5-year-old Australian girl killed in tragic motorcycle accident in northern Thailand

[Shawn0001]

I am aware of cases in which crash helmets are purchased and given as gifts but the adults simply fail to use them for themselves or the children. at times they place them on the drivers head (open chin strap) to avoid getting extorted by police.

as much as my heart goes out to the little innocent girl my intellect wonders how prudent grandma was driving.

the other issue is that as the little girl is australian were there not adequately funded safety measures in place?

as much as my heart goes out to the little innocent girl my intellect wonders how prudent grandma was driving.

That sounds more like your prejudice wondering than any resemblance of intellect, actual intellect would never lead one to making such a thoughtless post.

[atyclb]

I am aware of cases in which crash helmets are purchased and given as gifts but the adults simply fail to use them for themselves or the children. at times they place them on the drivers head (open chin strap) to avoid getting extorted by police.

as much as my heart goes out to the little innocent girl my intellect wonders how prudent grandma was driving.

the other issue is that as the little girl is australian were there not adequately funded safety measures in place?

How would you protect from being rear ended by 4 wheels....?

As for gran, my mum was driving a car till the day she passed away at 85 years..

my post does not purport to protect against being blindly rear ended for no reason.

my concerns are related to how prudent this particular grandmother was while driving and not to your mum.

[paddyjoe41]

Indicating to turn right,for the benifit of those that do not know,the thai law says,you must indicate at lease 30 meters away from your intended turning point,but as we all know a thai, can indicate right and then turn left.They dont seem to know they must cancel before they indicate again,and get in the correct position on the road.As said repeatly here on ThaiVisa the government does not seem to want to train the people properly, or not interested.

[Suradit69]

Five year old on a bike in Thailand, probably no helmet? Parents should have had more sense, but maybe they did not know Thailand is about the most dangerous place in the world to ride a motorbike.

Yeah well done, just what the parents need at this moment in time. Finger pointing!

Yes, unfortunately some people seize any opportunity to Thai bash and lecture the victims & their families on what they may or may not have done wrong.

[billd766]

Very sad indeed.

I was watching a father dote over his young daughter near Pattaya a few weeks back and she was around five. Mum and Dad put their helmets on and the daughter was standing up front with no protection. I thought the most precious thing in their life, and they don't seem to care about her safety.

It took many decades for western countries to appreciate and then abide by safety laws regarding helmets, seat belts (front and rear) and child car seats. It will be the same and most likely longer in Asia.

In Vietnam most ALL adults wear helmets. I do believe since 2008 they have made and ENFORCE tougher laws to include the kids.

The key is not the law but the enforcement.

Fig. 1. Observed proportion of adults and children wearing motorcycle helmets in four cities in Viet Nam, 2008

Hopefully Thailand will follow their lead. I'd be interested to see the statistics for today, especially in rural areas. My family are from Laos and wearing helmets in the village is generally ignored.

I live in rural Khampaeng Phet and out here in the villages the riders wearing helmets are about 20% with this 5 increasing as I get closer to KPP. There it is 75% or more.

If this or any other government that comes into power wants a popularity program the best one they could have would be for the police to stop EVERY rider and passenger on a bike and give out free helmets. Then take a photo and a copy of the ID card and explain that if they are caught without the helmet the bike will be confiscated for a period and they will pay a legal fine.

The one big problem is forcing the police to enforce the law equally. Most Hi So's don't ride bikes anyway.

[zakk9]

This is a terrible story. But frankly, the fact that she was five years old means nothing to me. Her life was of no more importance than the thousands of others that die on these roads every year. Kids are given favorable treatment in the media. Sure her life was cut short. I get that. But, was she given a high quality helmet to protect her? Would you allow your daughter to ride on a motorbike here, without one? Some responsibility has to fall on the shoulders of the grandmother, for allowing her to drive without a good helmet. 90% of bike deaths are caused by impact to the head. The skull is a fragile thing. About as fragile as an egg, some experts say.

The only thing we know is that a car hit them from behind and killed them, but you want to have a go at them because you have seen other people not wearing helmets? It's strange how people want to put blame on the victims, why are you not talking about reckless drivers who fail to look out for bikes? They were hit from behind, that makes it the cars fault. 90% of bike deaths are caused by impact to the head, most of which are people wearing helmets, a helmet only reduces risk of death by 37%, you have no reason to presume that helmets would have saved either life.

