Do You Wear A Helmet

[naboo]

That said when their is a law in place that the wearing of a helmet is mandatory it cannot be left to the discretion of the individual to make the decision.  

Quite clearly, this is not true!

Always wear a helmet, coincidently bought a new one today, not full face as it gets too hot and I'd probably be 20 times as likely to have an accident, but covers a good portion of my head.

[PeaceBlondie]

99.5% of the time, a full face helmet. And scratches on the full face and on the screen.

[whiterussian]

Just selling my big bike... going to buy a paramotor. much safer. I have a reserve parachute.

the front section of my chopper nearly separated from the main frame, about 2 weeks ago ... wheel and forks held on by about 1cm of thin tubing at 100+ kph.

Was wearing a helmet. But it wouldnt have helped.

This thread is a good reminder to wear my full face helmet on my daily ride to work... about 5km.

Edited May 8, 2010 by whiterussian

[Donnyboy]

some of those flimsy excuses for helmets you see cant be any better than wearing nothing at all i reckon

just a reminder if anyone needed one

[heybruce]

I have to admit that I don't on short trips....less than a kilometer and only for longer trips do I wear one. I know it's stupid, even for short trips, but it's bloody HOTT with a HELmet.

I'm waiting for someone to invent an airconditioned helmet

I wear a white helmet, which doesn't absorb heat like a dark helmet. It's never felt hot to me, and I always wear it when on my bike.

[kjhbigv]

I must admit I probably wear a helmet 85% of the time and I have no excuse for not wearing it 15% of the time. I think you can get a false sense of security in this country, as it seems everyone is 'poodling' along at 25-30KM/H, so think I will be fine! I am an experienced UK rider and have off-road and sports bikes in UK, but would NEVER think of riding without a helmet there....I think partly because the speeds are just so much higher and of course the law is upheld in the UK!

Have to agree with some others....the typical Thai helmet is an absolute and complete joke and if any of you are half serious about decent head gear....get at least a half face UK/EU/USA spec one sent over.....don't be under any illusion that a Thai helmet is gonna save your skin, this especially applies to people who have not ridden in the UK and have no idea about the differences in the two!

Safe riding everyone

P.S. That bloke in the pic lived???? Surely not?

Edited May 8, 2010 by kjhbigv

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Another scary thing is that I had to learn NOT to stop when seeing an accident, a very high possibility that suddenly you had caused the accident, just trying to help.

Bullshit!

(Don't let the bitter, Thai-hating Bar Stool Farlongs get to you.)

When you're in a position to help, you help. I know I do. If there was a place where this was not possible then I wouldn't want to live in that place. Nuff said.

Edited May 8, 2010 by WinnieTheKhwai

[MESmith]

Unless you are living in the city center & only driving within the city, buy a car / truck.  Clunk click, every trip.  Seen too many motorcycle outlines spray painted on the roads....

[wynzlo]

If your not wearing a helmet you should hope you do die in an accident as there are a lot who survive with brain damage and very poor quality of life.

Couldn't agree more. Death isn't the issue, it's living as a vegetable or cripple that's scary. An aunt of mine gave her helmet to a child who needed one for a bicycle ride. Auntie took a fall, hit her head, and now her memory is screwed. You can sense the frustration as she struggles to remember even simple things.

[Yunnie]

When I leave campus area I wear a helmet. Although I must admit... I dont have a Foreign brand helmet. I have a full face Thai helmet that I guess is one of the "top of the line" ones for Thailand. Even one who sees it says that -shrugs- As long as it keeps my brains in. RealHemlet brand seems good and solid. with a "DOT" on the back... but I dont know if it a real DOT or just decor. lol

Mine is a white helmet so its not too hot. but I wear mine with my visor open... I know I shouldnt :x My visor is a "sun visor" or whatever... so in the evenings and nights its too dark to see with it down.

