Phuket's 100% Helmet Use Campaign To Ride On

[webfact]

Phuket's 100% helmet use campaign to ride on

Phuket Gazette

Phuket rescue workers attend to a man suffering a head injury sustained in a motorbike accident. More than 15 people die each month in motorbike accidents in Phuket, most them were not wearing helmets. Photo: Gazette file

PHUKET: -- More than 15 people die each month in road accidents in Phuket, with most of those fatalities being motorbike riders not wearing helmets.

The news came at a road safety awareness seminar at Phuket Rajabhat University on Monday, headed by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat.

Also present at the seminar were Phuket Provincial Health Office Deputy Director Dr Wiwat Seetamonotch and officers from other relevant agencies.

“Thailand has among the highest number of road accidents in the world… and Phuket is in the top five provinces in the country for having the most traffic accidents,” Gen Choti told his audience of community leaders, lecturers and students.

“About 33 to 35 people are injured each day and more than 15 people die each month in road accidents in Phuket. The motorbike riders in those accidents were not wearing helmets,” he stressed.

Gen Choti explained that Phuket’s nationally recognized “100% helmet use” campaign has done much to reduce the death-and-injury road toll on the island, but quickly added that more needed to be done.

“Although about 80 per cent of all motorcycle riders in Phuket now tend to be more concerned about their safety and wear helmets while they are riding, many of them still do not follow the traffic laws. Drivers and riders should be careful and considerate toward other road users,” he said.

Road safety was not just a local issue, but global, Gen Choti explained.

“The helmet-wearing campaign supports the ‘Decade of Action for Road Safety from 2011 to 2020’ in line with the Moscow Declaration issued on November 20, 2009 by ministers and senior officials from 150 countries.

“Statistics collected by the World Health Organization show that road accidents are a major public health problem that kills nearly 1.3 million people and causes injury to another 50 million people each year,” Gen Choti explained.

“That’s why the government is conducting its campaign to promote the use of helmets by youngsters and adults. It is to educate Thai people about the benefits and the importance of wearing a helmet while riding,” he said.

Source: http://www.phuketgaz...e-on-19292.html

-- Phuket Gazette 2012-11-01

[asiawatcher]

Police the law regarding helmets and extend this to having the helmet tested to a standard that can survive an impact. Plastic 'brain buckets' as seen on many Thai riders will simply split and not prevent a head trauma. But with the incompetence of police and lack of any safety standards, as well as corruption, it does not give the chance of carnage reduction a hope in hell.

[laurentbkk]

Well they should do that campaign demo 1st January to 31st December in the whole country as Bangkok also has his share of crazy drivers , in my area it's easier to count those with helmets , look in Vietnam , everybody is wearing helmets and there are much more motorbikes there. The problem is many people here think they are above the law, talking on the phone when driving , never put safety belt etc ..... If the police stop you , easy , just give them a bit of money . It works all the time.

[BEVUP]

First of all its upto a long history & up bringing

Up in my parts it starts from nursing babies on them to the young teens then venturing out alone (som nam na ) then the parents have to scrounge around trying to find the money to pay police - no Lisc / ID/Helmet ect

So they can do it all again

But big news amongst locals if they were to have accident maiming themselves or the inocent

Then they think of how he/she have accident - obviously nothing to do with the ABOVE

[fxe1200]

Today everybody in Thailand can buy great helmets made to American standards. These helmet carry the DOT symbol and are available from THB 800 (i.e. INDEX) upwards. If one rides a motorbike or scooter for 40.000 THB, he/she should be able to spend 2% of it for a decent helmet.

For those folks, who still think, that their head is just as valuable as a coconut, there should be a law plus enforcement, stating that the rider and the pillion must wear a helmet of DOT standards at all times whilst riding a two wheeled motor vehicle.

Besides there must be a campaign for considerate driving in Thailand.

The situation now is truly unacceptable.

[Sydneycraig]

They should clamp down on riderd with no license too... Big fines ... Would be good to have less out of control idiots to avoid

[stevenl]

First of all its upto a long history & up bringing

Up in my parts it starts from nursing babies on them to the young teens then venturing out alone (som nam na ) then the parents have to scrounge around trying to find the money to pay police - no Lisc / ID/Helmet ect

So they can do it all again

But big news amongst locals if they were to have accident maiming themselves or the inocent

Then they think of how he/she have accident - obviously nothing to do with the ABOVE

Where I come from, about 40 years ago, a compulsory helmet use was introduced. Many protest at that point, but come time people have come to accept it.

By now we in the western world have become so conditioned that we do not accept people not wearing a helmet anymore. Sure, it is safer to wear one, but why can we not accept other people not wearing a helmet, law aside?

