News Forum - 100% Wear a Helmet campaign will have police lend a helmet to offenders

[Thaiger]

The “100% Wear a Helmet” campaign was intensified by Phuket Police with an event at Region 8 Police headquarters in Tha Chatchai aimed at increasing public awareness. The event was held on Monday in an attempt to push everyone in Phuket to wear motorbike helmets when driving, with helmets being handed out to students and motorbike taxi drivers as part of the event. Handing out helmets is actually one strategy police plan to employ as part of enacting a more strict response to bare-headed drivers. After paying for a ticket for not wearing a helmet, drivers and passengers will not […]

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[AussieBob]

I have said for years that with every annual motorbike registration renewal, the Thai Govt should give away a cheap helmet (better than nothing).  Certainly do something to try and stop them selling the helmet, but at least it might make a difference. 75-80% of all road deaths are those on bikes - and I believe that they make up a higher percentage of serious road accident injuries.  Something just has to be done in Thailand - while not making riding a bike as ridiculously expensive as it is now in western countries. When I was young riding a bike saved a lot of money - nowadays it costs a lot more than it did in the past - I guess that is one way to stop young people getting them. 

[Thommo]

What a joke,  I was in Phuket prior to xmas and I would have estimated 1 out of 10 riders were wearing a helmet. Why dont they just enforce the law?  as a start

[Thommo]

47 minutes ago, AussieBob said:

I have said for years that with every annual motorbike registration renewal, the Thai Govt should give away a cheap helmet (better than nothing).  Certainly do something to try and stop them selling the helmet, but at least it might make a difference. 75-80% of all road deaths are those on bikes - and I believe that they make up a higher percentage of serious road accident injuries.  Something just has to be done in Thailand - while not making riding a bike as ridiculously expensive as it is now in western countries. When I was young riding a bike saved a lot of money - nowadays it costs a lot more than it did in the past - I guess that is one way to stop young people getting them. 

I enjoy the cost of ownership here, my versys with 1st class insurance is around 11000 thb here, the same bike in melbourne with reg and full com insurance would be around 40000 thb (1700aud)

 

[Convert54]

Many years ago I saw them trying this in Korat. But the people pulled over were still pinged 200Bht and then given a basic helmet.

[kalyan]

555

along with the officers, we can find a road side helmet selling shop.

officer will recommend to get purchased before passing them thro.

don't forget your debit /credit/ QR code payments, shop has any form of payment !

You can pledge your bike documents, googles, mobile phones, watches to get helmet !!

[Malc-Thai]

May be a bit old fashioned, but It would have helped when the police set up their road blocks, to stop thais as well as foreigners!  

[HiuMak]

8 hours ago, Thaiger said:

 Handing out helmets is actually one strategy police plan to employ as part of enacting a more strict response to bare-headed drivers.

Sounds like a nanny policy. Whimp. I will start collecting these free helmets

[PompeyLlama]

In ten years of living here I have seen some attempts to solve this issue. 

Funniest was when a police officer made the bike rider do push-up in the street where everyone could see. 

The easiest get around was to carry the helmet and put it on to pass the police and then remove it again. 

Will this initiative work? For a while and only to a small degree but it's better than nothing right? 

[Prosaap]

Just give the fine and not a free pass for the day and next day make them pay everytime they got stoped and start with the thai its stupid to tell they have no money to pay it thats what make them wear a helmet if not pay lock the bike there are many trafic rules that have to enforced include drive wrong way and dubble parked also learn them to think and look ahead 

[Cabra]

The day they start issuing fines and actually forcing collection is the day helmet wearing increases. Such an easy problem to solve. Don't need to over engineer the solution.

[AlexPTY]

something is wrong with this logic. if you could afford a motorbike, you should be able to afford a helmet. new bikes usually sold with the free helmets by most big shops. Thais don't wear helmets because they don't want to, and Thai girls in particular, because it mai suai

[Shark]

9 hours ago, AussieBob said:

give away a cheap helmet (better than nothing). 

I normally agree with you AussieBob but this time i don't have you ever dropped a cheap helmet from ~ 0.5-1m to the ground.. result is nothing is left, now imagine driving 80km/h with a cheap helmet and crashing it is absolutely useless.

I most be honest, i drive a bike and commit the felony at-least daily - however you won't see me on a Thai highway without one.... this is where I think most of the deathly accidents happen with the 'locals' driving around opposite traffic without a helmet.... Anyways I don't think these statistics are available anyways as most road kill is just road kill.