Also I dont have jackets boots gloves and all that gear. Too hot to wear all that just on a Yamaha Mio. I just wear a white long sleeve cotton jacket so people can see me at night. o_o;

From dorm - Payap... nah since I technically dont go off campus and you can speed on Payap Grounds.. too many speed bumps. So big cars, small cars, motorcycles, scooters, and the Sky blue Payap golf cart bus are all turtle slow. lol

I dunno.. I drive slow enough to avoid things and pay attention to everything. Never get distracted. Also avoid heavy traffic during certain hours of the day.

Edited May 8, 2010 by Yunnie

[Greenside]

Before the news of Swain's tragic death and in the light of two potentially dangerous (but luckily not serious) accidents in my family during the past year, I am on the point of deciding to sell the Fino and buy a second car when (if) the UK pound ever recovers. It's simply too dangerous to get away with frequent riding here and the odds are stacked against you no matter how careful you are. This afternoon on the Superhighway the traffic in my lane stopped unexpectedly and the BMW behind, who was going way too fast, swerved onto the hard shoulder to avoid rear ending me and sent a bike rider off into the gully. He appeared to be OK, but it just brings it home that it's not what you do that counts and some protection has to be better than none.

[thrilled]

People think that when they wear A helmet ,they aren't going to die.I see so many people with shorts,short sleeve shirts,no gloves,and sandles ,yes wearing these things and A helmet you won't die.The helmet is better than nothing.It's plastic,it gives A false sense of security.You run head on with A car both of ya doing 65 ,it don't make any difference what your wearing.

[khunandy]

I wear a helmet in Cm in the mornings to avoid the 200bht fine.

All other times I don't bother.

If Buddha wants me to die, wearing a helmet won't save me.

If Buddha wants you to be a brain damaged vegetable needing 24/7 care and draining your loved ones of finances and life.....I suppose you have the same point of view.

Its not black and white..life or death..there is a huge amount of people with head injuries in the middle.

Why do people only think of themselves???

[anonymouse]

If you don't wear a helmet your a pr%ck in my opinion.

I've had three friends who died under 35 yrs old in the UK one from cancer the other two in motorbike accidents that's back in safe ol' Blighty wearing helmets.

Seeing a Thai teenager lying by the side of the road coughing up blood in his death throes a couple of years back put me off riding here.

I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my Grandfather, not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car ;)I

[greasemonkey]

Wonder which is most likely to get me, cancer or motorcycle. I NEVER ride without a helmet, coz I landed square on my head when i got off a scooter, not long after I started riding motorcycles. Only going slow. Knocked me clean out. Woke up still lying in the road. must have been there a good 10 minites. Still keep the crappy old helmet as a reminder.

Im gonna have a fag.

[anonymouse]

Wonder which is most likely to get me, cancer or motorcycle. I NEVER ride without a helmet, coz I landed square on my head when i got off a scooter, not long after I started riding motorcycles. Only going slow. Knocked me clean out. Woke up still lying in the road. must have been there a good 10 minites. Still keep the crappy old helmet as a reminder.

Im gonna have a fag.

Lets hope your talking about a cigarette, I thought sheep were more your sort of thing?

[greasemonkey]

Aye, definately a cigarette.

Its pouring with rain, and I hate wet sheep.

[BLUEEYEDTHAI]

I do'nt like it but always wear it.

[Thailand]

The father of my secretary went 200 metres to his local shop on his motorbike. He had on his helmet but was not secured, he was hit by a pick up truck thrown against a telegraph pole, helmet came off and his head cracked wide open and he died instantly- he was 45. And this was not in Thailand.

The distance you are going to travel is irrelevant, in the moo baan, just a quick trip round the corner, wherever,you can still get in to trouble. And make sure you secure your helmet-that's what the straps are for!

[rodcourt49]

99% yes.

1% no. why not? In the evening it is so cool without...And sometimes I am fed up with my flattened hair.

Plus, I sometimes doubt about how this half egg shaped helmet could save me...

..you're lucky you've got hair to flatten mate..I wear a cyclists helmet, as I drive about at same speed of a bicycle rider, has lots of vents and is light but strong..of course still a risk no matter how well decked out you are..

