Helmet Check Maenam

[H2oDunc]

Just come through Maenam where they have a helmet check in progress and I haven't seen so many Farang's in one place all looking sick for a long time. There must have been about 60 of them. All no doubt topping up the cash pot to the value of 500 baht each. There will be a few Sang sum's drunk tonight

Maybe if they did it every day people would get the message

Sorry I don't know what came over me there. Of course they won't.

[joe84330]

wow, if this is true then they've mixed things up a bit. i've never seen a helmet check in maenam after 12 in the last 3 years. they've been like clockwork, start 10am and stop pulling people over at 11:45 so they can finish collecting the cash in time to buy lunch.

[H2oDunc]

Looks like they are putting in a bit of OT today then as said they had a gaggle of them there all looking like they had been hard done by.

[robsamui]

hee hee hee - there's me thinking that I'll give it an hour or so till I pop out to 7-11 for my smokes - then I suddenly realised that my helmet is still hanging on the same nail by the door where it has been ever since I bought it 5 years ago. Better dust it off~

R

[H2oDunc]

You know it makes sense Rob.

Wearing a helmet is going to save you money in the end one way or another.

It is going to save you 500 baht a time every time they pull you over or it is going to save you a shed load of cash in very expensive hospital bills.

[brzy]

i was expecting this everywhere today due to the football last night

[badwig]

come on guys not only is it law to wear your helmet but you should respect your life more than the thought of a 500 baht fine

I have been here long enough to attend 3 funerals all results of motorbike accidents.

in 1 case a helmet would have made no difference but the other 2 may have.

in Europe you would not complain about getting fined for no helmet, so just be happy you get away with not using one here so much of the time.

[KTD]

I had dinner last week at the first place on beach road as you come around the

corner in Nathon and they were set up there. Was pretty entertaining and business was good.

[robsamui]

You know it makes sense Rob.

Wearing a helmet is going to save you money in the end one way or another.

It is going to save you 500 baht a time every time they pull you over or it is going to save you a shed load of cash in very expensive hospital bills.

Despite evidence to the contrary I would partly disagree with you here.

Let's put it this way. When I came to Thailand one of the things I had shipped over was an expensive full-face Shoei helmet. This weighed three or four pounds and was heavy until on your head, when it transformed into a padded, balanced dream. (It simply disappeared from my bike one afternoon - I wonder why ...)

But the helmets on sale here for 200 baht are really no protection at all. Even just dropping them onto concrete splits them. In an accident where there would by enough direct impact to the head (rather than just scraping along the ground) to warrant being protected by a helmet, then these plastic jokes would do no good. You might as well be wearing an aluminium ice bucket on your head.

Additionally, out of the hundreds of accidents I've seen her involving motorbikes the winner is severe loss of skin - sometimes also shaving the underlying bone. This happens on elbows and legs. The second is accompanied by broken bones, divided more or less equally between hands/feet and legs. I've only ever twice seen head injuries ... (but with a good helmet that didn't break or fall off even this probably wouldn't have happened.)

I think it would be far more appropriate for bikers to wear elbow and knee pads like skateboarders do - at least long trousers/shirts. I wince every time I see visitors in swimwear on motorbikes. I have an intuitive feeling that the Ring Road enjoys being fed its diet of scraped flesh and all this bare skin is calling out to it - summoning it - provoking it to add a bit more sand on the next corner or to suddenly pop open another pothole in front, just in order for it to get another tasty morsel of road-smear.

But that's just my opinion ...

R

[transam]

Thought it was 1000 bht now, same for passenger.

[NALAK]

thats probably 60 farangs who will never come back to Samui, should enforce it everyday then people would not feel so angry about the traps set by the Samui police, who can be seen regularly riding around off duty with no hat on. dont see to many people riding around phuket and pattaya with no hat as everybody knows the law is regularly enforced.

Edited March 7, 2011 by NALAK

[carmine]

Looks like they are putting in a bit of OT today then as said they had a gaggle of them there all looking like they had been hard done by.

You see Dunc's now that through their tireless efforts the BIB have made the island crime free they have more time to sort out the pressing problems. That the Lord they. like your esteemed self have their priorities in the right order.

[H2oDunc]

Looks like they are putting in a bit of OT today then as said they had a gaggle of them there all looking like they had been hard done by.

You see Dunc's now that through their tireless efforts the BIB have made the island crime free they have more time to sort out the pressing problems. That the Lord they. like your esteemed self have their priorities in the right order.

The law states you must wear a helmet. Just which part of this do you have difficulty understanding ?

They are doing their job! Which part of this do you have a problem with ?

or are you selective in the laws you would like to see them uphold ?

I'm very happy top see them stopping people for not wearing a helmet regardless of what people like you think !

