New Helmet Laws Introduced As Fatality Rate Soars In Thailand

[Energy]

Many laws are given in this country.

Particular the law of wearing helmets works actually fine in BKK . Not often you will see some one driving a motorbike with out.

I guess that just in BKK the authorities are quiet strong and handling the law in the right way.

Punishment is the only way to get it work.

I mean how long toked to us to wearing helmets by law or use a safety belt in a car.

Without any punishment, we even will not do it by our self today in our home countries  And how many farangs i see every day in here, driving motorbike as well with out helmet??

In those regions no one takes care about the laws, no body will follow them.

No punishment, no law. Or may be just a little bit, sometimes somewhere.

But carefully, sometimes a little punishment here and there keeps the income running. Simple like it is 

If everyone follows the law,,,, where is than the income???? EIEIEI

[whybother]

Current thinking is: Helmets don't work! Doesn't matter what quality. After years of research some American states are repealing helmet laws. Thinking is, if you stop hard against something your brain doesn't stop inside your cranium and smashes against it. Result pulp! The way to stop fatalities is to not drive like a moron and make sure the bike is fit for purpose.

Yes ... it's much better for your head to hit the ground directly and break open, rather than possibly get injured inside a helmet.

You can stop driving like a moron, but that doesn't stop everyone else stopping driving like that.

[SICA]

Many laws are given in this country.

Particular the law of wearing helmets works actually fine in BKK . Not often you will see some one driving a motorbike with out.

I guess that just in BKK the authorities are quiet strong and handling the law in the right way.

Punishment is the only way to get it work.

I mean how long toked to us to wearing helmets by law or use a safety belt in a car.

Without any punishment, we even will not do it by our self today in our home countries And how many farangs i see every day in here, driving motorbike as well with out helmet??

In those regions no one takes care about the laws, no body will follow them.

No punishment, no law. Or may be just a little bit, sometimes somewhere.

But carefully, sometimes a little punishment here and there keeps the income running. Simple like it is

If everyone follows the law,,,, where is than the income???? EIEIEI

Make your mind up! And go and have a look at somewhere other than the centre of the city. I guarantee you'll see hundreds of people not wearing helmets

[Gers1873]

By bringing to topic to the public forum perhaps just one Thai may start wearing a helmet and one life may be saved - so some success.

This is all about education and changing bad habits not so different from the seat belt (buckle up) campaigns of many European countries.

Unfortunately the standard of helmet worn by >70% of Thais is so poor that these devices may cause more damage to the head in the event of a traffic accident.

Thailand, if serious, needs an education campaign:

1. Restrict the number of people on motorcycles to two. A father carrying a 1 yr old baby whilst maneuvering a motorbike is MAD. Saw it two days ago.
2. Make school kids take some form of 'rider education' program. Any clown can ride a bike fast from A-B but these bikes are often not under the control of the rider.
3. Educate people how to ride in traffic - stop cutting up cars, trucks etc... 4-wheels generally wins over 2-wheels. You are not only putting your life in danger but those of your FOUR passengers.
4. Take school kids to the ER of any hospital and make them observe the results of people injured or worse in accidents who were a) not wearing helmets or were wearing helmets made of cheap plastic.
5. Education is the key ---- but typically Thai so many refuse to listen.

Perhaps the Thai government could encourage Shoei or Arai to setup manufacturing in Thailand and in turn produce a reliable cost-effective helmet that meets international safety standards for the local market. Then we get back to the education.

How many people are killed/injured from not wearing suitable protective head-gear versus killed on 'overloaded' motorcycles?

[hardy1943]

Before they make new laws:

confiscate the vehicles of the following groups of people,and destroy those vehicles:

all drivers without driving license

all taxi- drivers without proper license

all truck-drivers .. .... ....

From this left-over group :

confiscate the vehicle if they are not sufficient insured.

If there are still thai-drivers in this group :

Check if the vehicle is not stolen and then check the lights,if

this is done ; throw the drunk driver in the yail.

I think that there will be only farangs on the road ?

99.9% experienced drivers.

No problem anymore with helmets

No need for extra roads ,traffic-lights....................

Small hospital is enough....

The sale of shoes will boom ,

............

.............

............

Now stop commenting on what happens in this los

I agree, but better yet give them all a driving test like in Europe or in the States. They all be walking. None of them would even pass how to park a car forget about operate one.