[ThaiMouse]

I always wear a full face helmet on my scooter and motorbike. I don't care if my trip is only 400 meters. You only have to fall off once and hit your head onto something that is not soft and guess what, you're either veggie material or dead.

Most times in this Phuket heat I look like I have just come in from the rain, hair plastered down in sweat etc. So what, that look is better than the look on your face when you cook inside a Wats Crematorium.

Only selfish people don't wear helmets, means they have nothing worth protecting, not even protecting their families from their early demise. Costs baby's costs. Helmets are worth every cent.

So, come on wear a helmet, it does save lives and your face.

Don't forget your feet, arms and upper body too.

[Greenside]

What amazes me, given that most of us come from places where the value of a helmet (not to say the value of life) is appreciated a bit more than here, is to see a farang wearing one but with the straps undone. Surely, if you're going to the lengths of (a) bringing it along and (bee) wearing it, how much extra effort is it to fasten the blooming thing? I think I read somewhere that an unfastened on can actually contribute to injuries, could that be right?

Edited May 9, 2010 by Greenside

[fcgprg]

Cut your speeds no more than 60 km and never go out without a helmet .At low speed any helmet is better than none.

[jdinasia]

Our rule is if we go out the Moo Bann gate, the helmets are on, always.

Also.... if anyone knows of a shop selling a good full face helmet that is comfortable with glasses, pass that along. I haven't found one yet and would appreciate any suggestions others might have. I've had buddies break jaws and lose teeth from rather simple accidents.

There are 2 places along the North Gate that sell decent helmets -- one inside the gate and one outside.

I don't wear a full-face helmet. I find them too hot and it triggers a bit of a claustrophobic reaction on my part.

I wear a helmet 100% of the time that I am outside the moat and only about 50% of the time I am inside the moat. Even if I go to a shop on the moat road outside of the moat I wear a helmet. I often have my dog in a backpack when I ride and find myself wishing that they made helmets for her!

[BigWheelMan]

Motorcyclists in Thailand that do not wear helmets and some sort of eye protection are brain dead and here is the reason why.

Riding a bike without a helmet leaves the brain exposed to severe heat penetration from the sun, especially when stationary at traffic lights and in traffic jams. The brain after time actually gets cooked, destroying the brain cells. The skull acts as a kind of pressure cooker.

A helmet is essential for protecting the head and eyes from shrapnel such as small stones picked up and thrown from the tires or the tires of other road users, plus bugs, dust and dirt particles.

Even if Thai motorbike helmets do not come up to western standards, they can still save your life in the case of an impact.

Don’t leave home without one.

Uncle BWM

Edited May 9, 2010 by BigWheelMan

[jdinasia]

What amazes me, given that most of us come from places where the value of a helmet (not to say the value of life) is appreciated a bit more than here, is to see a farang wearing one but with the straps undone. Surely, if you're going to the lengths of (a) bringing it along and (bee) wearing it, how much extra effort is it to fasten the blooming thing? I think I read somewhere that an unfastened on can actually contribute to injuries, could that be right?

I grew up riding in a place where helmets were not required BUT eyewear was required. I can tell you that full eye protection is more important to me.

[toptuan]

I wear a helmet in Cm in the mornings to avoid the 200bht fine.

All other times I don't bother.

If Buddha wants me to die, wearing a helmet won't save me.

I do believe one can speed up Buddha's timetable by one's behavior.

[simoncnx]

'fraid not guess im too thai. but i dont do more than 40 kmph without 1

[PeaceBlondie]

My best student died at zero hours ago, at a dead stop. The helmet was in his basket. The pavement killed him.

[ThaiMouse]

DEAD.

John Grant Kerr, 53, who ran the Anzac Bar in Patong's OTOP complex on Rat-U-Thit-200-Pi Road.

Happened at 7.15am last Monday morning.

John always wore a helmet, and he always rode slowly, not above 50 km/h.

Accident broke his neck.

Check the padding at the back of your neck for absorption. Not too hard or too soft.

Only way to protect your neck in an accident is a Leatt Neck Brace.

R I P John.