumpburi.

and I give zero <deleted>.

Just now, Ralf001 said:

and I give zero <deleted>.

Yeah well cops go where the crowds are. The open roads thru the middle they rarely go. 

Just now, Harrisfan said:

Yeah well cops go where the crowds are. The open roads thru the middle they rarely go. 

and again I give zero <deleted>.

Just now, Ralf001 said:

and again I give zero <deleted>.

Cool

1 minute ago, VocalNeal said:

 

I will shortly be going for a hair cut on my shopping scooter. 

 

Do I ride 150m against no traffic or do I do the 1.5km U-turn round trip again with no traffic.

 

And no I won't be wearing a helmet. But I will wear one later to ride the 8kms to the pub for lunch.

Most accidents happen close to home. People let down their guard thinking it's only a short trip. My girlfriend was bumped off her scooter by an 18 wheeler 100 meters from her house. 3 died 2 years ago on the highway next to her house in the same village, all residents of the village, all on turnarounds on scooters and another walking across the highway. I ran into a scooter with sidecar a few kilos from my house last month. He crossed in front of me without looking a few meters from me. Luckily I and my daughter weren't hurt but the scooter was damaged, 8000 baht repairs. His fault 100% but since I'm a foreigner. First and hopefully last motorbike accident I've had in 51 years.

 

3 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Low IQs and lack of education. 4th grade intelligence. Riding a motorbike without a helmet is just stupid.

 I bet that most of the prats that make comments like this have ridden a motorcycle before without a helmet at least once. And if they lived and grew up in a motorcycle culture like Thailand , once would turn into 10 times and so on. And pretty soon, they'd be wearing no helmet too, with their big high school education and all. 

 

With kind of helmets people wear and the kind of accidents ppl actually die in, the helmet doesn't actually make much difference in those cases anyway. You'd eventually figure it out. The fact that you think these ppl just have a low education and a low IQ and that is why they don't wear helmets is a pretty low IQ take in itself. 

7 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

He crossed in front of me without looking a few meters from me.

 

Unlike the Spanish Inquisition.  We are supposed to expect that to happen and take appropriate action. 

 

BTW Goats are worse than dogs for erratic direction changes.

1 minute ago, Harsh Jones said:

 

 I bet that most of the prats that make comments like this have ridden a motorcycle before without a helmet at least once. And if they lived and grew up in a motorcycle culture like Thailand , once would turn into 10 times and so on. And pretty soon, they'd be wearing no helmet too, with their big high school education and all. 

 

With kind of helmets people wear and the kind of accidents ppl actually die in, the helmet doesn't actually make much difference in those cases anyway. You'd eventually figure it out. The fact that you think these ppl just have a low education and a low IQ and that is why they don't wear helmets is a pretty low IQ take in itself. 

Do you have statistics or links to back up your claims?

Motorcycle helmets have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of head injury and death. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 69 percent and reduce the risk of death by 42 percent. In 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, helmets saved the lives of 1,870 motorcyclists, and 750 more lives could have been saved if all motorcyclists had worn helmets.

 

The effectiveness of helmet laws is also evident. According to a 2012 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, "laws requiring all motorcyclists to wear helmets are the only strategy proved to be effective in reducing motorcyclist fatalities." There were 8.7 times as many unhelmeted fatalities (1,670 fatalities) in states without a universal helmet law compared to states with a universal helmet law (192 fatalities).

51 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

55 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

Risk of death on a motorbike is like 29 times higher. That means you have to ride in a manner than is 29x more safe. Most don't. 

The only safe method of driving here is staying completely away from everyone, as no one can be trusted.

 

1-2 tons of steel and seatbelts go a long way to making you 29x less likely to die than throwing a leg over a scooter.  With or without a brain bucket.  I understand why Thai people of limited means have no choice but to risk it.  I don't get why foreigners with nice pensions risk death like they do.

 

 

1 minute ago, Harsh Jones said:

 

 I bet that most of the prats that make comments like this have ridden a motorcycle before without a helmet at least once. And if they lived and grew up in a motorcycle culture like Thailand , once would turn into 10 times and so on. And pretty soon, they'd be wearing no helmet too, with their big high school education and all. 