[wans]

not really much use having helmet laws if theres no law requiring you to do up the strap

[bunta71]

First of all its upto a long history & up bringing

Up in my parts it starts from nursing babies on them to the young teens then venturing out alone (som nam na ) then the parents have to scrounge around trying to find the money to pay police - no Lisc / ID/Helmet ect

So they can do it all again

But big news amongst locals if they were to have accident maiming themselves or the inocent

Then they think of how he/she have accident - obviously nothing to do with the ABOVE

Where I come from, about 40 years ago, a compulsory helmet use was introduced. Many protest at that point, but come time people have come to accept it.

By now we in the western world have become so conditioned that we do not accept people not wearing a helmet anymore. Sure, it is safer to wear one, but why can we not accept other people not wearing a helmet, law aside?

Two months ago my neighbor's 18 year old had a bad crash without a helmet. She made it but had lots of head injuries. Lot's of grief both financially and emotionally for the family and friends. A week later it was my brother in law in the Philippines, again, massive head injuries and now blind in one eye and fighting a serious infection in his head. I will pay for the surgeries and care. When these things happen, the effects are far reaching and the people around the injured pay emotionally and financially. Like a suicide without concern of the people around you. This makes it hard to accept what I term willful ignorance.

[bedouin1990]

As a former long range motorcyclist in the US, I can tell you that the importance of a good brain-bucket is paramount. But there is more to consider. Riding one as a driver or passenger in typical clothing we wear here is also dangerous. My feeling is that this culture respects cyclists more because there are so many of them. If you have even a minor accident here-wearing shorts and T-shirt you will suffer major skin loss. I always, even in hot weather, wore leather pants and a jacket to minimize this. But in the climate here, that is not practical. The fact will always remain, you are far safer in a car/truck than on a motorized cycle. But we all cannot afford this. My only suggestion is that we drive defensively and carefully. For all the fun and joy of the freedom of a motorbike, we take an inherent risk.

[crazydrummerpauly]

In the furthest reaches of Isaan where it bangs up against the Mekong, the carefree attitude to impending catastrophe on the road is truly staggering, and its power to shock me has only slightly subsided over the years. No helmets to be seen; 3,4,5 on a bike often including an infant or two wedged in somehow; and the rider steering with one hand while holding the mobile/ the umbrella/ the dog...with the other. And all this in dense traffic coming from all directions. But the thing that really puts my blood pressure up with a combination of fear and anger, is all the <deleted> with absolutely NO LIGHTS at all. I've given up risking my neck on two wheels, so now drive, and the concentration required to avoid crashing into or pulling out in front of these morons is extreme. Tuk-Tuks can move at a fair pace relative to the generally slow-moving traffic up here, and without lights, they are almost invisible dirty assemblages of rusting tubing and invisible drivers. As everyone knows after a few years experience, there is only one way to possibly stay out of trouble when driving here - imagine the worst that could happen at every second, and adjust every detail of your driving to that grim vision. And remember that many Thais interpret all rules as OPTIONAL - that way you'll be ready for all the idiots speeding towards you the wrong way down a one-way street. Note: 'possibly'....even with that approach, you need a whole shed-load of luck on your side as well if you are going to manage an accident-free history of driving in LOS. The point about helmets is vital - but so is the point made above about needing fines applied when they are not done up tight. Without a good strap-fixing, you might as well throw the helmet in a rice-paddy for all the good it will do when a head starts speeding towards tarmac. Speaking of which, in London, i was a 'real' biker ;-) .. and was cut up by a Rolls Royce right outside the Bank of England one late night, and tarmac actually appears to be rushing upwards to smack your fragile face when all control is lost on two wheels. At least it was classy tarmac ! (I only gave up big bikes after being hit 3 times by cars who 'didn't see me', in spite of a full white helmet, headlight always on, and a bike as easy to see as a 1,000cc BMW.)

[madmitch]

Where does the figure of 80% of riders wearing helmets come from?

Is it from the roadblocks, where people put their helmets on a few hundred metres beforehand? Is it from a survey by university students? Does it relate to Phuket Town only? Is it a figure plucked out of the air to make it sound good. I'd guess the fourth option.

Quite simply the figure is rubbish. At the local market or school I would guess the figure is nearer 80% without helmets. On the main roads it's a much higher figure but still nowhere near that quoted.

[Pormax]

The big problem is that the ensuring the law on wearing helmuts is only carried out when there isa police check area. When it is time for the officers to go home then the helmuts get put back in the cupboard.

I went to a market the other day and the car/motorbike parking area was not more than 5 yards from a manned police building and on the other side of the building was the main road. While waiting there in the car park for more than 40 mins i saw only 10% of motorbike riders(that is maybe a bit generous) were wearing helmuts yet not one of the 4 police officers I saw did anything about it.

One way to crack down on this would be for the government to issue orders to school principals to not allow any rider of a motorbike into the school grounds without a helmut. Unfortunately that would most likely mean 40% or more would not go to school. If they then also said no underage drivers plus those with no driving licence and insurance then that would be a lot more non attendance.

Yet every school in my area has big signs at school entrances saying helmuts must be worn 100%.