[Gers1873]

I saw a woman decapitated down Onnut way the other week, it was horrific. A body, still on the scooter lying on the road minus head... the head was just mangled bits of flesh and blood spread along the road where the tyre tracks had gone over it. Must've been something big like a bus or truck. Thailand should be ashamed of their country's attitude to road safety, for christ's sake, even Vietnam are making leaps and bounds in this area compared to LOS. It's glaringly obvious to me: the powers that be in this land don't give a <deleted> about their 'people', otherwise this issue would've been dealt with years ago. It makes my blood boil.

Decapitated so basically the helmet would have been useless??

[ignis]

Really is it already a law in Thailand? You would never know it I even see the police getting around without a helmet.

This is the question where do you start... Yes lots of police on motorbikes do NOT wear there helmets, also you see many riding the wrong way up roads, but there again you see police cars and there pickup also driving up the wrong side of the road..

2 Villages up from me there is a big highway Police bike [with flashing lights and siren] mostly the Officer wears his helmet, but what get me is he picks his kids up from school, the little one on the fuel tank the other one maybe 10 or 12 sites behind NO helmets, they ride the 12km back to there home, weekend you often see the Officer with his wife + 2 kids all on the big Police bike non wearing a helmet..

Kids have no fear, it is as we get older that we question in are minds about safety, I often go by a school as the kids come out, cannot remember ever seeing a single one wearing a crash helmet, lot are 1 or 2 up, there again lots have 3 - 6 kids on them, most appear to be in a race with each other and any car that is on the road.

So the question is were do you start?

Helmets start a a few hundred baht and have seen them for around 30,000 baht.. Also 1 size will not fit all, so to say [re one post] you can only sell a motorbike with a helmet is fine if buying new, but would never work buying 2nd hand.

[THAILIBAN]

I was in Viet Nam when they implemented their mandatory helmet law.

People either wore a helmet, or the police fined them and confiscated their motorbikes on the spot.

Some things communist countries just do better.

I wanted to write exactly that but obviously you got up earlier than myself this morning {~_~}

when i was in Vietnam in 2006, virtually NOBODY in Hanoi or HCMC wore a helmet. 3 years later, EVERYONE did.

so you CAN educate your people - and if it's only by confiscating their motorbikes (that's a VERY good idea indeed! - it would work wonder !).

in the end, what counts is: they now DO wear a helmet, and this fact saves thousands of lives each year.

on the other hand, I don't think it has much to do with Vietnam being a communist country - let's rather say, it is a very capitalistic one-party-country.

the corruption in Vietnam is still much much worse than in Thailand.

.

Edited December 15, 2010 by THAILIBAN

[steve187]

The helmet-shops found all over BKK sell helmets of the brand "Real" for THB 1200 and these meets both EEC and DOT standards. These are available in Size S to XXL, while most crap helmets are only available in "free size". Second hand (or stolen) helmets is probably much cheaper. If anyone can afford to buy a motocy, they can also afford to buy more than a powerranger plastic helmet. The government should make it illegal, to wear helmets that doesn´t meet the DOT standards. Helmets for children of all ages should also be compulsory. I have never in my life seen any child in Thailand wearing a helmet.

I have seen quite a few children sat on the front of motorcycles recently with proper fitting helmets on, more so than i have seen in the past.

I look at girls driving along into the sun, with their left hand shielding the sun from their eyes, and i think to myself ' why dont they just buy a helmet with a sun visor', but i think it is the Thai mentality not to wear a helmet, but it is also infectious, how many westerner do you see also not wearing a helmet, and they should be more aware of the risks involved.

But i also agree with some posters on here that we, as westerners come here to get aware from the 'PC' brigade, speed camera everywhere, as well as other silly rules, one of which is not being able to use a newcastle brown crate as a hop up on a building site, how many people have died falling off the same?. so do we really want those same silly rules to spread here?

[Xonax]

I have a well educated Western female friend who always uses moto-taxis and always refused to wear a helmet as it messes with her hair. As someone who refuses to utilize the moto-taxi at all, the idea that a 'so called educated person' refuses the helmet makes me cringe....

A lot more could be done and perhaps the best and most effective way would be to use simple 'Road Safety' advertising campaigns on TV (between the Thai Soaps)....