 

With kind of helmets people wear and the kind of accidents ppl actually die in, the helmet doesn't actually make much difference in those cases anyway. You'd eventually figure it out. The fact that you think these ppl just have a low education and a low IQ and that is why they don't wear helmets is a pretty low IQ take in itself. 

I'm betting many of the daily head injuries that end up in death here might be different if a helmet was worn. Stats in the US have proven this many times.

 

Locals here know the laws and it isn't a matter of IQ but common sense, arrogance and a lack of concern for life itself.

 

Anyone who has a TV and word of mouth knows people die here daily in scooter accidents.

 

I'm thinking foreigners that live here, that wore helmets in their countries, still wear them here. Some states in the US don't require helmets legally, and people die because of it. It's a law here, so there is no excuse to not wear one.

 

They can afford scooters and cell phones, they can buy a decent helmet for driver and passengers. If they don't have their children or passengers wearing helmets, that shows they care nothing about the safety of them. Some wear helmets here so they don't get a ticket, but their passengers don't, even though it's a law also.

 

Not wearing a helmet in a village just going to the local market might seem safe, but if a car or another scooter cuts you off and you and or your passengers, including those infants we seed daily on scooters, hits the ground at 20 KPH, you'll be hurt, and if you don't have a helmet on and hit your head, you can be a statistic or brain damaged just from that relatively slow impact.

7 minutes ago, VocalNeal said:

 

Unlike the Spanish Inquisition.  We are supposed to expect that to happen and take appropriate action. 

 

BTW Goats are worse than dogs for erratic direction changes.

In fact, it's something I told my girlfriend many times. Don't trust anyone. I let down my guard, saw 2 scooters on the side of the road, and yes, one crossed in front of me and I had nowhere to go, so I should have listened to my own advice of don't trust anyone, anytime, or anywhere. 

4 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

1-2 tons of steel and seatbelts go a long way to making you 29x less likely to die than throwing a leg over a scooter.  With or without a brain bucket.  I understand why Thai people of limited means have no choice but to risk it.  I don't get why foreigners with nice pensions risk death like they do.

 

 

Everyone has a choice. If you can afford a scooter and cell phones, like I just mentioned, you can afford a decent helmet. Not wearing one is on you. Letting down your guard, especially close to home, is how many die every day.

41 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

No rules, no cops. 

No insurance

6 minutes ago, fredwiggy said:

Everyone has a choice. If you can afford a scooter and cell phones, like I just mentioned, you can afford a decent helmet. Not wearing one is on you. Letting down your guard, especially close to home, is how many die every day.

 

You cross that 29x Rubicon when you choose a scooter over a 4 wheeler.  The math depends on which study you look at, but putting on a helmet reduces that risk by only 40% (+/-). 

 

So you're still 29 x 60% = 17x as likely to die per km on a scooter than in a car, even with a brain bucket.

 

 

1 minute ago, fredwiggy said:

In fact, it's something I told my girlfriend many times. Don't trust anyone. I let down my guard, saw 2 scooters on the side of the road, and yes, one crossed in front of me and I had nowhere to go, so I should have listened to my own advice of don't trust anyone, anytime, or anywhere. 

Trust yourself only. Never trust another driver to do the right thing. Accidents occur die to people assuming others will do the right thing. 50% of drivers can't even indicate properly. On roundabouts idiots turn right without indicating a lot.

Just now, impulse said:

 

You cross that 29x Rubicon when you choose a scooter over a 4 wheeler.  The math depends on which study you look at, but putting on a helmet reduces your risk by about 40%. 

 

So you're still 29 x 60% = 17x as likely to die per km on a scooter than in a car, even with a brain bucket.

 

 

Which is why I don't use them unless necessary, and one major reason I will move back home with my daughter, as I will not allow her to ever drive a scooter. 

I hate driving here! Rules of the road are just words .To the shellfish drivers

who avoid going the distance to properly get on the road to go in the right direction , som nam na!

