Call for all children to wear motorcycle helmets

[Lite Beer]

Call for all children to wear motorcycle helmets
THE SUNDAY NATION

BANGKOK: -- EARLY tomorrow children from six schools in Bangkok will attend Save the Children's Race for Survival event to raise awareness about the importance of children wearing helmets on motorcycles.

The running race will be held at Bang Chak (Komolprasert-utid) School in Phasi Charoen district.

Despite achieving the fourth Millennium Development Goal by reducing the child mortality rate by two thirds between 1990 and 2015, Thais still faces many challenges. Riding motorcycles without a helmet leaves many children at risk of life-threatening injuries, disability and death.

Allison Zelkowitz, Save the Children's country director in Thailand, said the organisation wants to minimise child road accident deaths and injuries by increasing parent, teacher, and child awareness of the risks associated with not wearing a helmet.

The goal is to ensure helmets are worn through positive peer influence, she said.

"Many parents believe children don't need to wear helmets because they themselves are safe drivers and can hold onto their children if they get in an accident," she said.

"But this is not the case. If they're in a crash, children will fly off the motorcycle, and they may die if they aren't wearing helmets."

More than seven children are killed on the road every day in Thailand.

With an estimated 1.3 million children in Thailand travelling on motorcycles, the government has legislated that all people are required to wear a safety helmet but only 7 per cent of children do.

This leads to devastating results. Approximately 2,600 children are killed and more than 72,000 injured every year in road crashes.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Call-for-all-children-to-wear-motorcycle-helmets-30266222.html

-- The Nation 2015-08-09

[Toknarok]

Will it ever happen? I doubt it. Kids don't consider it 'cool' to wear a helmet. If they're serious about enforcing the law the BIB should ensure that ALL passengers on a motor cycle wear a helmet, not just the driver.

And if they're really serious about kids safety why not legislate that all crash helmets are of an international safety standard. Get rid of those cheap crap plastic things that if hit sufficiently hard shatter sending plastic shards into your brain.

[z42]

The attitudes are frightening. Couldn't comprehend letting my girls travel without.

I do even see the cops travel with their kids on after school and kids are minus helmets. The RTP ambivalence again to blame imo

[jerojero]

Enforce the law! 'nuff said.

[nabbie]

The awareness is a positive step for parents, teachers & children for their sakes & I hope Children's country organisation's action will come true.

[Smokin Joe]

This could at least be easily enforced at local schools if they wanted to.

The school in Naklua at Soi 16 lets kids ride bikes on and off school property without helmets everyday. They could have someone at the entrance each morning refuse entry to any bike where all passengers were not wearing helmets. At the same time they could request police check the area near the school in the mornings for illegally parked bikes and remove them during the early days of the new policy.

[Briggsy]

The Thai people have spoken.

They have considered the inconvenience and cost on one hand and compared it with the risk of serious injury and death to their child on the other hand. They have decided the cost is too high and the inconvenience is too great whilst the risk is insignificant.

Respect the will of the Thai people.

[mca]

The attitudes are frightening. Couldn't comprehend letting my girls travel without.

I do even see the cops travel with their kids on after school and kids are minus helmets. The RTP ambivalence again to blame imo

I remember early one morning a few years back seeing a police officer taking two shots of lao kao at a local minimart before he took his kids to school with all three of them riding off with no helmets. When it comes to strictly enforcing this law rather than the usual short term dog and pony show like so many others in LOS the horse bolted long ago.

[Anthony5]

So from now on the policemen stationed at the exit of almost every school in the kingdom, will take action when almost every student enters or leaves the school without a helmet?

When pigs fly I assume.

[PatOngo]

So from now on the policemen stationed at the exit of almost every school in the kingdom, will take action when almost every student enters or leaves the school without a helmet?

When pigs fly I assume.

Flying pigs will be wearing helmets before the populace comprehends.

[timber]

I think it is the law, enforce it or get rid of it. Maybe schools should have helmets that can rented.

Is important, will not happen by saying please do.

[apetley]

Just last week the young boy of one of wifey's friends in the village was knocked off the bike his grandad was riding. No helmet, not even wearing a t-shirt. He has horrible road rash on his back, arms and face. I asked his dad why no helmet, 'very expensive' was his reply.

Incidentally the Govt Hospital charged 3000 bht for the boys treatment.

[NickJ]

Lead by example!!!!!.........they are.

[Nice Boyd]

7 Children a day, appalling, Does the government have to pay for the Brain Damaged kids, the US Govt put a stop to it bcuz of medical care costs, Most states got tired of making payments to hospitals, Sad is all u can say, a few years ago they were handing helmets out in Pattaya, at least give the kids helmets and let the Adults make their own decisions.

[Seastallion]

Enforce the law! 'nuff said.

Exactly. Enforce the law.

But not just about helmets...ALL the road rules.

If all the road rules were enforced, there would be less accidents and thus fewer occasions where a helmet saves a child!

Helmets are essential, but they are basically the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff. Prevent the accidents in the first place.

[kaorop]

Call for all pigs to fly

NGO sponges set up a running race?