Oh and another thing. if you choose not to wear a helmet and get stopped then just accept the fine and don't make out it is some kind of scam.

[carmine]

Looks like they are putting in a bit of OT today then as said they had a gaggle of them there all looking like they had been hard done by.

You see Dunc's now that through their tireless efforts the BIB have made the island crime free they have more time to sort out the pressing problems. That the Lord they. like your esteemed self have their priorities in the right order.

The law states you must wear a helmet. Just which part of this do you have difficulty understanding ?

They are doing their job! Which part of this do you have a problem with ?

or are you selective in the laws you would like to see them uphold ?

I'm very happy top see them stopping people for not wearing a helmet regardless of what people like you think !

Oh and another thing. if you choose not to wear a helmet and get stopped then just accept the fine and don't make out it is some kind of scam.

Theres nothing wrong with them enforcing the wearing of helmets is there Duncs and who said there was?

You just don't get it do you? So, i'll try to spell it out for you

Its more important to cut down on the perpertrators of violent assaults, murders, burgularies, dealing and usage of class A drugs than stopping idiots for not wearing a safety helmets. That is necessary but further down the list of priorities for a force that claims to be under manned.

Exactly which part dont you get mate? I'm not trying to pick an arguement but i just can't fathom your thought process on this.

Edited March 8, 2011 by carmine

[joe84330]

this makes me think of the whole gay marriage issue that is making the rounds in the U.S.

probably in the grand scheme of things there are 742 million more important issues to deal with than whether or not two men or a dog and a pig can get married. incredible waste of time and resources.

personally i don't feel it's a scam when they stop someone for not wearing a helmet, i think it's a scam that there is a law mandating their use. regardless, there are much more pressing issues for samui to deal with than helmet laws and their enforcement which have no significant impact other than to fill thieves wallets. hell just making a proper sidewalk along most of these roads would have a more positive net impact on the island than helmet laws.

[crusty]

this makes me think of the whole gay marriage issue that is making the rounds in the U.S.

probably in the grand scheme of things there are 742 million more important issues to deal with than whether or not two men or a dog and a pig can get married. incredible waste of time and resources.

personally i don't feel it's a scam when they stop someone for not wearing a helmet, i think it's a scam that there is a law mandating their use. regardless, there are much more pressing issues for samui to deal with than helmet laws and their enforcement which have no significant impact other than to fill thieves wallets. hell just making a proper sidewalk along most of these roads would have a more positive net impact on the island than helmet laws.

Yeah like stopping the speed freaks (RS Tours anf safari jeeps) tearing down the Chaweng Beach road at 90 kmh !

[NHJ]

Exactly which part dont you get mate? I'm not trying to pick an arguement but i just can't fathom your thought process on this.

don't worry carmine, H2oDunc's dream is to be a policeman enforcing the wear of helmet, he's always saying the same thing when it comes to helmet, he's not bad, just obsessed with the law and helmet....

maybe he likes them so much, he's wearing one when he's scuba diving

[Higgins]

Getting pricy now. If you get a pull. Its still a decent deal that you get a free run for a week if you carry your ticket.

The scary thing for me is the sanctimony. And that makes me very worried that samui will end up like crudhole that is ... well ... pick your place.

And drive slow people.

[steelerian]

isnt it about time we started a thread, that is pinned, where we can alert each other of helmet/police checks?

[Rooo]

isnt it about time we started a thread, that is pinned, where we can alert each other of helmet/police checks?

This is so funny.It's like a prowler asking for a lookout. No matter what personal thoughts and opinions are, it is the law to wear one, simple. Someone wants to run the gauntlet, up to them.

[steelerian]

isnt it about time we started a thread, that is pinned, where we can alert each other of helmet/police checks?

This is so funny.It's like a prowler asking for a lookout. No matter what personal thoughts and opinions are, it is the law to wear one, simple. Someone wants to run the gauntlet, up to them.

Rooo I know its the law to wear one, Im quite clear on that. I was merely suggesting that the regular posters on this forum help eachother out by tipping each other off when they see a police/helmet check point. Is that such an absurd suggestion?

[Rooo]

isnt it about time we started a thread, that is pinned, where we can alert each other of helmet/police checks?

This is so funny.It's like a prowler asking for a lookout. No matter what personal thoughts and opinions are, it is the law to wear one, simple. Someone wants to run the gauntlet, up to them.

Rooo I know its the law to wear one, Im quite clear on that. I was merely suggesting that the regular posters on this forum help eachother out by tipping each other off when they see a police/helmet check point. Is that such an absurd suggestion?

Yes, I think it's an absurd suggestion. Again it's a matter of personal choice if you want to break the law. Why should you ask members & use Thaivisa to help you do so?

