Underage Motorbike Drivers

[melbat]

Why is there so many underage motocy drivers on Phuket.

Recently there was an article about this "cant remember where" where the police turn a blind eye to this, saying "the kids have to get home from school somehow"

So if this is the case why so many on the roads at Weekends & after school hours?

A large percent of these underage drivers ride in the mottocy gangs around Phuket.

Kids being kids will do whatever it takes to get recognised as part of the gang.

Keep kids of the roads at weekends and evenings and see the accident figures for motorbikes fall for Phuket.

Ted.

I have been living in Phuket for 6 years now and this problem of underage motorcyclists seems to be getting worse and the drivers younger. What are their parents doing and thinking about letting such young boys drive a motorcycle?? Most young boys love speed and to show off to their friends and are never aware of the dangers. I live in fear of being in an accident with one of them and being blamed.. Another thing that terrifies me is young children being perched up the front of motorbikes holding the rear view mirrors. Dont the drivers realize that just doing a speed of a few kilometers an hour and having an accident will send the child flying over the top of the bike and to serious injury or heaven forbid death for the child. Is there a law that forbids this practice? If so why dont the police enforce it? I understood that it was the duty of every goverment in the civilized world to protect their children from such dangers. I wish people would not tell me it's all because it's the only way the Thai's can travel so have to indulge in such practices. When I was young my parents could not afford cars to motorbikes so we used public transport or the things that God gave us called LEGS! I used to walk 3 miles a day to school with my brothers and sisters. It seems to me that the generation these days want to make children lazy and rely on motorbikes and cars for everything.

[jdinasia]

"Thais do not have money".... So why so many red plates?

Thai's have Good Credit.

You will also find, Thais that have brand spanking new pick-ups, which must cost at least 10/12k a month on tick, come home to a 1 room place that costs 2k per month. If you applied the same ratio in the West, every other car would be a brand new, Ferrari, Porcher or Aston Martin. Mind you, that sounds like fun!!

The ideas that Thais 'don't have money' is a bit silly don't you think? After all my landlord in Phuket was a local old Thai muslim man. He owned 5 houses in Kamala and still went to work every day on his old honda. With just the little I paid him in rent every 6 months he could have bought 3 new bikes a year with cash and I couldn't even estimate how many if he bought them on time.

But with 900 baht down and 1k a month a new bike is in almost everybody's range, particularly when it is needed to get to and from work or school.

[WOOHOO]

The ideas that Thais 'don't have money' is a bit silly don't you think?

Obviously there are wealthy Thais, and then there are extremely wealthy Thais. Here in Phuket, there are probably more than anywhere else, except maybe BKK, but the fact that the majority of Thais are poor, I think is indisputable. Spending 5 times more, on your car per month than you spend on your rent, which I know a lot of Thais do, is quite strange as well. It shows how some Thais prioritise differently, to westerners.The thought of spending 100,000 baht on a leather sofa for example, something just to sit on, to most Thais would be bizarre. Also I think that because pickups are needed for work, trading, etc a lot of the time, makes them a priority.