Some people, as my friend above are too stubborn and it makes me somewhat annoyed that they risk hurting others when they have been careless for their own safety.

I also wouldn´t wear a moto-taxi helmet, because of the dirt and smell left by previous users inside the helmet. For the same reason I rarely use moto-taxis. I will rather pay 10 Baht more for a Taxi, because this makes me a lot more safe.

[carvets]

Why is everyone having a go at the Thais?

Possibly because the topic is about the large number of fatalities in Thailand

It will take time for Thai people to realise that it's in their own interest to wear them, and it will take police time to enforce the laws properly.

In the meantime , tens of thousands more thais die or become head injured,....personally i think its " about time " to realise and act now !

[anterian]

I get the impression that Thais have made the switch from animal transport to motorised transport without making the mental adjustments to the change in speed. The motorbike is the modern buffalo and the pickup truck is the elephant.

the solution is to develop vehicles with electronic, collision avoiding brains, just like the original animal brains. Amulets just do not work as anti accident devices.

[jaideeguy]

Having been in a motorcycle accident myself wearing a cheap locally made helmet, I can say that I may not be writing this if I had no protection. I went flying in the air and skidded on my helmet until it ripped off, but it did save my brain.

Yes, the fancy full face helmets would be much safer, but the average Thai could never afford one and would never buy it and even if they do buy it, they don't wear them.

What I really hate to see is families of 4 on a motorcycle with their kids unprotected.

[mochafan]

You guys bitch about having more then 2 on bikes and helmet quality, you go pay for an extra bike or car and a nice helmet for a poor thai family then. They don't even have mosquetto nets or shutters and any toilets in the NE let alone these luxuarys.

Get real.

Maybe not...but many of them probably have 'Blackberries'

[MikeyIdea]

11,000 fatalities sounds little and is probably not accurate. I think the total number is higher. Depends on how they count and we don’t know. Wasn’t it Italy that only courted traffic accident deaths as traffic related if the person died within the first 24 hours up until the 80s? Don’t know what they called it after 24 hours but it didn’t go into the statistics as traffic related deaths

I remember Bangkok Post writing that 24,000 died in 92, figure should have been for 90 or 91, the article didn’t say, nor did it state the source

Bangkok Post wrote in an article in 97 I think it was that 37,000 died in traffic accidents, the article didn’t state source, think this was for 95 or 96

11,000?

[moskito]

Why the need for helmet wearing zones when it has been law for years that you have to wear a helmet when riding a motorbike?

I always wear a helmet but we should not forget why we came to Thailand, it was also because you are free a little bit more than in Europe

I think its ok not to wear a helmet on the way to the farm in the desert or in some rural areas. It should be forced in citys and on highways close to cities

But the helmet thing is not the only one which cause too many accidents day by day, its the selfish thinking and driving...why I should stop on a corner, why I

should respect others in traffic etc. etc....

If the government not finally starts to educate its citicens there will be no lower rates in accidents and hospital costs!

In germany we had a nice TV show, mostly just 2-5min long every sunday called THE 7th Sense, that TV series changed a lot to peoples behavior in traffic from 1966-2005

and 96% of germans still remember it.

Here and example what I am talking about. Check it out, I am sure even it is in german you will unterstand

[scotinsiam]

You guys bitch about having more then 2 on bikes and helmet quality, you go pay for an extra bike or car and a nice helmet for a poor thai family then. They don't even have mosquetto nets or shutters and any toilets in the NE let alone these luxuarys.

Get real.

I understand what you are saying but I think you are wrong. If they can afford to finance / pay / borrow / steal a bike they should be educated properly by teachers / monks / police / to wear a helmet - how many helmets have you purchased for the needy? I think a helmet will work out cheaper than a funeral service

[thurien]

There are helmets available that meet international safety standards but most are priced well out of the average Thai's budget

they could afford - unless there was this installment for a high-priced mobile which the son extorted from the parents or the monthlies for the new Sony sight & sound machine or for the fridge cum freezer (which nobody else has in that up-country village...) or else useless crap

Edited December 15, 2010 by thurien

[pavlik]

I mean having a salad bowl on your head, hardly will protect your head, if anything will cause even more damage

well depending on a person it could be a bowl for an actual salad.

[whybother]

Why is everyone having a go at the Thais?