I don't know where you live, but in Thailand, most traffic deaths are people on motorbikes not wearing helmets. Even Thai authorities admit that. As for the 37%, that depends on the speed. At the low speed most motorbikes are drive in Thailand, the prevention rate is probably much higher. I have been saved from injury by the helmet twice. The last time was a serious accident where I flew 5-10 meters through the air. I suffered injuries, but thanks to the helmet, no head injuries. The helmet was trash though, from doing its job.

[jacky54]

Five year old on a bike in Thailand, probably no helmet? Parents should have had more sense, but maybe they did not know Thailand is about the most dangerous place in the world to ride a motorbike.

Yeah well done, just what the parents need at this moment in time. Finger pointing!

Yes, unfortunately some people seize any opportunity to Thai bash and lecture the victims & their families on what they may or may not have done wrong.

Unfortunately Thais need to be bashed time and time again on road safety until it sinks into their thick heads. If not this will continue to happen and daily. The only reason this made the news was because the kid was foreign. RIP, my thoughts are with the family and all the other sentimental stuff is not going to help improve anything.

[thaijett]

Five year old on a bike in Thailand, probably no helmet? Parents should have had more sense, but maybe they did not know Thailand is about the most dangerous place in the world to ride a motorbike.

Hardly the time to be on your high horse

I am confident the parents would want to hear your words of wisdom just now , NOT !!

[northernphil]

IMHO once again we see blame being apportioned but surely only the car driver and bystanders know what happened. Was g/ma an old biddy who went to the market on her scoot and turned right at the same place at the same time everyday , did she every look behind ? Was the car driver sober/drunk/texting or did the scooter pull across his bows and give him no time to react ? Take away the little girl was an aussie , find the real reason for the accident and instead of 100 comments there would be more like 20.

[NoshowJones]

Sad it is, but it happens almost every day in LOS.

Yes it is sad, but although that was not the case here, lots of parents are to blame for allowing their underage children to ride motorbikes.

[LennyW]

Yeah well done, just what the parents need at this moment in time. Finger pointing!

You right, on this parents not helping the finger pointing, but those hundreds, not only Thais who take children to motorbike (sometimes couple of month old children), maybe they thinking after this. But i don't think so.

A lot of people are missing the point here, having a 2, 3, 4 or 5 year old as a passenger on a bike here in Thailand is quite normal - what you are missing is that they do not have an option, the motorbike is the only family transport, they do not have the luxury of SUV's and strapped in child seats, just real life here for the majority of people.

Oh, come on! A young passenger on a motosy is indeed 'quite normal' here, but that doesn't make it sensible. How about 4 people on a motosy, that's quite normal as well, but totally stupid. No matter what your economic circumstances are, it's still stupid!

Very sad to hear about this girl's death, very sad indeed. Pity we don't get to hear details of all the other children dieing every day on Thailand roads, maybe the authorities would feel they need to do something.

Not for a nanosecond did i suggest it was sensible, and economic circumstances here have a direct bearing on all things here, sensible or not.

Like i said, some people completely miss the point.

[todlad]

The biggest scrooge and worry of every 2 wheeler transport is be hit from behind by a distracted

or a wayward driver, while riders of the bike/moto can control what is going on in front and to their

sides, nothing they can do to avoid being hit from behind.....

If they turn right across the front of a car without looking or indicating then they failed to do something that could easily have been done and would probably have saved their lives.

Yeah! I think the granny was texting and the girl was probably shouting go granny go.

Half of the people here feign sadness and then come out with their "This is Thailand" crap. Like you.

Yes we know many thousands of people die whilst riding their motorbike here in Thailand and it really is a tragedy every time it happens.

What you just did was to exonerate the driver of the vehicle that hit them when you have absolutely no evidence in this case to support that view.

[luckyman]

The biggest scrooge and worry of every 2 wheeler transport is be hit from behind by a distracted

or a wayward driver, while riders of the bike/moto can control what is going on in front and to their

sides, nothing they can do to avoid being hit from behind.....

If they turn right across the front of a car without looking or indicating then they failed to do something that could easily have been done and would probably have saved their lives.

How can you tell? And how can people on this thread assume that wearing a helmet would have saved them? Depends highly on the speed of the car and the force of the impact, details which are not given...

[apetley]

The biggest scrooge and worry of every 2 wheeler transport is be hit from behind by a distracted

or a wayward driver, while riders of the bike/moto can control what is going on in front and to their

sides, nothing they can do to avoid being hit from behind.....

