Let's give something back, by paying for Ad. Campaign.

[dotpoom]

I have been moaning and groaning to myself for a long time now about the motorbike riders who never seem to be bothered about not having any lights on their motorbikes or side cars (particularly tail lights) and I am beginning to believe that it must be down to lack of knowledge about how dangerous this is for themselves and for other road users. It's as if they think that if they can see a car easily then cars equally must be able to see them easily. I live in Bang Saray and regularly drive between Pattaya, Jomtien and home. I not joke you but at least 35% (if not more) motorbikes on that journey do not have lights.That Road (Sukhumvit) can be particularly dark at times as the street lights are not always working. So I was working around the house today and it suddenly occurred to me to stop the moaning and concentrate on a solution instead.

Then I remembered how "drink driving" used to be a hugh problem in my home country so they started an Ad. Campaign against it and now it is totally frowned upon and the death rate figures have plummeted.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if use foreigners (at least those who are interested) decided that we would like to do something really good and positive for Thailand and leave a lasting positive contribution after we are gone (by plane or by box) and in the process if lives are saved ...well....words...cannot describe what that would mean to all of us.

I was thinking of us getting together to pay for an Ad. campaign on Thai TV , one of those channels that show the soaps. I'm sure with their co-operation it would not cost the earth. I myself am not a great organizer but I'm sure there are many out there (possibly retirees) who would love to get involved in organizing such a worthwhile project and formulate how it could be done....possibly a monthly contribution into a bank account or something along those lines.

Please please do not turn this thread into a knocking or bashing thread. This is too serious a topic to demean it in that manner.

[DLock]

Dotpoom, the only flaw with your plan is the cost. Advertising does cost a lot of money and needs to be repeated many times for it to work.

I have always wondered why the police checks don't have some little spare parts guy at the checkpoints that charged 10 times what a bulb or helmet would cost as part of the fine and possible save a life in the process, rather than just issue a 200 baht ticket and send people on their way.

Good way of making "legitimate" money from lazy bikers, fixing unroadworthy bikes and making people think twice about not maintaining bikes or wearing helmets.

No shortage of spare parts guys that would like to split that booty and do the grunt work.

Maybe it's just me.

[dotpoom]

Good Idea DLock....and I suppose you're right about the cost. I was going to mention the helmet issue as well but thought I'd just keep it on the lights thing as a starter...Cheers.

PS........The thread seems to be a non-starter according to the overwhelming amount of interest shown so far, 555..... Ah well, at least I tried but thanks for your interest anyway.

[Showbags]

yeah...only trumped by the apathy of the thai population themselves.

If they do not care...why should we.

[DLock]

Showbags...because the life we save might be yours.

Just because the average Thais is not educated or motivated to wear helmets, maintain bikes or not drive drunk, isn't a good reason for more educated or experienced people to try and help solve the problem.

..but thanks for your overwhelming support.

[dotpoom]

Each and everyone of us use the public roads, as pedestrians if not vehicle users and if we have families and friends they also use the roads, so road safety is in ALL OUR INTERESTS. ...I suppose we were all uneducated in the dangers of what we were up to in some area of our lives until somebody educated us or it was pointed out to us. Everything I know today was passed on to me by somebody else....even if it was only by example. As a result I think that the ones lucky enough to have received that education now have the responsibility to pass it on.

[craigt3365]

Maybe hook up with this guy?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/677627-american-campaigns-to-convince-thai-people-to-wear-helmets/

[Showbags]

Actually you guys are right...I was wrong.

But I think the OP is failing to see the cost of a massive ongoing campaign to change the mindset of so many.

In fact, a couple of years ago I came up with an outstanding concept that I believed would have really worked for I think it was 3 separate traffic accident prevention schemes....unfortunately things at the time changed and the view of success and co-operation shifted somewhat.

While still a viable idea, not something I could do alone, and maybe not possible today in the current countries situation.

[thailandshasse]

You are really a braive men !

Why should we falang, do this campain, and spend our money ?