[BigC]

one of the reasons for som many road blocks is that allot of motor bikes are getting miccked. abotu1 a day. so they are checking number plates aswell

[steelerian]

isnt it about time we started a thread, that is pinned, where we can alert each other of helmet/police checks?

This is so funny.It's like a prowler asking for a lookout. No matter what personal thoughts and opinions are, it is the law to wear one, simple. Someone wants to run the gauntlet, up to them.

Rooo I know its the law to wear one, Im quite clear on that. I was merely suggesting that the regular posters on this forum help eachother out by tipping each other off when they see a police/helmet check point. Is that such an absurd suggestion?

Yes, I think it's an absurd suggestion. Again it's a matter of personal choice if you want to break the law. Why should you ask members & use Thaivisa to help you do so?

Who is asking members of the forum tohelp them break the law?

I am merely asking fellow members to help each other avoid paying fines.

Personally I own a helmet. I probably wear it 50% of the time. Maybe it would be nice to get a tip off to help me out in case one day I intend to go somewhere without my helmet.

If you cant see my point then Im wasting my time even talking to you about it.

[BigC]

You know it makes sense Rob.

Wearing a helmet is going to save you money in the end one way or another.

It is going to save you 500 baht a time every time they pull you over or it is going to save you a shed load of cash in very expensive hospital bills.

Despite evidence to the contrary I would partly disagree with you here.

Let's put it this way. When I came to Thailand one of the things I had shipped over was an expensive full-face Shoei helmet. This weighed three or four pounds and was heavy until on your head, when it transformed into a padded, balanced dream. (It simply disappeared from my bike one afternoon - I wonder why ...)

But the helmets on sale here for 200 baht are really no protection at all. Even just dropping them onto concrete splits them. In an accident where there would by enough direct impact to the head (rather than just scraping along the ground) to warrant being protected by a helmet, then these plastic jokes would do no good. You might as well be wearing an aluminium ice bucket on your head.

Additionally, out of the hundreds of accidents I've seen her involving motorbikes the winner is severe loss of skin - sometimes also shaving the underlying bone. This happens on elbows and legs. The second is accompanied by broken bones, divided more or less equally between hands/feet and legs. I've only ever twice seen head injuries ... (but with a good helmet that didn't break or fall off even this probably wouldn't have happened.)

I think it would be far more appropriate for bikers to wear elbow and knee pads like skateboarders do - at least long trousers/shirts. I wince every time I see visitors in swimwear on motorbikes. I have an intuitive feeling that the Ring Road enjoys being fed its diet of scraped flesh and all this bare skin is calling out to it - summoning it - provoking it to add a bit more sand on the next corner or to suddenly pop open another pothole in front, just in order for it to get another tasty morsel of road-smear.

But that's just my opinion ...

R

u r right i did my bike test in ther u.k. i was told that people can die from lack of gear on their body when their skin scraps allong the concrete but there again in the U.K it is rarley 100 degrees F.

I uderstand people driving around in beach gear because of the heat but if u drive drunk with no helme and just a pair of shorts. then pray your inssuernce pays up and u don't get breatherlised apon crash accident or just make sure u have loads of money before hand or someone to sorte out the delivery of your body to the U.K for your relatives.

Amazing some people come to samui and leave in a box. Not everyone though most of these accident come don to common sense. It is a shame that we need police to tell us what to do but that is just the way it is.

SOme people getangry when the police do nothing. then sometimes i see the same people complaing when the police do something then complain when they do not. conffused ???

[sevenhills]

@ Stalerian....

Maybe you need to start wearing your helmet 100% of the time, that way you won't need to rely on TV members to help save 500 Baht. Just a thought.

[transam]

Yes, I think it's an absurd suggestion. Again it's a matter of personal choice if you want to break the law. Why should you ask members & use Thaivisa to help you do so?

Who is asking members of the forum tohelp them break the law?

I am merely asking fellow members to help each other avoid paying fines.

Personally I own a helmet. I probably wear it 50% of the time. Maybe it would be nice to get a tip off to help me out in case one day I intend to go somewhere without my helmet.

If you cant see my point then Im wasting my time even talking to you about it.

You are .

Helmet law is to keep YOU off an autopsy slab. Bloody simple really, even for me.

[steelerian]

Another blinkered individual

[transam]

Another blinkered individual

Explain your '' blinkered '' thought. Just for me, please.

[carmine]

If i might be the voice of reason that i so often am. it is a simple fact that wearing a helmet saves lives and is a legal requirement. End of story.

That said, whilst this should be enforced there are many other far more pressing matters that need to be addressed. I doubt those matters will be either but thats the way it is.

Have a lovely day everyone.