Who woulda thunk of that, how appropriate for a helmet wearing campaign

[Jimlove]

Again it comes down to a policeforce that dont do their job and dont give a sh+t about anything but collecting their dirty bribes ... The Police are a cancer to Thailand and Land of Shakedowns will forever stay in the middleages unless these parasites are removed one way or another ...

[technologybytes]

I have said it before. Its easy. Make the law such that not wearing a helmet is a automatic 2000 baht fine, and for adults carrying children without a helmet the fine should be 2000 baht fine and the motorcycle destroyed. Trust me, every kid will be wearing a helmet !

[jimstar1]

Enforce the law! 'nuff said.

What a Joke will never Happen long as my Arse points to the ground

[Thai at Heart]

How about banning all under 16s off bikes completely anyway.

[MaeJoMTB]

Almost impossible to buy a m/c helmet in a child's size.

[Lupatria]

You really wanna go for it? This is the way:

Buy 2 salad leaf like helmets land get a driver license and insurance for free. No minimum age required.

[Don Mega]

Just last week the young boy of one of wifey's friends in the village was knocked off the bike his grandad was riding. No helmet, not even wearing a t-shirt. He has horrible road rash on his back, arms and face. I asked his dad why no helmet, 'very expensive' was his reply.

Incidentally the Govt Hospital charged 3000 bht for the boys treatment.

Yikes. what happened to the 30b healthcare thingo at govt hospitals ?

[apetley]

Almost impossible to buy a m/c helmet in a child's size.

In Vietnam there are many ads on tv about children wearing helmets and there is also a scheme to make them affordable and they are available.

The only reason for them not being widely available in Thailand is that there seems to be next to zero incentive for parents to buy them.

[apetley]

Just last week the young boy of one of wifey's friends in the village was knocked off the bike his grandad was riding. No helmet, not even wearing a t-shirt. He has horrible road rash on his back, arms and face. I asked his dad why no helmet, 'very expensive' was his reply.

Incidentally the Govt Hospital charged 3000 bht for the boys treatment.

Yikes. what happened to the 30b healthcare thingo at govt hospitals ?

I asked that too and for some reason the hospital said he wasn't covered!

[Ceruhe]

On one hand I could join the motion of "everybody should be wearing helmet, not just kids..." and point out that laws might be needed to be enforced...

...on the other hand I'm also liberal enough to say "if they don't want, whatever, it's supposedly your free choice", and if they don't bother about their own safety, then that's their own problem to deal with is something happens. I really do like the concept of natural selection afterall, not sure why the strong empahsis of stopping it from happening. Yet again, I'd need a costbenefit analysis of sorts, since I wouldn't want hospitals and taxpayers to fork out the medical bills wasted on them if they don't pay up and sending them to prison is just adding another layer of wasted money :/

[Toknarok]

Just last week the young boy of one of wifey's friends in the village was knocked off the bike his grandad was riding. No helmet, not even wearing a t-shirt. He has horrible road rash on his back, arms and face. I asked his dad why no helmet, 'very expensive' was his reply.

Incidentally the Govt Hospital charged 3000 bht for the boys treatment.

Yikes. what happened to the 30b healthcare thingo at govt hospitals ?

30 baht scheme usually doest cover injuries for motor vehicle accidents. Other insurances are supposed to cover that. You may get treatment under the 30 baht scheme, i think it probably depends on the hospital and the patients circumstances. This has been discussed before.....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/688469-30-baht-health-insurance-in-case-of-accident/

[mrfill]

On one hand I could join the motion of "everybody should be wearing helmet, not just kids..." and point out that laws might be needed to be enforced...

...on the other hand I'm also liberal enough to say "if they don't want, whatever, it's supposedly your free choice", and if they don't bother about their own safety, then that's their own problem to deal with is something happens. I really do like the concept of natural selection afterall, not sure why the strong empahsis of stopping it from happening. Yet again, I'd need a costbenefit analysis of sorts, since I wouldn't want hospitals and taxpayers to fork out the medical bills wasted on them if they don't pay up and sending them to prison is just adding another layer of wasted money :/

That liberal attitude means that hospitals would also not cover any alcohol related injury, for any reason; any person travelling with a drunk driver, anyone with a sexually transmitted disease or anyone with a sporting injury. All cases where it can be said people haven't bothered about their own safety. Sounds about as liberal as Pol Pot

[Pete Beale]

Almost impossible to buy a m/c helmet in a child's size.

I achieved the almost impossible then when I bought a helmet for my Wifes 10 yo cousin out of the local Big C a few years back, not that she ever wore it mind.

[Don Mega]

Just last week the young boy of one of wifey's friends in the village was knocked off the bike his grandad was riding. No helmet, not even wearing a t-shirt. He has horrible road rash on his back, arms and face. I asked his dad why no helmet, 'very expensive' was his reply.

Incidentally the Govt Hospital charged 3000 bht for the boys treatment.

Yikes. what happened to the 30b healthcare thingo at govt hospitals ?

30 baht scheme usually doest cover injuries for motor vehicle accidents. Other insurances are supposed to cover that. You may get treatment under the 30 baht scheme, i think it probably depends on the hospital and the patients circumstances. This has been discussed before.....

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/688469-30-baht-health-insurance-in-case-of-accident/

Cool, Thanks for the link.