If they turn right across the front of a car without looking or indicating then they failed to do something that could easily have been done and would probably have saved their lives.

Yeah! I think the granny was texting and the girl was probably shouting go granny go.

Half of the people here feign sadness and then come out with their "This is Thailand" crap. Like you.

Yes we know many thousands of people die whilst riding their motorbike here in Thailand and it really is a tragedy every time it happens.

What you just did was to exonerate the driver of the vehicle that hit them when you have absolutely no evidence in this case to support that view.

See my post #89.

[luckyman]

Rip little girl and rip granny.

Original article states that there are funds being raised to bring the little ones body back to Oz.

Indicates more than likely that the parents did not have a proper travel/health insurance or that it became void because no helmet....very sad and hopefully a very important lesson for other tourists travelling to Thailand with young kids.

[Thian]

I see Thai grandma's with children on motobikes every day.

Never wear a helmet, driver verry verry slow, drive against traffic, have the indicators flashing but they don't realise that, many times don't have light.

What can i say? This is Thailand......it's normal here.

[SunsetT]

If you don't find this utterly tragic, your heart is black.

Yes agreed, but, taking a step backward and looking at the bigger picture, dont forget that this kind of accident killing Thai kids is probably an everyday occurence. It is only because the poor girl was Australian that this made the news.

[Stokakrishna]

RIP little girl

but i agree. what a girl woth no helmet was doin g on the bike.

with a grandma. no offense, but old people ride bikes.... not safe...

sorry for the parents

[Rumblecat]

Tragic - RIP

BUT- i would also say - som-nam-na!

What did the 5 year old do on a bike?

Did any one of the 2 have a helmet? i guess not!

after all this is Thailand

Seriously, you'd say som-nam-na..?! What a nasty, spiteful little person.

That's really low. Hope you feel good about yourself.

[realenglish1]

In the provinces they normally do not wear helmets It is a tragedy that may have been averted So sad

[brewsterbudgen]

The biggest scrooge and worry of every 2 wheeler transport is be hit from behind by a distracted

or a wayward driver, while riders of the bike/moto can control what is going on in front and to their

sides, nothing they can do to avoid being hit from behind.....

If they turn right across the front of a car without looking or indicating then they failed to do something that could easily have been done and would probably have saved their lives.

How can you tell? And how can people on this thread assume that wearing a helmet would have saved them? Depends highly on the speed of the car and the force of the impact, details which are not given...

There is nothing in the report that refers to them wearing or not wearing helmets.

[MaxLee]

Bad luck, but also irresponsible to take a kid of 5 years unprotected on a motorbike on wild road Thailand.

My condolences go to the family.....

[spidermike007]

This is a terrible story. But frankly, the fact that she was five years old means nothing to me. Her life was of no more importance than the thousands of others that die on these roads every year. Kids are given favorable treatment in the media. Sure her life was cut short. I get that. But, was she given a high quality helmet to protect her? Would you allow your daughter to ride on a motorbike here, without one? Some responsibility has to fall on the shoulders of the grandmother, for allowing her to drive without a good helmet. 90% of bike deaths are caused by impact to the head. The skull is a fragile thing. About as fragile as an egg, some experts say.

The only thing we know is that a car hit them from behind and killed them, but you want to have a go at them because you have seen other people not wearing helmets? It's strange how people want to put blame on the victims, why are you not talking about reckless drivers who fail to look out for bikes? They were hit from behind, that makes it the cars fault. 90% of bike deaths are caused by impact to the head, most of which are people wearing helmets, a helmet only reduces risk of death by 37%, you have no reason to presume that helmets would have saved either life.

I don't know where you live, but in Thailand, most traffic deaths are people on motorbikes not wearing helmets. Even Thai authorities admit that. As for the 37%, that depends on the speed. At the low speed most motorbikes are drive in Thailand, the prevention rate is probably much higher. I have been saved from injury by the helmet twice. The last time was a serious accident where I flew 5-10 meters through the air. I suffered injuries, but thanks to the helmet, no head injuries. The helmet was trash though, from doing its job.

It is usually the ones who refuse to wear a helmet, that cite these kinds of statistics. The 37% number just defies the intellect. It is probably a number for accidents that take place on freeways, where the bike is going 100 kph. At slow speeds it is bound to help. As long as it is not the bean cap some choose to wear, but rather a real helmet, meant to protect the head. Some will just not acknowledge how delicate an instrument the head really is.