Possibly because the topic is about the large number of fatalities in Thailand

It will take time for Thai people to realise that it's in their own interest to wear them, and it will take police time to enforce the laws properly.

In the meantime , tens of thousands more thais die or become head injured,....personally i think its " about time " to realise and act now !

Which is why "New Helmet Laws Introduced As Fatality Rate Soars In Thailand".

But how long did it take (and in some cases still taking) western countries to fully enforce the various laws.

[alfy]

I was sitting on my verandah with a mate and we couldn't believe when a thai man with a primary school girl on the back playing with her phone(not holding on) drove past sculling the last of his longneck,eyes to the sky. Helmets is just one of the many issues to stop the accidents and needless deaths. Oh yeah neither wearing a helmet.

[spiderED]

Many problems that are not being addressed

1/ How many of those motorcycles have no working headlight or taillight?

(Have you ever noticed how many people's headlights and taillights are burned out?)

2/ Children most certainly should have a helmet. There are very small children helmets made, but have never seen them in this country.

(There should at least be a mandatory helmet rule up to the age of 18 or 21.

3/ Why are motorcycles resticted to the most dangerous lane on the streets of Thailand?

(All motorcycle are supposed to ride only in the far left hand lane? This by far is THE most dangerous lane, every taxi and every bus will stop or has to stop in the right hand lane, but they don't have to stay in that lane. If you ride a motorcycle here (and I do), try going around buses, even if briefly,,as soon as a policemen sees you you are automatically pulled over for not staying in the right hand lane. I was told that MOTORCYCLE are the slower moving vehicles, thus must stay in the right hand lane. I think a bus is much slower than a motorcycle, maybe the buses should stay in the right hand lane?.)

4/ Why are motorcycles not allowed on the motorway? Perhaps motorcycles that are 150cc and up should be allowed on teh motorway, helmets would be mandatory and motorcycles would have to purchase some special sticker that shows it's allowed on the motorway and pay some small fee each year to assist the motorways that are very under used right now. just these tings would reduce deaths of motorcycle riders and children drastically.

Just suggestions ,

spiderED

[IanForbes]

Anoraks

This is Thailand, don't forget to wear your hard hat under coconut trees.

Great photo, Kwasaki. It points out the ridiculousness of the new law.

The main cause for the accidents is the risk takers. I see many responsible bike riders moving slowly along the highway, but I see just as many more young men (without helmets) racing between trucks and cars at high speed. They fly down narrow sois with no idea what is just around the corner. There are more ways to kill yourself on a bike than banging your head on the pavement. I always wear my cheap helmet and just take the chance that it will protect me, but I don't take risks in jumping lights, running red lights or dodging in and out of narrow gaps in traffic at high speed. One tiny error in judgement, or a patch of oil on the road and you are down in front of fast moving vehicles. The mirrors on the small scooters are totally inadequate for good vision on what's happening behind you.

[reason1]

Enforced Helmet Zones seems best to me. Can't get most folks to wear one normally nor expect them too. Preaching from on high doesn't help. Personally I don't like wearing a helmet -fun reduction and its luggage = lose/stolen risk

[shartin]

The police always had a helmet policy,but night time was alittle easier.they always have a police stop to catch them for extra funds when needed.The thais just paid the fine and carried on,no helmet needed.I have seen mothers taking kids to school no helmet on any person,just pay a fine,or be lucky and not be caught.Bringing this new rule in will change little to some.Unless the fine is higher then, they may wear a helmet.the other comments about bad helmets is very true.we can only wait and see if it works

With this in mind surely it would be cheaper and safer to just buy a helmet than repeatedly pay these fines. How much does this fine tend to be?

[ableguy]

What a joke, compulsory helmet zones!!!!! When a helmet is actually worn, it's one made of plastic. If the government is really serious about the issue, make it compulsory to wear helmets all the time by everyone on the bike. Setup a minimum standard for helmet quality, and educate Thai's that a motorbike was designed for a capacity of 2 max. Not an entire family of 5.

This can be done, I was recently in Vietnam for ten days and in the whole ten days I only once saw a guy on a bike not wearing a helmet, if they can do it why not Thais. for myself I would prefer they concentrate on getting school kids driving bikes with three freinds crammed on all with no helmets off the road, there is a school here in Hua Hin where at home time the police show up to stop the traffic so dozzens of 10 year olds with no helmets can drive out of the school gates safely, I will never understand this country,

[ableguy]

Many problems that are not being addressed

1/ How many of those motorcycles have no working headlight or taillight?

