The average person is not happy in their country, and deep down even worse off in Thailand.

The average person also is glad when misfortune happens to others, making them feel better.

They then use the internet instead of doing anything, feeling better for minutes.

They then complain over and over and nothing is better off, while they are worse off, hoping others are even more mad at their tirade.

listen, WAKE UP and get off the internet. go outside for once and talk to a parent about the safety of helmets. if not, zip it.

and if you don't care, get off this tread.

sent from my iphone 7 while helping kids learn about helmet safety.

Ok maybe I should have used sad instead of depressed. What i find more amazing is the attacks on me. I have been accused of being a racist and a bigot for simply trying to draw some attention to what I see as irresponsible parents riding around with their kids on the back wearing no helmets. Personally I think that says everything about the calibre of the person attacking me. If I make one person think a bit then I have done my bit. Waiting for more personal attacks but that shines the light on your true character.

I am with you on this all the way. I am a little shocked at some of the responses. I think I could be forgiven for assuming that some people are exercising their right to be rebellious in their adopted country (with fewer real laws) at the expense of their children's safety,,

example "I can do what I like here, if I want to live in a nanny state I will go back to a Western country!" totally bonkers. God help their children.

Ok maybe I should have used sad instead of depressed. What i find more amazing is the attacks on me. I have been accused of being a racist and a bigot for simply trying to draw some attention to what I see as irresponsible parents riding around with their kids on the back wearing no helmets. Personally I think that says everything about the calibre of the person attacking me. If I make one person think a bit then I have done my bit. Waiting for more personal attacks but that shines the light on your true character.

I am with you on this all the way. I am a little shocked at some of the responses. I think I could be forgiven for assuming that some people are exercising their right to be rebellious in their adopted country (with fewer real laws) at the expense of their children's safety,,

example "I can do what I like here, if I want to live in a nanny state I will go back to a Western country!" totally bonkers. God help their children.

+1

Sex: The most fun you can have without laughing. Woody Allen.

Sent from my iPad with Retina display, using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Amazing how many here are openly boasting about breaking the law and how proud they are about putting their kids at risk.

But of course they are hiding behind the anonymity of usernames.

so, because someone's skin is white it means they should automatically embrace your notion of what is right and what is wrong? 

 

And why does it depress only with white folk? are the brown ones somehow less important, or do you just not care about them?

 

Prepare to be disappointed.

Well the Thai Govt also seem to think it is wrong hence the helmet laws in the country.

Sent from my GT-I9003 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I was surprised at the heated discussion on page one and am even more surprised now..

I totally get the anti-nanny-state and pro-freedom / individualism sentiment. I subscribe to that too.

But a significant part of that went out the window when I had kids.

Thailand in general is so unsafe (compared to most Western countries) when it comes to traffic safety and other basic safety regulations (electrical, fire, construction, food, supervision of kids, sloppy enforcement of laws, massive lack of common sense in general) that raising kids here involves dealing with a level of guilt for remaining in Thailand at all.

Then when you see someone like yourself act without regard for their child's safety, a common response is to project some of your own guilt on to that situation; so you get some pretty strongly worded posts. Of course the anti-PC / anti-nanny-state brigade, -of which I'm a part time member- has equally strong feelings, so you get even more colorful posts. And some of those people perhaps don't have the means to get a car, so don't have much choice but to move their kids by motorbike; they might view the topic as a direct attack on their choice to have kids..

Some others in this discussion don't even have young kids of their own in Thailand, so they come at it at a tangent of the benefit of helmets in general, or the balance of risks: traffic versus bathrooms. (Fair enough). Or challenge the OP for allegedly caring only about white/mixed kids and not about Thai children. (Considerably less fair; I for one notice it just the same with Thai kids; like 6 children in a motorbike sidecar, or dad with a helmet and a kid in front and at the back who can't reach the footrests.. But those people are unlikely to be in the audience here.)

Anyway, a little more respect and understanding of where people are coming from in this topic would be nice.

