Helmet Users Increased By 30%

[Lite Beer]

Helmet users increased by 30%

BANGKOK, 30 January 2011 (NNT)-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has revealed that a number of motorcyclists wearing a helmet has increased up to 60%, adding that passengers of a motorcycle service will be able to recieve a head pad free of charge.

The Prime Minister said the safety campaign encouraging the use of helmet has doubled the number of users compared to the same period last year. Bangkok, Phuket and Loei have reported the highest number of users since the campaign kicked off. However, the number of passengers are far less significant compared to that of drivers.

According to the Prime Minister, the government has since been paying attention to the production of helmets, making sure they are up to the standards. For passengers who are worried about sharing a helmet with other passengers, a head pad will be given to them to wear under the helmet. It also boosts safety levels and reduces injury risks.

-- NNT 2011-01-30

[londonthai]

I was never given a helmet to wear by the motocycle driver, even on 30km trips (there were no other form of transport), so head pads are a sheer utopia.

is pm the right person to present to the public facts about use of helmets? are there not any other more competetent and less busy government officials?

from my personal observation there is no change in helmet use in bangkok within the last year and is nowhere near 60%. It's worse in the villages/small towns where very few drivers wear helmet.

now some can expect a statement, that the pm is spewing untrue statistics and political propaganda

Edited January 30, 2011 by londonthai

[thaikahuna]

Is helmet use up 30 or 60% ? Who cares. The quality of the helmets in use needs to increase by at least that much to be called considerable progress.

[prefabs]

Thailand, the hub of head pads

Seriously, I see motorbikes with 4 juveniles coming out of schools, passing the usual copper at the school gate, nothing said. Under age, no helmets, overloaded bikes.

When I was a kid in UK, me and 2 mates got corporal punishment from the headmaster (really stung) because we cycled 3 abreast. Didn't know it was the law, didn't matter.

But here, parents, schools and cops are all guilty of being lenient.

Or maybe I am wrong? Is it actually against the law to be without a crash helmet? Doesn't look like it to me

[mrclough]

I think any increase in the number of people wearing helmets is a good start. I also agree the general quality of helmets iis poor unless you spend a lot of money but that is the same in most parts of the world.

In the UK you can buy a road legal helmet for as little as £40 or you can spend 10 times that for a better one IF you can afford it.

[astral]

Helmet users increased by 30%

A very dubious headline.

Let us suppose that 20% of riders where wearing helmets in the past

and I have a feeling that is a generous figure.

An increase of 30% means that 26% are now wearing them.

Hardly something to be crowing about.

[trogers]

This report tells us about the percentage increase in the number of motorcyclists using helmets without telling us a corresponding percentage increase in the number of motorcyclists. If the latter is higher, more motorcyclists are riding about without helmets...

[Bobr]

I work in a large Government facility and the commander of that facility ordered that all motorcyclists going in or out past the guards would be wearing a helmet. The result? Many Thais would ride up to the gate on a large street, stop and put their helmets on, then ride past the guards. This is not one of those derogatory posts about the Thais, but watching this every morning was difficult for me to understand. Forget the law and the safety factor of a helmet in an accident, just the insects here hitting me in the face and especially the eyes is enough incentive for me to wear a helmet with a face shield here.

[ginjag]

Does this mean that police revenues are down 30 per/cent. Agree with the poster who said -why is the P.M. involved having to give out the news, He has too much to sort out with the shirt nutters.

[jayjay0]

Thailand, the hub of head pads

Seriously, I see motorbikes with 4 juveniles coming out of schools, passing the usual copper at the school gate, nothing said. Under age, no helmets, overloaded bikes.

When I was a kid in UK, me and 2 mates got corporal punishment from the headmaster (really stung) because we cycled 3 abreast. Didn't know it was the law, didn't matter.

But here, parents, schools and cops are all guilty of being lenient.

Or maybe I am wrong? Is it actually against the law to be without a crash helmet? Doesn't look like it to me

You are in Thailand why do you not try to accept that it is not the same as the UK. Do you think that Thailand should have sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan?

