Gregjam wrote:It frequently comes up in posts about the wearing of motorcycle crash helmets here in Thailand. Rather than guesses somebody is bound to know what exactly the law is regarding the requirement to wear a helmet here.
My own interpretation based on observation is that one person on a motorcycle must wear a helmet (either rider or passenger) if the motorcycle is in use on the public road.
Does it really only apply to one person? Perhaps the legal eagles could also clarify the other 'motorcycle' laws that may or may not exist.
Do you need a licence to ride a motorcycle on the road?
What is the maximum amount of people allowed on a motorcycle (suspect this is two as you frequently see the 3rd or 4th get off the bike before the checkpoint and reboard after).
Is there any law about age/size of passenger (i.e. baby seats designed specifically for the step thru type bikes)?
Is it legal to use a motorcycle to tow any kind of trailer.
Is there any requirement for a motorcycle to be maintained (i.e. brakes/lights working).
I am more than aware that this will garner some humourous responses and am well aware that whatever the legal situation is you know you will get stuffed if you, as a farang, are involved in an accident with a bike.
It would also be interesting to know how the accident statistics compare when you look at the amount of people using a motorcycle here in Thailand. We all know that if safe practices were adopted accidents would be reduced but that would also put a huge amount of the motorcycles/motorcyclists off the road. If you take away all the accidents where the motorcyclist was illegally on the road (no helmet/licence/overloaded/drunk) what are the actual accident figures for motorcyclist compliant with the law.
Nothing like a bit of manipulation of statistics although I doubt if they are available. It might also detract a bit from repeated comments about crash helmets as if they are the be all and end all of motorcycle safety. A bike will not hurt you without input from a rider. Basically we all know that if motocycles/motorcyclists here were all legal it would make the roads a safer place (also if this was applied to motorists/cars/vans/lorries too) but chances of that happening are nil.
These are all very good questions, I will try to answer them based on what I see happening on the roads around Hua Hin, Bangkok, Pattaya and other places where I drive a motorbike, I will also add a few tidbits of my own.
1. "Does it really only apply to one person?" There is no helmet law, 80% of Thai's drive with no helmet, this includes every passenger also. There are many studies that show wearing a helmet can save lives, but none of these studies apply to Thailand.
2. "What is the maximum amount of people allowed on a motorcycle " As many as you can fit, if you can fit 4 go for it, if you can fit 5 even better! There is no correlation between the amount of passenger on a 125cc motorbike and a reduction in safety.
3. "Is there any law about age/size of passenger" Again there has never been a study that proves a 8 or 10 year old cannot drive a motorbike safely without a license or any official training of sorts. This point is obvious to me because I see it on a daily basis, sometimes 4 of them on the same motorbike, police never pull them over so logically speaking how can there be a law about age ? I believe Thai law is "As soon as they can reach the handlebars, they can ride"
4 "Is there any requirement for a motorcycle to be maintained" none whatsoever. I see people driving motorbikes at night without headlights or tail lights or brake lights. Obviously if this was law it would be enforced by police. Again, logically speaking nobody would knowingly endanger their life by driving at night without any lights on their bike if it was an unsafe practice.
Also take note of the following if driving a motorbike in Thailand
You may drive on either side of the road, it may seem like traffic on either side of the median is flowing in one direction but don't pay attention to that, if you are on the wrong side feel free to be a lazy bastard and to save a little time drive towards vehicles hurtling towards you at 80kph, they will move out of the way if they see you, and always remember this
"Safety is not you're responsibility, it's everyone else's."
Just last week I saw a Thai man driving his motorbike with his right hand, holding his baby in his left and talking on the phone at the same time, obviously a very safe practice. Road conditions are perfect in Hua Hin and I have never once seen a pothole. This kind of activity is completely safe and brings up another important point, feel free to not only talk while you are riding your motorbike but ALSO TEXT at the same time. Why pull over to the side of the road to Text or talk on the phone when you can kill two birds with one stone. (intentional pun with the word kill)
Also remember the "BLIND MERGE" rule. Just because you are on what you consider a main road such as Petchkasem, every side street Soi has the right to merge directly into you and oncoming traffic without stopping (Often without even looking, which just confirms my statement above, Safety is not you're responsibility, its everyone else's). When they do merge directly into your lane its your responsibility to slam on your brakes, if necessary, so as to not cause an accident. You may be asking yourself, "Hey, wait a minute, isn't it their responsibility to come to a full stop, look in the direction of oncoming traffic, wait until there is an opening and attempt to safely merge into said traffic" The answer to that question is simple.....No....
Every year the World Health Organization produces a report that shows the countries with the deadliest roads, Thailand always seems to come in second place to either Nigeria or Namibia with 45 deaths per 100,000 people. I guess nobody ever informed them that there are some lists where you should not strive to be number one...