Let the government do this !

But they are only interrested in to GET OUR NONEY, AND MAKE PROBLEMS FOR US WITH ALL THIS STUPID VISA FEEL, AND IDIOTIC REGULATIONS.

Filled up with this Thai regulations and roules, for us falang !

[dotpoom]

Maybe hook up with this guy?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/677627-american-campaigns-to-convince-thai-people-to-wear-helmets/

Thanks for that Craig. As I mentioned earlier...I had considered the helmet issue but decided to stick with the "lights" issue for now.

I decided while helmets are a MUST for motorbike users and I find it despairing when I see people and even families riding motorbikes totally unprotected, the helmet really serves it's purpose AFTER the accident has occurred. ...Lights, tail lights in particular, on the other hand could almost certainly PREVENT some accidents from occurring. At least in the daytime if a person is not wearing a helmet you can still observe him on the road but at night time even if he was wearing a helmet, it would be of little or no help in making him visible to other road users. Thanks again for the link.

[thailandbeachisland]

You must have a lot of money, hope, and work permit :-)

[thailandbeachisland]

Its ok, relax the Thai government will do the job :-)

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/688565-thailand-ranks-the-worlds-third-in-highest-road-fatalities

[Ghostnigel]

It is very commendable of you to want to do this, we 'Farangs' are brought up to the dangers on the roads, but i honestly believe that Thai's don't seem to care about their own safety, let alone others. Their only precedence is to get from A to B as quickly as possible without one single thought that they are in a very dangerous arena.

Great idea, but Thai's have 'No Idea'.

[jonnyscot]

Good Thought Dotpoom, but most of us are already contributing to reducing injuries on the road,, try thinking about it this way,, every time one of us gets our helmet stolen from our bike, in many cases as its a decent quality helmet you can be sure the new owner shall be proudly displaying it,,,, hopefully on his head rather than in his bikes front shopping basket

[dotpoom]

Good Thought Dotpoom, but most of us are already contributing to reducing injuries on the road,, try thinking about it this way,, every time one of us gets our helmet stolen from our bike, in many cases as its a decent quality helmet you can be sure the new owner shall be proudly displaying it,,,, hopefully on his head rather than in his bikes front shopping basket

Hi Jonnyscott,

I do hope you are right, then I wouldn't get angry when it happens. However (and I hope I am wrong about this) I have always felt that it was more lightly to be found for sale in some market.

[NoshowJones]

Showbags...because the life we save might be yours. Just because the average Thais is not educated or motivated to wear helmets, maintain bikes or not drive drunk, isn't a good reason for more educated or experienced people to try and help solve the problem. ..but thanks for your overwhelming support.

To drive safely in any country, you need a lot of common sense as well as rules, and the majority of Thai people, although being decent and trustworthy, lack that badly.

[jonnyscot]

Yes, I think you may be right in many cases, however when the wife got her one nicked from the local lotus bike parking earlier this year, she was speechless when the thief who must've picked up her bike helmet only a few seconds before, passed her by proudly wearing it as she was walking back to her bike,,

[Colabamumbai]

Your idea is good, the country is flawed. There is currently an ad on T.V. showing a songtaew full of drunks being pulled over and stopped for drinking and driving.

How about persuading the local police to leave wrecked vechicles at the sides of the roads, warning people that this could be you, at locations that are regular accident spots.

Get a large well known Thai company to support you, ie: PTT the gasoline stations and petrol company. "Don' t make this your last stop".

[DLock]

Showbags...because the life we save might be yours. Just because the average Thais is not educated or motivated to wear helmets, maintain bikes or not drive drunk, isn't a good reason for more educated or experienced people to try and help solve the problem. ..but thanks for your overwhelming support.

To drive safely in any country, you need a lot of common sense as well as rules, and the majority of Thai people, although being decent and trustworthy, lack that badly.

Possum, you are right.

The evolution of road safety in Thailand seems to have stopped at the Neanderthal period.

