Phuket Opinion: Let's Kill The Ignorance On The Roads

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PHUKET OPINION: Let's kill the ignorance on the roads

PHUKET: -- Phuket City Police are to be commended for not giving up in their effort to get all motorbike riders in their district to wear safety helmets.

Unfortunately, the entrenched carelessness that has persisted on Phuket roads for at least two decades means they face a long, uphill battle against a notoriously stubborn opponent: ignorance.

Despite a two-month public relations campaign that saw thousands of free helmets given away and countless verbal warnings, compliance with the helmet law among motorbike riders is still far from perfect, especially among children and other pillion riders.

July 1 marked the D-day, when police were to begin issuing fines against all helmet law offenders in the district. Unfortunately, and as predicted in this space soon after the campaign was announced in late April, the scale of the problem and lack of police manpower resulted in a “non-starter”.

But rather than giving up, Phuket City Police employed a new tactic: seizing the licenses of violators caught at police checkpoints and not returning them until the offenders viewed a short film with graphic images of the kinds of severe head trauma their recalcitrance puts them at risk of.

It is expected that the movie experiences will continue for about two months before fines will be issued.

Soon after its launch, the “scared straight” public relations campaign got a strong show of support from Deputy Interior Minister Thavorn Senniam, whose younger brother succumbed to a cranial hemorrhage after his unprotected head hit the pavement in a motorcycle accident in 1982.

Mr Thavorn said he would like to see other police districts of Phuket adopt similar campaigns, and would suggest similar projects in his visits to 13 other provinces in the South, where he is responsible for overseeing that government polices on health and human security issues are implemented.

Numbers alone reveal why across-the-board helmet use is essential for Phuket. According to Ministry of Public Health statistics, the province consistently ranks in the Top Five of Thailand’s 76 provinces in terms of road accident injuries and fatalities, often taking the Number One spot.

The majority are young people on motorbikes without helmets.

While the incidence-rate statistics are no doubt skewed because they fail to take into account Phuket’s huge migrant population, the fact remains that 15 deaths a month is an unacceptably high figure that could be dramatically reduced if the Phuket City Police effort is successful.

The Gazette would like, once again, to suggest that the police put particular enforcement emphasis on protecting children by setting up random checkpoints in front of schools every morning.

-- Phuket Gazette 2010-07-11

[Boater]

[quoteThe majority are young people on motorbikes without helmets.

]

[quoteThe Gazette would like, once again, to suggest that the police put particular enforcement emphasis on protecting children by setting up random checkpoints in front of schools every morning.

]

what is the legal age to drive a motorbike in thailand? , also do they not have a law on the age of pillion passengers?

these kids drive like they are on a sucide mission on there bikes.. and i hate when parents drive with there babies, and also drive like nutters WITH there babies on board

[Phil Conners]

Perhaps it would also help if we didn't see so many cops driving around without helmets...

[invex]

Today I was stopped in Chiang Mai.

I know I am wrong and accept the ticket but the way it happened made me sick.

I got a ticket by a young policeman who is NOT wearing a helmet by himself while riding his motorbike.

When I told him that in foreign countries the police will try to give the good example and always wear a helmet, he answered me “we are in Thailand and I am a policeman, so I can do that”… That made me furious and speechless at the same time.

In the mean time, I have about 20 pictures of policeman riding a bike without a helmet in Chiang Mai. I am getting more and more nervous about the attitude of them. 3 times I needed them (for different reasons, one was a scam for 70.000Baht) and all 3 times they did do NOTHING, nothing at all. They hardly listened to me.

I am thinking for a long time to prepare an “open letter”, or start a petition or… whatever what. I don’t know but I would like to do something.

I know that many “farang” have the “mai penrai” attitude and will not leave their sleep for anything. However, I fought my entire life against corruption and want to do something.

Maybe others feel the same. If so, let me know.

[djayz]

In all fairness, it is a step in the right direction. I just wonder what will happen to all of the fines the cops collect...

Most of the helmets I've seen here are tawdry and won't protect too many heads...

[Jimi007]

The majority are young people on motorbikes without helmets.

The Gazette would like, once again, to suggest that the police put particular enforcement emphasis on protecting children by setting up random checkpoints in front of schools every morning.

what is the legal age to drive a motorbike in thailand? , also do they not have a law on the age of pillion passengers?

these kids drive like they are on a sucide mission on there bikes.. and i hate when parents drive with there babies, and also drive like nutters WITH there babies on board

The legal age to drive a motorbike under 100 cc is 15 years old. What do suggest that parents who can't afford a car do?

Edited July 11, 2010 by Jimi007

[LivinLOS]

Today I was stopped in Chiang Mai.