[AussieBob]

38 minutes ago, Shark said:

I normally agree with you AussieBob but this time i don't have you ever dropped a cheap helmet from ~ 0.5-1m to the ground.. result is nothing is left, now imagine driving 80km/h with a cheap helmet and crashing it is absolutely useless.

I most be honest, i drive a bike and commit the felony at-least daily - however you won't see me on a Thai highway without one.... this is where I think most of the deathly accidents happen with the 'locals' driving around opposite traffic without a helmet.... Anyways I don't think these statistics are available anyways as most road kill is just road kill.

True - 60+ kms and they are useless - but at 20-30km it will save their head from cracking open. Lots of low speed accidents causing bad injuries to the head. But as you say, for real safety a real helmet is needed. Never road a bike in Thailand without one - but I must say it gets effin hot with a full-face - switched to open face after learning that.  Full face for the open roads - and only on a real bike.  

[Paco]

this campaign started 18 years ago... lol and look how much are listening

[Rain]

Translated: helmets make one a better driver. 

[Shark]

1 hour ago, AussieBob said:

True - 60+ kms and they are useless - but at 20-30km it will save their head from cracking open. Lots of low speed accidents causing bad injuries to the head. But as you say, for real safety a real helmet is needed. Never road a bike in Thailand without one - but I must say it gets effin hot with a full-face - switched to open face after learning that.  Full face for the open roads - and only on a real bike.  

I don't even think 20-30km will do with a cheapskate helmet. It will crack open as 0.5-1m of gravity force just falling down already breaks them.

Sure thing a full-face is freaking hot (It's however what I use for long-distance), on the island I don't care too much.

[Poolie]

I never understood why farangs care so much about Thai casualties.  On the one hand, ninety per cent of you hold the Thais in such contempt that you wouldn't pee on them if they were on fire, on the other they should all wear helmets when riding a bike. 

I can only surmise you're coming from the deprivation of income through fines angle.

[Rain]

14 minutes ago, Poolie said:

I never understood why farangs care so much about Thai casualties.  On the one hand, ninety per cent of you hold the Thais in such contempt that you wouldn't pee on them if they were on fire, on the other they should all wear helmets when riding a bike. 

I can only surmise you're coming from the deprivation of income through fines angle.

They only want Thais to mirror themselves and their highly civilised and sophisticated Western manner - 

Think of it as a sort of civilising mission....

[Poolie]

23 minutes ago, Rain said:

They only want Thais to mirror themselves and their highly civilised and sophisticated Western manner - 

Think of it as a sort of civilising mission....

Oh, like bringing the natives to heel? That could make sense, just.

[Convert54]

10 hours ago, Malc-Thai said:

May be a bit old fashioned, but It would have helped when the police set up their road blocks, to stop thais as well as foreigners!  

You believe they "set up " only  for  foreigners? Obviously  you  have never traveled far in Thailand !

[Rain]

8 minutes ago, Convert54 said:

You believe they "set up " only  for  foreigners? Obviously  you  have never traveled far in Thailand !

Indeed. Very commonplace for the impromptu blitzes to be organized for the Thai population....little to do with Farang.

[Marc26]

49 minutes ago, Rain said:

Indeed. Very commonplace for the impromptu blitzes to be organized for the Thai population....little to do with Farang.

Thais get it much more than farangs

Just idiots on here who never go beyond Pattaya or Phuket will spout nonsense, as usual

 

My wife lives in Samut Prakan area of Bangkok

Her brothers are consistently stopped and piss taked on their MB's

 

Not that that is a good thing, a bit heavy handed but it happens way more than to farangs 

[Marc26]

13 hours ago, Thommo said:

What a joke,  I was in Phuket prior to xmas and I would have estimated 1 out of 10 riders were wearing a helmet. Why dont they just enforce the law?  as a start

I'd challenge that, unless they weren't enforcing it during covid

 

In 18yrs of living a bit and coming to Phuket I've never seen more than a handful of riders not wearing a helmet on a given day

[Augratin]

After ten years here I finally got a bike (electric one that I'm very happy with), and may even venture out onto the big roads (if my tags ever come - could be as long as three months I'm told!) so I will def need a helmet.  

Can anyone tell me, if I'm stopped, do police expect to see my passport or only a driver's license?