Someone hasn't made the link between education, testing, drink driving, laws, penalties and road accidents.

I often wonder why this is.

Do the Government just not care, or are they just too stupid? Do they just not know how to come up with a plan, or are they scared to piss off voters? Do the police value "tea money" over life that much, or are they too dumb to see the real money in doing it properley?

The roads in Thailand are generally pretty good, but the laws that govern them are from the 1900's.

[10Yen]

You could go to Pattaya and educate the throngs of Farangs who drive cars and ride motorcycles like lunatics whilst pizzed outta their heads.

[Thaddeus]

Do the Government just not care, or are they just too stupid? Do they just not know how to come up with a plan, or are they scared to piss off voters? Do the police value "tea money" over life that much, or are they too dumb to see the real money in doing it properley?

Answer to all those is, Yes.

[maximillian]

From dotpoom: >>>>the helmet really serves it's purpose AFTER the accident has occurred. ...Lights, tail lights in particular, on the other hand could almost certainly PREVENT some accidents from occurring. At least in the daytime if a person is not wearing a helmet you can still observe him on the road but at night time even if he was wearing a helmet, it would be of little or no help in making him visible to other road users.<<<<<

Fully agree to that. There is almost too much emphasis to the helmet issue. Helmet or no helmet is only a matter of the safety of this very rider and pillion(s). Whereas unlit vehicles at night, but also at dusk and dawn and rain are a danger to all the oher road users.

The light issue is a much more important one. Next thing would be education of road use. i.e. not to cut corners and not to overtake when you cannot see if there is any oncoming traffic. These are two points out of hundreds I could mention.

How about starting petitions to government agencies, police, schools, universities AND Television Channels to remind them of their duties to contribute to the safety of their own people ?

[amse]

I have many Thai friends and live in a majority Thai villa. This is a good idea, BUT Thai's don't think the same as Farangs, not even close, so why would they listen to us suggesting how they should act in their own country, anymore than Thai's coming to your own country and telling YOU how to act. Give it up, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink. The Thai people have to make these important changes on their own.

[maximillian]

From Colabamumbai:

Get a large, well known Thai company to support you, ie: PTT, the gasoline stations and petrol company,

to advertise: "Don't make this your last stop".

Great idea. See what you mean but shouldn't it say: "Don't make this your second last stop"

[Jasun]

Hey dotpoom, you don't need a big budget if you've got a great idea. I'd be happy to help out.

[Beetlejuice]

Here is a better idea.

Why not create a professionally made motor cycling safety HD video and publish it on UTube, including other video hosting sites, facebook, or even create a website dedicated to motorbike safety.

Easy to register with the search engines such as Google and Ask.com.

My advice is, have the video produced by Thais for Thais rather then it appearing as foreigners trying to teach Thais how to drive, as I doubt they would like it and may consider such an enterprise as an insult. Only need to finance it and use farang names in the credits. Perhaps it would be possible to convince a high ranking Thai police officer, Government spokesman or even a Thai celebrity to participate in the scheme and appear in the video. Maybe even try to convince a well known motorbike manufacturer and helmet maker to sponsor you.

Your first line of inquiry would be to see how much such a project would cost to produce and then to approach the right people with your idea and see if they would be interested. Also considering that by uploading the video online rather than by a one off TV ad, it can remain in the public domain for all time with only a need to update once in a while.

Just a thought.

[NoshowJones]

Showbags...because the life we save might be yours. Just because the average Thais is not educated or motivated to wear helmets, maintain bikes or not drive drunk, isn't a good reason for more educated or experienced people to try and help solve the problem. ..but thanks for your overwhelming support.

To drive safely in any country, you need a lot of common sense as well as rules, and the majority of Thai people, although being decent and trustworthy, lack that badly.

Possum, you are right.

The evolution of road safety in Thailand seems to have stopped at the Neanderthal period.

Someone hasn't made the link between education, testing, drink driving, laws, penalties and road accidents.

I often wonder why this is.