I know I am wrong and accept the ticket but the way it happened made me sick.

I got a ticket by a young policeman who is NOT wearing a helmet by himself while riding his motorbike.

When I told him that in foreign countries the police will try to give the good example and always wear a helmet, he answered me “we are in Thailand and I am a policeman, so I can do that”… That made me furious and speechless at the same time.

In the mean time, I have about 20 pictures of policeman riding a bike without a helmet in Chiang Mai. I am getting more and more nervous about the attitude of them. 3 times I needed them (for different reasons, one was a scam for 70.000Baht) and all 3 times they did do NOTHING, nothing at all. They hardly listened to me.

I am thinking for a long time to prepare an “open letter”, or start a petition or… whatever what. I don’t know but I would like to do something.

I know that many “farang” have the “mai penrai” attitude and will not leave their sleep for anything. However, I fought my entire life against corruption and want to do something.

Maybe others feel the same. If so, let me know.

Its actually the law.. Thai police are legally exempted from wearing helmets.. Something to do with wearing their police uniform, including the cap.

Cant remember where I read this but do remember reading its an actual exception.

[invex]

Today I was stopped in Chiang Mai.

I know I am wrong and accept the ticket but the way it happened made me sick.

I got a ticket by a young policeman who is NOT wearing a helmet by himself while riding his motorbike.

When I told him that in foreign countries the police will try to give the good example and always wear a helmet, he answered me “we are in Thailand and I am a policeman, so I can do that”… That made me furious and speechless at the same time.

In the mean time, I have about 20 pictures of policeman riding a bike without a helmet in Chiang Mai. I am getting more and more nervous about the attitude of them. 3 times I needed them (for different reasons, one was a scam for 70.000Baht) and all 3 times they did do NOTHING, nothing at all. They hardly listened to me.

I am thinking for a long time to prepare an “open letter”, or start a petition or… whatever what. I don’t know but I would like to do something.

I know that many “farang” have the “mai penrai” attitude and will not leave their sleep for anything. However, I fought my entire life against corruption and want to do something.

Maybe others feel the same. If so, let me know.

Its actually the law.. Thai police are legally exempted from wearing helmets.. Something to do with wearing their police uniform, including the cap.

Cant remember where I read this but do remember reading its an actual exception.

--------------------------------------

At my knowledge that is for special events only; f.e. if the Royal family will pass and they have to stand on the road every 20 meters. In normal circumstances, I tought they have to wear the helmet.

Try to remember where you read it, I would like to know for sure.

Thanks

[Eurod]

Today I was stopped in Chiang Mai.

I know I am wrong and accept the ticket but the way it happened made me sick.

I got a ticket by a young policeman who is NOT wearing a helmet by himself while riding his motorbike.

When I told him that in foreign countries the police will try to give the good example and always wear a helmet, he answered me "we are in Thailand and I am a policeman, so I can do that"… That made me furious and speechless at the same time.

In the mean time, I have about 20 pictures of policeman riding a bike without a helmet in Chiang Mai. I am getting more and more nervous about the attitude of them. 3 times I needed them (for different reasons, one was a scam for 70.000Baht) and all 3 times they did do NOTHING, nothing at all. They hardly listened to me.

I am thinking for a long time to prepare an "open letter", or start a petition or… whatever what. I don't know but I would like to do something.

I know that many "farang" have the "mai penrai" attitude and will not leave their sleep for anything. However, I fought my entire life against corruption and want to do something.

Maybe others feel the same. If so, let me know.

Interesting letter, I am a former British cop and have also fought my entire life against injustice and corruption. This was eventually the main reason why I left... I have also spent considerable amount of time in Thailand and would like to make 2 points.

Firstly, there is a legal exemption for the Police in Thailand, not to have to wear crash helmets. Dont ask me why, but there is! I found out after asking the same questions that you did.

Secondly, there is an entire culture of corruption and unfairness (injustice) from the ( very) top down, this will never change whilst the existing method of government there exists. It would need to be examples led from the top and serious punishments for those lower in the food chain who broke the rules.

To pay the Police in Thailand a proper wage, would mean a complete overhaul of training, and a massive expense. Multiply this by as many other services as there are, and you end up with a huge bill.. payable only through taxes...Hmmmm and nobody pays them... and so we go on

[ScubaBuddha]

Riding around Phuket Town today and yesterday afternoon, I was quite surprised to see 90-95% of drivers and passengers, including kids, wearing helmets. Nearly every other intersection had cops with people stopped that appeared to be getting tickets issued to them, presumably for no helmets.

Then, not surprisingly, after 7pm driving around Kata and Chalong, the helmet use drops to about 10% for drivers, with virtually no passengers using them.