[jayjay0]

I think any increase in the number of people wearing helmets is a good start. I also agree the general quality of helmets iis poor unless you spend a lot of money but that is the same in most parts of the world.

In the UK you can buy a road legal helmet for as little as £40 or you can spend 10 times that for a better one IF you can afford it.

sorry of t5opic.

Your post reminded me of another thread a while back here in Chiang Mai.

The fellow didn't want a cheap one he wanted a quality one.

He later said he had found one for 750 baht. I know I just thought it was funny

[powderpuff]

ANY increase in helmet use is good news.

Kind of reminds me of the sixties in California.

Remarkable circumstances caused the Hells Anglels & The Sikhs to be aligned in their refusal to wear a helmet. Fantastic. I got the answer though. If you refuse to wear a helmet ride the bus.

[housepainter]

A small office fire at home saw the loss of, amongst other things, a collection of photographs taken in Thailand.

I'd lost a body of work that were a summary of what could be termed 'Thai Life'. These were street scenes and for the last two years I've been working my way towards replacing them. Hence, I usually carry two cameras wherever I go.

Today was no exception and ensconced in a small market town, sitting outside a 'coffee shop' I started to capture what I saw. Street scenes; ordinary folk going about their routines as they shop, potter, talk, enquire.

What I realised during this was that nothing in particular stood out. Then I began to realise that the pattern of motorcyclists was constantly replicated. Crowded little bikes, minimum of 3 usually 4, always a baby. The latter standing either upright between adults or on the floor of the bike reaching up top grasp the mirror stalks. Oh, and not a helmet between them.

So at least two laws flagrantly broken; over crowding and no helmet. I could speculate no insurance, licence and under age.

Fat ladies, school kids, old men, young couples and baby. And the Policeman. Going the opposite way ignoring everything; every single breach of the traffic law; intention of the PM; desire of the government.

No helmets then up here in back road land.

During the recent holiday period when the check point Charlies appeared there was no change to this pattern; no helmets and no law enforcement. It seems as though Bangkok can say what it likes by way of edicts. Up here in my part of the real world they don't have an inkling.

What they do have have is white paint. It usually makes patterns on the roads; two wheels and then a spread eagled body shape.

Does any one care?

[Phatcharanan]

Does any one care?

Nope!

[Bobr]

Thailand, the hub of head pads

Seriously, I see motorbikes with 4 juveniles coming out of schools, passing the usual copper at the school gate, nothing said. Under age, no helmets, overloaded bikes.

When I was a kid in UK, me and 2 mates got corporal punishment from the headmaster (really stung) because we cycled 3 abreast. Didn't know it was the law, didn't matter.

But here, parents, schools and cops are all guilty of being lenient.

Or maybe I am wrong? Is it actually against the law to be without a crash helmet? Doesn't look like it to me

You are in Thailand why do you not try to accept that it is not the same as the UK. Do you think that Thailand should have sent troops to Iraq and Afghanistan?

Any country where children are supposed to tolerate being hit by school staff is really screwed up. I went to Catholic school and had to tolerate that nonsense from the nuns, but that is quite different than some Government school employee doing it.

[geriatrickid]

Helmet users increased by 30%

A very dubious headline.

Let us suppose that 20% of riders where wearing helmets in the past

and I have a feeling that is a generous figure.

An increase of 30% means that 26% are now wearing them.

Hardly something to be crowing about.

Yee of so little faith.

Here's why even a marginal increase will pay off;

- The more helmets are worn, the more it becomes the norm. People will see the helmets and realize that its ok and normal to wear one. The first step in a public health campaign is to raise awareness. Remember seatbelts? When mandatory use was introduced in the west, many did not want to use them. People were complaining about how it constricted their "freedom" in a vehicle. It took almost a decade to reach the point where most rational people now buckle up as a matter of habit.

