Parents upset over ban on children riding motorbikes

[HeinzNong]

One of the reasons I live in this country is the personal freedom that exists. Coming from a place that turned from being

reasonable free into an absolute nanny state within 20 years, showed me the warning signs. Today it is the age restriction of

child riders, tomorrow it will be the law of wearing helmets on bicycles. And these laws will come with heavy fines attached. I am sure these parents love their children and will do whatever is necessary to protect them.

[Fullstop]

Parents upset over ban on children riding motorbikes

No worries ... just give then some loaded guns to play with instead. Quicker that way.

[mercman24]

i was in RAMA 4 tesco lotus a couple of days ago. daughter gets on scooter and i imagine "mum" gets on the back , holding a baby on her shoulder less than 1 year old. the mind boggles at the mentality some times. goes without saying -- no helmets. if the worst had happened that baby would have been flying down the road, another point i might add - they all got mobile phones and can't afford a helmet .?? B***** cks

[Keesters]

The real question is: how to get there? Unfortunately a motorbike seems to be the best choice for most families.

Obviously everyone would not like to see to increase the numbers of adults & children being killed daily. At another hand everyone may think the magic solution will never happen especially under this developing country. Or the problem is that they tend to think the accidents will never strike to them & their children.

The proposed ban may not be the best option but I do really hope other undiscovered options are waiting to be disclosed.

That will be really up to the campaigns, the experts & the authorities (Even including everyone)

Hence I am utterly sick of seeing more bike accidents almost daily so please stop that now.

How to get there. As a kid I cycled 4 miles to school every day. Being the furthest away I was alone to start with. Other kids would join me on the route until there was maybe a hundred or more all in a line. Accidents, sometimes but not many.

I know kids in Nepal that walk 10 kms uphill to school each day. And they are the lucky ones. Many walk a lot further. Here a kid gets ferried to school even if it is only 200 meters as is the case of my neighbour. Mother has to show off her new Honda Jazz. Mind you not so sure the kid would make it. He is so overweight he'd probably have a heart attack before he reached halfway.

[northernphil]

Simple answer , all on scooters wear hats and no one rides a scooter 'till they have a DP. But this wouldn't be enforced as the BIB would rather sit in a sala and eat noodles as the hatless and underage ride on by.

[Oziex1]

"As a kid I cycled 4 miles to school every day"

Luxury

[trogers]

i was in RAMA 4 tesco lotus a couple of days ago. daughter gets on scooter and i imagine "mum" gets on the back , holding a baby on her shoulder less than 1 year old. the mind boggles at the mentality some times. goes without saying -- no helmets. if the worst had happened that baby would have been flying down the road, another point i might add - they all got mobile phones and can't afford a helmet .?? B***** cks

Mobile phones? Heck! How much are they throwing at the lottery every month?

[mercman24]

poster 123 you are so out of touch with reality here, you realise if you have got an amulet, you are bullet proof, parents dont care about kids, just stand on any old pavement and feast your eyes on passing traffic, that will tell you something. a few months ago a close female friend, had an accident, (hit a guy coming out of a phone box) <deleted> yep you got it, a short cut via pavement to take her 6 year old daughter to school, both a bit scratched and bruised, both got helmets but not wearing them. it is always in their make up. "oh it never happens to me, "until it does" and sad to say it does happen very frequently

[casualbiker]

I love my freedom here and riding my bike with NO helmet, it is called freedom and I hate all the nanny state do gooders who preach about safety all the time, jeees it is not safe to walk down the street so we will all have to stay indoors in padded cells to stop hurting ourselves!!!! Live your life how you want to and stop telling others how to live theirs.

I could not agree more. One of the many reasons I love living here. I am a bit fed up of these little western nazis trying to impose there values on places like Thailand. If the law doesnt effect you stop trying to impose it on others. I know when I get in a car without a seat belt or bike without a helmet that it is more unsafe. My choice end of. I dont need a government to try and save me from myself.

And if you're in an accident that's your fault, but involving another driver. And you die from head trauma, the other person then has that on their conscience ..well done selfish bastard!

Wearing a helmet and a seat belt is the law in Thailand!

[sandrabbit]

Songkran is nearly on us again, some of the people screaming about personal freedom please revisit this topic again after the statistics for the holiday have been released.

[Keesters]

"As a kid I cycled 4 miles to school every day"

Luxury

Did you not read the rest of the post. Facetiousness seems to be your forte.

[Lee4Life]

Look at the pic!

Long as dad's head protected!

If it's anything like our area, the dad is the one who gets a ticket for not wearing a helmet, the children are exempt....so what kind of sense does that make if they are trying to lower the child fatality rates?