Edited September 3, 201312 yr by WinnieTheKhwai

This is a depressing thing I have been seeing a lot of recently

Why does it depress you ? Do you get depressed about a lot of things that are no concern of yours ?

I, for one, find it very depressing to see a kids head split open in the middle of the road, just because it's parent couldn't be arsed to buy it a crash helmet. Even though it's no concern of mine.

How many have you seen? What was the CAUSE of this happening?

You drove you kids to school with no helmets and you are boasting about this. Some people should not be allowed to be parents.

Neighbours daughter, no biological connection to me.

I'm just about to do it again this morning.

I also drive around with her 2 year old on the m/c, no helmets but we do have a child seat on the m/c.

Message home.

Hi Mom & Dad,

Really stuffed it to those people on that forum,ha,ha,ha.

The doctors say I will likely keep the sight of one eye but looks like the other one has had it.

The doctors also that your granddaughter is unlikely to regain consciousness and even if she did she would need 24 hour care for the rest of her life.

Apparently if both of us had been wearing standard protection our injuries would have been minimal.

But you know and my disregard for laws and basic safety standards that don't suit me,ha,ha,ha. I know your granddaughter would agree with me- if she could of course!

For some reason our neighbor has said that when I fully recover she will be taking her daughter to school herself in future-some people!

Your loving----///.

You drove you kids to school with no helmets and you are boasting about this. Some people should not be allowed to be parents.

Neighbours daughter, no biological connection to me.
I'm just about to do it again this morning.

I also drive around with her 2 year old on the m/c, no helmets but we do have a child seat on the m/c.

I don't like helmet laws. I've been riding motorcycles for more than 40 years and I've NEVER liked helmet laws. I believe adults should be allowed to choose for themselves.

Helmets are for saving lives. Helmet laws aren't about saving lives. They are about saving money. The bean counters say that motorcycle accidents involving riders without helmets cost the government more money than accidents involving riders wearing helmets.

That said, I never have and never will ride a motorcycle without a helmet. Even to the corner store. The actor, Gary Bussy, went down the block to his corner store, dropped his bike and was in a coma for weeks. It took several months of physical therapy to regain full use of his body. He wasn't even hit. He went down on a patch of oil and didn't have a helmet on. His choice. But he's an adult. He can make that choice as an adult.

As adults, we have a responsibility to our children to give them the very best protection until they are old enough to make decisions for themselves. To do otherwise is putting children into potentially dangerous situations without regard for their safety.

Endangering the life of a child is a crime.

In Thailand, riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a crime.

As an adult, we have the obligation to insure our children are both safe and learning to live as honest citizens living within the law. To do otherwise is not moral behavior. As someone else said, there are many who simply shouldn't be parents.

To brag about breaking the law makes no sense to me. To brag about endangering the life of a child makes no sense to me. What sort of people do this?

Endangering the life of a child is a crime.

In Thailand, riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a crime.

It's only a 200bht crime, not that serious.

Anyways, stop panicking, she drove herself today.

No helmet, no driving licence, no insurance, no worries!

This is a depressing thing I have been seeing a lot of recently

Why does it depress you ? Do you get depressed about a lot of things that are no concern of yours ?

I, for one, find it very depressing to see a kids head split open in the middle of the road, just because it's parent couldn't be arsed to buy it a crash helmet. Even though it's no concern of mine.

How many have you seen? What was the CAUSE of this happening?

The number I have seen and the causes are of no consequence. Split heads can be avoided by wearing a crash helmet and wearing it properly, with the strap fastened securely.

Even if by every rider in Thailand wearing a helmet saves just 1 life, it would have been a worthwhile law to enforce.

I've told my wife that I do not want to visit her in hospital after she gets a head injury from falling from a motorcycle, so she now wears a helmet.

Sex: The most fun you can have without laughing. Woody Allen.

Sent from my iPad with Retina display, using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I see it everyday from Thais and Farangs and just shake my head in amazement at the stupidty of the parents, why is it that parents allow this ? lack of brains, selfishness, no money to buy an helmet or do they just think that they are in some sort of bubble that makes them immune from having an accident !