[todlad]

The biggest scrooge and worry of every 2 wheeler transport is be hit from behind by a distracted

or a wayward driver, while riders of the bike/moto can control what is going on in front and to their

sides, nothing they can do to avoid being hit from behind.....

If they turn right across the front of a car without looking or indicating then they failed to do something that could easily have been done and would probably have saved their lives.

Yeah! I think the granny was texting and the girl was probably shouting go granny go.

Half of the people here feign sadness and then come out with their "This is Thailand" crap. Like you.

Yes we know many thousands of people die whilst riding their motorbike here in Thailand and it really is a tragedy every time it happens.

What you just did was to exonerate the driver of the vehicle that hit them when you have absolutely no evidence in this case to support that view.

See my post #89.

Read this sentence and tell me what it means in the context in which I read it ... without referring to post 89

[maingmoom]

Tragic - RIP

BUT- i would also say - som-nam-na!

What did the 5 year old do on a bike?

Did any one of the 2 have a helmet? i guess not!

after all this is Thailand

som nam na . What a terrible thing to say. They were hit from behind. Why would you guess they were not wearing helmets ? and why would you think that they deserved it. your comment is disgusting

[lostinisaan]

Tragic - RIP

BUT- i would also say - som-nam-na!

What did the 5 year old do on a bike?

Did any one of the 2 have a helmet? i guess not!

after all this is Thailand

Shame on you for saying som nam na....

1 Shame on this poster for being so disrespectful

[Shawn0001]

This is a terrible story. But frankly, the fact that she was five years old means nothing to me. Her life was of no more importance than the thousands of others that die on these roads every year. Kids are given favorable treatment in the media. Sure her life was cut short. I get that. But, was she given a high quality helmet to protect her? Would you allow your daughter to ride on a motorbike here, without one? Some responsibility has to fall on the shoulders of the grandmother, for allowing her to drive without a good helmet. 90% of bike deaths are caused by impact to the head. The skull is a fragile thing. About as fragile as an egg, some experts say.

The only thing we know is that a car hit them from behind and killed them, but you want to have a go at them because you have seen other people not wearing helmets? It's strange how people want to put blame on the victims, why are you not talking about reckless drivers who fail to look out for bikes? They were hit from behind, that makes it the cars fault. 90% of bike deaths are caused by impact to the head, most of which are people wearing helmets, a helmet only reduces risk of death by 37%, you have no reason to presume that helmets would have saved either life.

I don't know where you live, but in Thailand, most traffic deaths are people on motorbikes not wearing helmets. Even Thai authorities admit that. As for the 37%, that depends on the speed. At the low speed most motorbikes are drive in Thailand, the prevention rate is probably much higher. I have been saved from injury by the helmet twice. The last time was a serious accident where I flew 5-10 meters through the air. I suffered injuries, but thanks to the helmet, no head injuries. The helmet was trash though, from doing its job.

Yes, more often than not those killed were not wearing helmets but that does not mean that a helmet would have saved all of those lives, it has been estimated that 3000 of the 11,000 fatal motorbike accidents in Thailand annually would be avoided if all of them had of been wearing helmets. Anyway, the importance of helmets is a little off topic considering that we do not know if they were wearing helmets or not. We do know that they were hit by a car, helmets do save lives but there is no helmet that can save you from a high speed impact with a car. What percentage of motorbike deaths involve a 4 wheeled vehicle?

[ThailandGuy]

So sad to read this. Only 5 years when such a horrible thing has to happen. Rest in peace little girl !

[sanukjim]

RIP.

This is my biggest fear when my daughter visits her Thai grandparents. No one is wearing a helmet there, and just learned they are letting her ride by herself as well (she is 12). And of course no helmet. Goes against everything I tried to teach her. But I did warn the Thai in-laws now; if she has a fatal motorcycle accident overthere, I will consider it manslaughter on their part, and they will surely come to regret it!

you are full of crap as a Christmas turkey.If you as a parent can not teach a 12 year old to be responsible in the ways of safety then you are not a good parent. With proper responsibility she will herself don a helmet without anyone telling her to do it.Good Idea ,blame the grandparents for what is "your Failings.

[jacky54]

Rip little girl and rip granny.

Original article states that there are funds being raised to bring the little ones body back to Oz.

Indicates more than likely that the parents did not have a proper travel insurance....

I don't think insurance would pay out for a 5 year old on a motor bike, it's even an exclusion often for an adult. If the car driver was at fault the cops should be going after him to pay, not this crowd funding nonsense.