[Keesters]

Songkran is nearly on us again, some of the people screaming about personal freedom please revisit this topic again after the statistics for the holiday have been released.

Well I shall not be riding on the roads during that period. Last year was lucky to escape a serious accident due water tossing and it wasn't even one of the official days.

[emilymat]

I've read few posts on here about the nanny state interfering with peoples freedom to make their own decisions.

I would only suggest that it is not possible for a 4/5/6 year old to make an informed and rational decision on whether or not to wear a crash helmet. There is no interference with freedom of choice for these kids.

It is a parental responsibility and if it takes a law - which should obviously be enforced - take make them face up to that, then I'm in favour of at least a 'mini' nanny state.

[manarak]

The strange thing is how Thailand likes to make all or nothing laws, look at the beach chairs in Phuket, instead of zoning the area and selling permits to vendors...

It's the same with that no children on bikes law.

They could make something sensible, like:

- no driver under 15

- no more than 2 children under 12 on a bike

- no more than one passenger over 12 on a bike

- all drivers and passengers under 20 must wear a helmet

[Eaglekott]

In many parts of the country there is no other way for parents to get their kids anywhere, school, doctor wherever other than to use their only form of transport their motorbike. There are no school buses or public transport in many places so there is no alternative other than walking long distances.

Rather than a ban make helmets for kids easily available and cheap, even free in some poor areas to poor parents.

How many children are killed on bikes when with their parents ? I would suspect few as parents would be more careful with kids aboard.

Most of the deaths and injuries on bikes would be from those who race around, no helmets, no license.

More and better policing rather than bans and stickers.

Enforcing mandatory helmet laws and drink driving laws would save a lot of tragedy.

It has never been proved helmets save lives, never.

They certainly never prevent accidents.

Stop the cause of accidents is the only way to go.

No they don't prevent Accidents, but in case of an accident they multiple you chances to survive.

Lets take a hammer and you can hit me in the head while I'm wearing a helmet, and then I hit you without you waring one.

[Eaglekott]

Um b

Look at the pic!

Long as dad's head protected!

Driver has because that is the law. A passenger on a bike doesn't need to have. Enforce a law so everyone on a bike need to wear a helmet. Also on bike taxis.

Next thing fine all bikes with worn out tires. If you go out driving in rain you can see so many bikes that flips because of water and no traction.

All passengers on a bike must wear helmets. Even a one day old is a passenger. That is the law. Your assumption is wrong. See the ask the lawyer section for confirmation.

N

Then the laws have changed, or the Traffic police does not know about this. I talked to a traffic police officer a few years ago regarding this when I met him having a beer at HOBS.

(Just to be clear, he was not on duty, and happened to be a police officer. I just happen to start to talk to him when he sat beside me by the bar)

[Stradavarius37]

Texas. Yep, I believe in freedom until someone is hurt badly and the state has to pay for their medical care or pay to put the kids in foster care. If we follow the freedom idea to it's logical conclusion, then there shouldn't be any state aid available because I want to be free to not pay for those people's actions.

I don't know the answer. I don't know the answer to kids on scooters in Thailand when the parents can barely afford even that transportation.

I hate to see kids get hurt and I hate a nanny state.

I don't know.

A good answer and very refreshing on TVF - where opinions are like a$$holes - there are a lot of both here....

[technologybytes]

Two things kill kids. No helmets, and underage kids driving bikes. Near Hua Hin or any other school for that matter, how many bikes do you see in the elementary parking area. And when school's out, it's madness 90% with no helmet. Up country... kids as young as 6 on bikes, driving alone.

Enforce some common sense in the laws that are on the books, plain and simple. Next topic...speeding. Yup...saw you smirk on that one.

It's not the age at which one rides a motorcycle that's the big issue, its how mature that person is and what concept they have of safety.

Some 11 year old kids can be much more mature than other 19 year olds, minimum ages make sense but being older does not necessarily equate to being safer.

Helmets are the biggest problem. If helmet laws were rigidly enforced then road deaths would halve.

At least if you are going to take a kid on a motorbike make them wear a helmet.

[Jeremy50]

One of the reasons I live in this country is the personal freedom that exists. Coming from a place that turned from being

reasonable free into an absolute nanny state within 20 years, showed me the warning signs. Today it is the age restriction of

child riders, tomorrow it will be the law of wearing helmets on bicycles. And these laws will come with heavy fines attached. I am sure these parents love their children and will do whatever is necessary to protect them.

OK,Let's just forget all about road safety and let that annual body count surpass 30000 if it hasn't already. Not quite sure what kind of fantasy land you are living in.