- Even a small incremental increase in the use of a helmet pays off big time in terms of cost to society. Yes, many of the helmets are of poor quality, but guess what? A large number of motorcycle head injuries occur during low impact events. People will lose balance and fall off their bikes, or strike overhead objects or be hit by flying debris. The skull is fragile. A flying hubcap that hits someone's arm my not be fatal or it may fracture a bone. That same hubcap that hits a head can cause serious brain damage. If these types of injuries can be shaved off from the total pool of injuries, then literally milions upon millions of baht in costs (measured in lost wages, direct and indirect health care costs) can be saved.

Give them a chance. Baby steps first. And for those that point out the deficiency in helmets, please remember that;

- Early seatbelt designs were not good either. Remember the introduction of the 3 point belt to replace the old lap belt?

- Once the numbers of people wearing helmets increases, there will be an economy of scale, a demand that will allow higher quality helmets to be produced for less.

Be patient and encourage helmet use by educating your friends and families. Change is best started close in one's circle of loved ones first.

[briannorthfield]

Helmet users increased by 30%

A very dubious headline.

Let us suppose that 20% of riders where wearing helmets in the past

and I have a feeling that is a generous figure.

An increase of 30% means that 26% are now wearing them.

Hardly something to be crowing about.

I hear what you are saying.. but it is a step in the right direction... only today i saw a ''Tourist'' lying in a ditch with his motorbike.. off course , no helmet.. ??? so they are just as bad, but i will say he looked ''Russian'' so that says it all...

Law does not seem to exist in Thailand.. its what ever you fancy doing.. which is fine, but its like a big circus out there...sad but true

[londonthai]

almost everybody in thailand has a helmet, just in case of rain. So quality of the helmet is not that important, it's the habit of not wearing them at all times which should be addressed.

education should start at school, government offices, large factories and the other public places gates, where there usually is a policeman or security guard regulating traffic

[housepainter]

Helmet users increased by 30%

A very dubious headline.

Let us suppose that 20% of riders where wearing helmets in the past

and I have a feeling that is a generous figure.

An increase of 30% means that 26% are now wearing them.

Hardly something to be crowing about.

Yee of so little faith.

Here's why even a marginal increase will pay off;

- The more helmets are worn, the more it becomes the norm. People will see the helmets and realize that its ok and normal to wear one. The first step in a public health campaign is to raise awareness. Remember seatbelts? When mandatory use was introduced in the west, many did not want to use them. People were complaining about how it constricted their "freedom" in a vehicle. It took almost a decade to reach the point where most rational people now buckle up as a matter of habit.

- Even a small incremental increase in the use of a helmet pays off big time in terms of cost to society. Yes, many of the helmets are of poor quality, but guess what? A large number of motorcycle head injuries occur during low impact events. People will lose balance and fall off their bikes, or strike overhead objects or be hit by flying debris. The skull is fragile. A flying hubcap that hits someone's arm my not be fatal or it may fracture a bone. That same hubcap that hits a head can cause serious brain damage. If these types of injuries can be shaved off from the total pool of injuries, then literally milions upon millions of baht in costs (measured in lost wages, direct and indirect health care costs) can be saved.

Give them a chance. Baby steps first. And for those that point out the deficiency in helmets, please remember that;

- Early seatbelt designs were not good either. Remember the introduction of the 3 point belt to replace the old lap belt?

- Once the numbers of people wearing helmets increases, there will be an economy of scale, a demand that will allow higher quality helmets to be produced for less.

Be patient and encourage helmet use by educating your friends and families. Change is best started close in one's circle of loved ones first.

What you fail to understand or even acknowledge is that seat belt innovation came about over 40 years ago in the first world. Therefore, trial and error is now unacceptable. There is no longer the experimental learning process of whinging. The answers are known. There are givens. And don't patronise other posters with a sanctimonious tone of 'be patient'. You sound Thai and that euphemistically means at best 'stupid' and at worst 'ignorant'. You can be stupid but will remain ignorant.