Footnote : I would imagine from the lack of compassion shown from some of the posters on this thread shows that they have not visited visited a child on a life support machine in hospital or been to a childs funeral that have been involved in a motorcycle accident, if they ever have too then perhaps their views would be different

Well said.

I see it everyday from Thais and Farangs and just shake my head in amazement at the stupidty of the parents, why is it that parents allow this ? lack of brains, selfishness, no money to buy an helmet or do they just think that they are in some sort of bubble that makes them immune from having an accident !

Footnote : I would imagine from the lack of compassion shown from some of the posters on this thread shows that they have not visited visited a child on a life support machine in hospital or been to a childs funeral that have been involved in a motorcycle accident, if they ever have too then perhaps their views would be different

Well said.

+1

Sex: The most fun you can have without laughing. Woody Allen.

Sent from my iPad with Retina display, using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Endangering the life of a child is a crime.

In Thailand, riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a crime.

It's only a 200bht crime, not that serious.

Anyways, stop panicking, she drove herself today.

No helmet, no driving licence, no insurance, no worries!

No worries? People who think like this scare the living sh$t outta me....

I really, really want to believe you are just pulling our leg. I'm just really afraid you aren't.

Endangering the life of a child is a crime.

In Thailand, riding a motorcycle without a helmet is a crime.

It's only a 200bht crime, not that serious.

Anyways, stop panicking, she drove herself today.

No helmet, no driving licence, no insurance, no worries!

No worries? People who think like this scare the living sh$t outta me....

I really, really want to believe you are just pulling our leg. I'm just really afraid you aren't.

regardless if he is or not....shows off his mental capacity.

This is a depressing thing I have been seeing a lot of recently

Why does it depress you ? Do you get depressed about a lot of things that are no concern of yours ?

I, for one, find it very depressing to see a kids head split open in the middle of the road, just because it's parent couldn't be arsed to buy it a crash helmet. Even though it's no concern of mine.

How many have you seen? What was the CAUSE of this happening?

Fortunately only one. A schoolgirl being thrown from her bike after a truck hit her bike from behind. Her head impacted the road, and she bled out from a fractured skull on the spot.

No doubt i my mind that a proper helmet would have prevented it. This was in Phuket town in the noughties. Not something I'll ever forget.

Then again, in the Middle East we have crap parents as well. They let their kids bounce around the car without seatbelts. One moron killed his child this way when he had to brake after someone pulled in front of him. The kid went into the windscreen like the toolbox in 'Fearless' and died instantly.

Some people should never be allowed to reproduce.

Just because your a farang here, it does not make you smarter than the locals.

3 7 posts that add nothing to this topic have been removed.

Just because your a farang here, it does not make you smarter than the locals.

I think the key here is about being able to understand how actions can or could precipitate consequences. Some people are oblivious to the possible results of their actions. The easy answer to the "why" question is, "I don't think I will crash," and statistically, that's a fair assumption. Millions of kilometers are driven with a small ratio of accidents, and even those do not always result in death by head injury. That's not to say it's not possible -- it is, but frankly, unlikely.

Similarly, people have some "instinct" that when you are riding a push-bike you don't need a helmet. Or that you sort of ought to, but hey, it's a bicycle...

By the way, I believe that the OP was pointing to foreigners because the conventional wisdom is that they, "ought to know better," than the locals (a sentiment I agree with).

Why is it that you think that Foreigners should know better than Thais about anything in Thailand. Where do you get your sense of superiority from ?

This is a depressing thing I have been seeing a lot of recently

Why does it depress you ? Do you get depressed about a lot of things that are no concern of yours ?

BOOO "I Like Thai." Booooo!

ooohhhh Now I'm upset, poor little me, I'm feeling depressed, boo hoo

I am one of those "farang parents".. I'm having my wife dig his helmet out of the closet tonight.