[ligriff]

I would rather wake my child up early than not at all

[96tehtarp]

All passengers on a bike must wear helmets. Even a one day old is a passenger. That is the law. Your assumption is wrong. See the ask the lawyer section for confirmation.

Please don't misunderstand me. I am pro-helmet. However helmets don't really protect one that much in an accident. In many cases the main difference between helmet and no helmet is where does one want to collect their splattered brains? All over the road, or in the brain bucket (helmet). Also the kinetic forces involved, even with the small bike, are sufficient that if the bike flips over the right way one can easily have a severed head, broken neck or broken spine, or crushed head.

Yes helmets are a good idea, I don't disagree, however they are not the save-all panacea some have been trained to believe.

Now what is the solution? Raise the minimum wage in Thailand to 2000 baht per day, that way everyone can finance a new car?

I don't have the answers.

[EyesWideOpen]

I take my daughter to school each day on a motorcycle. I have on a good helmet,

and of course she has one too. Every day, I see a lot of parents come to pick up

their kids on motorcycles . The parent of course has a helmet, but no helmet for

their child...... In exasperation, sometimes I will point this out by pointing to my

daughter putting her helmet on, and their child having no helmet. Their response

is to look sheepish and drive away.

I am not a fan of a nanny state. If you do not want to wear a helmet, go for it.

But to have a child take the same risk without understanding it is simply cruel.

There needs to be a mandatory helmet law for children that is absolutely enforced.

Meaning if you wish to endanger the life of your child by not bothering to buy him/her

a helmet, you are basically a crap parent. And when you are stopped by the police,

your motorcycle should be seized until you prove you have a helmet for your child.

This is the correct response to this issue. To simply ban all children from being

on a motorcycle a typical knee jerk nonsense response by the government. As well

as an extreme hardship on poor people that do not have a car...

[Fat Haggis]

A recent report posted on here suggested that drowning was the biggest cause of death in children, kind of makes the whole argument about deaths on motorbikes when nobody suggested banning children from swimming pools ?

[trogers]

All passengers on a bike must wear helmets. Even a one day old is a passenger. That is the law. Your assumption is wrong. See the ask the lawyer section for confirmation.

Please don't misunderstand me. I am pro-helmet. However helmets don't really protect one that much in an accident. In many cases the main difference between helmet and no helmet is where does one want to collect their splattered brains? All over the road, or in the brain bucket (helmet). Also the kinetic forces involved, even with the small bike, are sufficient that if the bike flips over the right way one can easily have a severed head, broken neck or broken spine, or crushed head.

Yes helmets are a good idea, I don't disagree, however they are not the save-all panacea some have been trained to believe.

Now what is the solution? Raise the minimum wage in Thailand to 2000 baht per day, that way everyone can finance a new car?

I don't have the answers.

Disagree about the brain bucket. Irresponsible riding give rise to broken body but intact head. Helps much in viewing during a funeral.

[kleelof]

Yeah, sure make a new law. I'm sure THIS ONE will be enforced.

[ICECOOL]

Texas. Yep, I believe in freedom until someone is hurt badly and the state has to pay for their medical care or pay to put the kids in foster care. If we follow the freedom idea to it's logical conclusion, then there shouldn't be any state aid available because I want to be free to not pay for those people's actions.

I don't know the answer. I don't know the answer to kids on scooters in Thailand when the parents can barely afford even that transportation.

I hate to see kids get hurt and I hate a nanny state.

I don't know.

I think there is a hell of a difference between an nanny state and protecting those who are too young to protect themselves. How many times have you seen stories of children seriously injured because of lack of care by parents/adults. Do we let parents decide if a child gets medical care or food? If you saw a starving child or wanton neglect would you say/do something or let them die.

In many cases where you see children bundled around on a motorbike with no helmet you see mum or dad merrily chatting away on a mobile phone. A helmet would cost a lot less than that phone. Its about priorities and they take the easy way.

[thaiguzzi]

Look at the pic!

Long as dad's head protected!

Exactly - it always amazes me how the parents will wear a helmet but leave their children unprotected.

It's a money/fine thing. If coppers are actually enforcing laws, and / or taking bribes, only the rider officially needs to wear a helmet by law.

[beagleybeagley]

Post pictures of the results of not wearing a helmet or young children on bikes on Internet or in news papers and show them the reason for not shoving the whole family on a bike .

[The Deerhunter]

I love my freedom here and riding my bike with NO helmet, it is called freedom and I hate all the nanny state do gooders who preach about safety all the time, jeees it is not safe to walk down the street so we will all have to stay indoors in padded cells to stop hurting ourselves!!!! Live your life how you want to and stop telling others how to live theirs.

Yeah. And remain single & bring up the kids the same way. Just as irresponsible.