 

 

1 minute ago, impulse said:

 

You cross that 29x Rubicon when you choose a scooter over a 4 wheeler.  The math depends on which study you look at, but putting on a helmet reduces your risk by about 40%. 

 

So you're still 29 x 60% = 17x as likely to die per km on a scooter than in a car, even with a brain bucket.

 

 

29x includes a helmet. Without a helmet it would be 41x more likely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 minutes ago, Harrisfan said:

29x includes a helmet. Without a helmet it would be 41x more likely.

 

That's why I say, the math depends on which studies you look at.  The ones I reference came out of the US and Australia and they vary between 20-40x as dangerous per km on a 2 wheeler than safely ensconced in a 4 wheeler with seat belts.

 

Edit:  It's easy to get caught up in whether its 17x or 20x or 40x or 41x.  But the salient point is that it's a lot more dangerous to ride a scooter in traffic, even with a brain bucket

 

 

30 minutes ago, Harsh Jones said:

The fact that you think these ppl just have a low education and a low IQ and that is why they don't wear helmets is a pretty low IQ take in itself. 

 

Though there is evidence out there suggesting otherwise.

 

"Thailand is placed 64th globally with an average IQ of 88.87."

"80-89: Slightly below average intelligence"

https://www.nationthailand.com/world/40035684

I'll never understand why all the karens in this thread ever come back to Thailand if they are so outraged about the way they drive. I really get a kick out of the way Thai people drive and ride. It is part of the reason why I liked Thailand and wanted to come back. 

 

If you want some boring nanny state where everyone drives like karens, then stay home. 

1 minute ago, lordgrinz said:

Though there is evidence out there suggesting otherwise.

 

"Thailand is placed 64th globally with an average IQ of 88.87."

"80-89: Slightly below average intelligence"

https://www.nationthailand.com/world/40035684

 

There's an argument to be made that's because the IQ tests were minted in the West and test for insights that are less relevant to the developing world. 

 

Put a Thai vendor up against a western vendor and I almost guaranty you the Thai will have better negotiating skills.  In the West, prices are clearly marked and everyone pays the same clearly marked price.  So they never have to learn to negotiate.  In Thailand, they start to learn negotiating as soon as they learn to talk.

 

 

8 minutes ago, lordgrinz said:

 

Though there is evidence out there suggesting otherwise.

 

"Thailand is placed 64th globally with an average IQ of 88.87."

"80-89: Slightly below average intelligence"

https://www.nationthailand.com/world/40035684

89 is terrible. My average is 133.

3 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Put a Thai vendor up against a western vendor and I almost guaranty you the Thai will have better negotiating skills.  In the West, prices are clearly marked and everyone pays the same clearly marked price.  So they never have to learn to negotiate.  In Thailand, they start to learn negotiating as soon as they learn to talk.

I could not disagree more. 

3 minutes ago, Harsh Jones said:

I'll never understand why all the karens in this thread ever come back to Thailand if they are so outraged about the way they drive. I really get a kick out of the way Thai people drive and ride. It is part of the reason why I liked Thailand and wanted to come back. 

 

If you want some boring nanny state where everyone drives like karens, then stay home. 

Easy to say until one of them drives through a red light and runs into you and you wake up (hopefully you do wake up), with broken bones, a head injury and can't remember who you are, all because they were in a rush to cross the road to buy some Somtam. 60 dying every single day, leaving children behind or in temple burns, isn't and has never been a joke. Western influence has given these people the majority of what they have and use daily, but they neglected the influence law enforcement and proper education should have on their driving ability. 

1 hour ago, fredwiggy said:

1 hour ago, SAFETY FIRST said:

Lots of stupid foreigners riding wrong way on Jomtien Beach road. 

 

And hundreds of thousands of locals who shouldn't be driving in the first place, let alone on fast moving scooters with children aboard. I've never seen a foreigner riding in the opposite direction but I see locals doing it daily. 

 

That's totally different, though.  Thais are good and foreigners are bad.  So, when Thais do it it's OK, but when foreigners do it, they're stupid!  (At least that's what the ironically named "Safety First" believes.)

Off topic posts removed