(Have you ever noticed how many people's headlights and taillights are burned out?)

2/ Children most certainly should have a helmet. There are very small children helmets made, but have never seen them in this country.

(There should at least be a mandatory helmet rule up to the age of 18 or 21.

3/ Why are motorcycles resticted to the most dangerous lane on the streets of Thailand?

(All motorcycle are supposed to ride only in the far left hand lane? This by far is THE most dangerous lane, every taxi and every bus will stop or has to stop in the right hand lane, but they don't have to stay in that lane. If you ride a motorcycle here (and I do), try going around buses, even if briefly,,as soon as a policemen sees you you are automatically pulled over for not staying in the right hand lane. I was told that MOTORCYCLE are the slower moving vehicles, thus must stay in the right hand lane. I think a bus is much slower than a motorcycle, maybe the buses should stay in the right hand lane?.)

4/ Why are motorcycles not allowed on the motorway? Perhaps motorcycles that are 150cc and up should be allowed on teh motorway, helmets would be mandatory and motorcycles would have to purchase some special sticker that shows it's allowed on the motorway and pay some small fee each year to assist the motorways that are very under used right now. just these tings would reduce deaths of motorcycle riders and children drastically.

Just suggestions ,

spiderED

For God sake man the last thing we neede is bikes on the motor ways, and I assumed lights on bikes here was opptional ?

[MikeyIdea]

This thread is about helmets and the effects of not using helmets so I take the opportunity to post about something that I have been thinking about for a while

This is NOT a political post, it’s an observation, clear observation IMO and I wonder if anyone else has seen the same as I have. I talk about Bangkok

I came to Thailand in the early 90s and I have seen more and more people in Bangkok using helmet every year. It’s been a good positive trend. I really did see a lot of people wearing helmets on the Bangkok streets early this year, and few motorcycle drivers were driving without helmets on the big roads

Then I observed a change starting earlier this year, there were fewer people using helmets, most of them were red shirts in the beginning (remember that this is not a political post please) but it didn’t stop with them. Then I observed more other people not wearing helmets on big Bangkok roads too, other people copied this “more relaxed” atmosphere, not surprising really IMO

Now, I observe the Bangkok streets and I still see more motorcycle drivers driving without helmets than I did a year ago

Anyone else see the same thing?

[pattayabuggy]

<P>Just more BS. There seems to be a general assumption, not just here by the way, that you wear a helmet then everything is fine and you won't die. A good fitting quality helmet, and I stress fit and quality, is certainly a good thing, but it isn't the most important thing, the most important thing is not to have the accident in the first place. Education is what is needed, start that education in the obvious place, school.</P><P>The driving test is a joke and is no help at all.</P><P>If a helmet is ill fitting in the event of an acident it will come off the head, that's for sure. Selling free size poor quality helmets in the supermarkets is a joke and in fact should not even be allowed by law. Helmets must be sized to fit firmly.</P><P>All the helmet law is is an earner for the police, nothing else. In a land where only money matters, all this is just more PR.</P><P></P><P></P>

[ginjag]

I think this forum should be renamed the "old woman winging wanke_rs and wosers forum". Take a look at yourselves!! ... U leave your own over priced and regulated country to come and live in a place where there is some freedom to decide on the level of risk that you r going to live your life with. Most of what I read on this forum is about having more laws and more fines and more restriction of indivuality. Please &lt;deleted&gt; and let natural selection take it course.

Now who's the one complaing and being an "old woman winging wank_er and woser" the whole point of a forum is to have a say. if you don't like it, get on your Honda Click, leave your helmet at home and go ride along the Sukhumvit Road as fast as you can and ignore all the traffic lights and laws. Fool.

agreed sica----joboss---your a nearsighted nit-------all the forum replys ( some helpful-some joking) but they all have a purpose--most of all-biggest per cent come to the same conclusions. usually sound advice for whoever is out there, maybe no one reads these comments-(who need to do-the people in power) its open-it is interesting. Its People like you that think just because a person has his say---should leave--HA........according to you---too many laws eh!....we all have too many laws -but its enforcing them here is the problem-------------another comment re--the cops here...give them DOUBLE wages and things would be more bad