In just one week's time, I've seen three of my university students in the hospital with head injuries from motorbike accidents. None of them were wearing helmets, of course. Not a pretty sight, and quite dim future prospects for one of them.

I, for one, find it very depressing to see a kids head split open in the middle of the road, just because it's parent couldn't be arsed to buy it a crash helmet. Even though it's no concern of mine.

What does your feelings of depression do for the injured child ? Nothing!

This is a depressing thing I have been seeing a lot of recently

Why does it depress you ? Do you get depressed about a lot of things that are no concern of yours ?

As someone has also stated, it becomes his concern when he has to drive past and see a child's or young person's head split open on the road. If this something that doesn't bother you, you wouldn't or don't get 'concerned or depressed' about then I feel sorry for you as a person!

If he drives past, then it doesn't concern him. If he stops and is able to help, then he makes it his concern. I don't like to see road victims, but I don't let it depress or sadden me. If I can help I will, if I can't then I won't. I then drive past, I don't look and don't feel depressed about it.

God I'm sick of hearing this same old thing over and over again. If I want to barrel down the street with my daughter on my bike without a helmet, it is my business, not yours. If you want to call the BiB, by all means do so. After spending 13 years as a firefighter, many of those as a fire inspector, I guarantee I can come into your house and find a dozen code violations, any of which could potentially cause horrible injuries or death to you and your family. If the police find me driving with my daughter, I pay a fine. If (as a fire inspector) i find you with your violations, you pay a fine. I hear the same thing every time I cite someone, oh it will never happen to me, what are the chances, blah blah blah. You don't want to hear my spiel about how each code is important, and I most definitely don't want to hear yours. I choose to assume the risk for my child, just like you assume the risk when you don't buy a grounded power strip when you plug in your child's night light. We are in Thailand, we obey Thai laws or face Thai punishment. You may not agree with it, and if YOU don't like it then YOU go somewhere else. Meanwhile, I will handle my own family's affairs; you needn't concern yourself.

This is actually sensible, although I'd imagine you're getting thrashed by the PC brigade. Why do people feel a need to interfere into other people's lives? And bring kids into it! Yes, riding with a helmet is safer than riding without. But so is eating healthy. Are you guys going to berate parents who feed their kids fast food and soft drinks? Do you know how dangerous that is?? Oh nevermind....

This is a depressing thing I have been seeing a lot of recently

Why does it depress you ? Do you get depressed about a lot of things that are no concern of yours ?

Some people care about others...especially the ones that usually cannot care so much for themselves or make the important decisions themselves just yet...kids.

Ignorance is bliss hey....as is turning the blind eye, of which you sound proficient.

If I can help, then I will turn my eye towards the situation and help. If I cannot, then I will turn the blind eye and go on my way. Yes, I probably am proficient at turning the blind eye.

This is actually sensible, although I'd imagine you're getting thrashed by the PC brigade. Why do people feel a need to interfere into other people's lives? And bring kids into it! Yes, riding with a helmet is safer than riding without. But so is eating healthy. Are you guys going to berate parents who feed their kids fast food and soft drinks? Do you know how dangerous that is?? Oh nevermind....

I do not need to interfere with other people's lives. People can do whatever they wish. Including me and others on here who feel that parents allow their kids to ride on a motorcycle without a crash helmet and putting their lives in danger are stupid. Whatever colour their skin, wherever in the world they live.

People like those flaming me, the OP and other like minded posters are the sort of people who let their 5 year old kids play out in the street un supervised and get taken by pedophiles.

No offence to the pedophiles amongst you.

Sex: The most fun you can have without laughing. Woody Allen.

Sent from my iPad with Retina display, using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Are you guys going to berate parents who feed their kids fast food and soft drinks? Do you know how dangerous that is?? Oh nevermind....

Yes. I carry an ice pick, ready to stick in the parent's eye socket whenever I see it happening. Much easier than running after a m/c with helmetless child

This topic has had enough exposure. Now gone downhill into insults.

//CLOSED//