Thailand and the rest of the uncivilised, uneducated, ignorant, mumbo jumbo, lawless world ought to play catch up, jump on the bandwagon and develop. That's why they don't like to be called thrid world and prefer developing world. But you'd think it were Darwinian evolution they'd embarked on, where come back in a million years and you'll see them wearing helmets. Even shoes perhaps?

It simply won't do. Neither will your unresearched attempt at explaining the process of acceptance. Baby steps? Baby speak may work as an analysis in your corner of the play ground where much gibberish comes from, but your apology offers nothing concrete in the way of solution. It also shows major blindness in comprehending the socially engrained attitudes of Thais. You can not tell them what to do or interfere in their lives.

Facts. The Thais do not apply the law. Across society or on a macro level to each other. Anyone can do whatever they want with little consequence. We see that from red light jumping to tourist murder. Hence society's problems are magnified. Basic improvements to health and the quality of life, including the risk management and reduction, are alien concepts here where life is cheap and lived in flip flops.

You should know that any assessment of increased helmet usage is merely subjective and unreliable. As anecdotal evidence remains virtually worthless but is a body of opinion that states the reverse; no increase.

Like in so many other similar issues this is one where one can only criticsie the Thais as they remain useless at directing the populace towards safer health measures as they have no power of enforcement. From statute to Police the matter is lost as the Police do not enforce the law effectively. Therefore, hands are tied and the morass simply swells.

Finally, and colloquially, this is an old chestnut that has existed since motrobikes, the curse of Thailand, were imported. It will never be resolved. Usage will never achieve a satisfactory level unless those standards are dropped to the unacceptable, which is where they are now. The petrol engine itself will have run its course before Thais will wear helmets other than plastic bowls.

This is Thailand. Third world for ever more.

Brain injuries, flying hubcaps along with flying farts will all have come and gone. You call for chances to be given in the same way appeasors sat down with Hitler. Nettles have to be grasped and a grand fatherly approach here, by you, is totally irresponsible.

Do you urinate by chance upon house fires?

[TimC]

Helmets are designed to minimize head injury ONLY from striking the road. They are not designed for high-velocity impact with other objects although, obviously, they provide some protection from relatively low-energy airborne objects. Research helmet design and test specs on the internet. One report I read indicated that even the so-called 'cheap' helmets performed as well or even better than expensive ones for road impact. Also, the helmet fit has to be very good and, of course, the chin strap should be fastened securely. It is unlikely that a helmet carried by the motorbike-taxi will be the correct fit for the passenger. Ergo: The passenger should carry his/her personal helmet if they are to be serious.

How many of the helmet-wearers meet these requirements and should the time come will the helmet do any good?

Of course, anything is better than nothing ... or is it not?

Edited January 31, 2011 by TimC

[trogers]

Thailand and the rest of the uncivilised, uneducated, ignorant, mumbo jumbo, lawless world ought to play catch up, jump on the bandwagon and develop. That's why they don't like to be called thrid world and prefer developing world. But you'd think it were Darwinian evolution they'd embarked on, where come back in a million years and you'll see them wearing helmets. Even shoes perhaps?

It simply won't do. Neither will your unresearched attempt at explaining the process of acceptance. Baby steps? Baby speak may work as an analysis in your corner of the play ground where much gibberish comes from, but your apology offers nothing concrete in the way of solution. It also shows major blindness in comprehending the socially engrained attitudes of Thais. You can not tell them what to do or interfere in their lives.

Facts. The Thais do not apply the law. Across society or on a macro level to each other. Anyone can do whatever they want with little consequence. We see that from red light jumping to tourist murder. Hence society's problems are magnified. Basic improvements to health and the quality of life, including the risk management and reduction, are alien concepts here where life is cheap and lived in flip flops.

You have raised an interesting question good for a doctorate thesis. Which factor contributes more to the development of Thailand - increased intelligence of the populace from learning and adapting, or the shorter lifespans of the stupid and stubborn?

[Darkman]

Does any one care?

Nope!

Nope! Nope! but I imagine the PM just sat down one day and counted the number of motorcycle riders going past his door with and without helments. At least it sounds as if he cares.............