Do the Government just not care, or are they just too stupid? Do they just not know how to come up with a plan, or are they scared to piss off voters? Do the police value "tea money" over life that much, or are they too dumb to see the real money in doing it properley?

The roads in Thailand are generally pretty good, but the laws that govern them are from the 1900's.

Very good post, could not have put it better myself.

[DLock]

Here is a better idea.

Why not create a professionally made motor cycling safety HD video and publish it on UTube, including other video hosting sites, facebook, or even create a website dedicated to motorbike safety.

Easy to register with the search engines such as Google and Ask.com.

My advice is, have the video produced by Thais for Thais rather then it appearing as foreigners trying to teach Thais how to drive, as I doubt they would like it and may consider such an enterprise as an insult. Only need to finance it and use farang names in the credits. Perhaps it would be possible to convince a high ranking Thai police officer, Government spokesman or even a Thai celebrity to participate in the scheme and appear in the video. Maybe even try to convince a well known motorbike manufacturer and helmet maker to sponsor you.

Your first line of inquiry would be to see how much such a project would cost to produce and then to approach the right people with your idea and see if they would be interested. Also considering that by uploading the video online rather than by a one off TV ad, it can remain in the public domain for all time with only a need to update once in a while.

Just a thought.

BJ, very valid point.

For this to work it must be seen to be Thais teaching Thais...

[dotpoom]

From dotpoom: >>>>the helmet really serves it's purpose AFTER the accident has occurred. ...Lights, tail lights in particular, on the other hand could almost certainly PREVENT some accidents from occurring. At least in the daytime if a person is not wearing a helmet you can still observe him on the road but at night time even if he was wearing a helmet, it would be of little or no help in making him visible to other road users.<<<<<

Fully agree to that. There is almost too much emphasis to the helmet issue. Helmet or no helmet is only a matter of the safety of this very rider and pillion(s). Whereas unlit vehicles at night, but also at dusk and dawn and rain are a danger to all the oher road users.

The light issue is a much more important one. Next thing would be education of road use. i.e. not to cut corners and not to overtake when you cannot see if there is any oncoming traffic. These are two points out of hundreds I could mention.

How about starting petitions to government agencies, police, schools, universities AND Television Channels to remind them of their duties to contribute to the safety of their own people ?

Thank you Maximillian, Jason and Bettlejuice, great ideas. I was glad to read your post above Maximillian, I was thinking my OP was turning into a thread about helmets and not, as it was meant to be, about the lights issue, but as long as all these issues are being discussed then that's a good thing. The problem of the "no lights" thing may not appear to be of the same importance as helmets to those who drive mainly in cities with well lit up areas and street lighting, but when you drive in the suburbs and further out it can soon become a nightmare. As I said in my OP, I'm convinced that while driving home to Bang Saray at least 35% of motorbikes and sidecars have no lights and usually wearing dark cloths.

I just thought that if enough people were interested and with the co-operation of a TV station (and other parties like the ones suggested here) that some sort of arrangement could be made for regular Ads to run to enlighten people to the dangers of not being "LIT UP"

At no time was i suggesting that it be made known that foreigners would be seen to be at the forefront of this...... Simply put..... Thai people making Thai safety Ads. for the Thai nation to run.on Thai television. The only part we would play would be getting it organised and those who could afford it and were willing could contribute X amount ...let's say monthly towards this very worthwhile cause.

.

[Shaunduhpostman]

I'm sure there are no shortage of Thais who dislike the recklessness that we farang rightly moan about. I know in my wife's case she is as outraged about what happens almost daily on the roads upcountry as I am. So, I am sure you guys' idea to find Thais who would be interested in a lights awareness ad is entirely possible.

There was something on Thaivisa a month or so ago about some American guy who was doing a bicycle tour of Thailand for the purpose of promoting helmet wearing. I think something like that is going to have pretty minimal impact. Your idea of an ad or Youtube video, if sufficiently entertaining and informative, would be so much more effective.