Not 1 student wore a helmet.

[usual suspect]

Yesterday after waiting around at the college 5+half hours for our daughter to finally get her enrollment done & dusted..(5+ hours when she had all the paperwork etc..TiT).
During most of that time I sat either in my pick-up with some music on, or sat on the tailgate watching the to's & fro's of all these students coming in & out for their enrolling proceedure.
In all the time I was there, not one student wore a helmet whilst riding their motorbike..
..the college is half way down towards Pranburi & caters for youths from both towns..BUT all have to use that busy main road to get to/from there.
What does it take to make these youngsters believe that helmets DO save lives..?
(Or am I just thinking to much like a westerner again..?)
Indeed by the time their new term starts..how many won't be alive to attend?

[brianks]

Why should they wear a helmet? Police don't enforce it! If the police would uniformly enforce the helmet law most would be wearing them but with only periodic enforcement under a pedestrian overpass (have to do it in the shade) on the main road in center of town. No hope for the helmet law to be enforced under the current administration. Enforcement just doesn't generate enough income to be bothered with it.

[Roel]

Wearing a helmet is not cool. It is something that old people do. Wear one and you will be ridiculed and find yourself at the very bottom of the student pecking order. Nightly street races on modified bikes will be next.

[Pleng]

From my experience, for an educated person to learn, it takes the death of a friend before learning a lesson. My girlfriend and her colleagues will no longer go the wrong way down a road because their friend died doing so.

A near miss is not good enough, not unless directly involved. A colleage was involved in an accident whilst driving drunk, fell asleep at the wheel and hit another car. The guy in question was luckily not killed but suffered severe leg injuries. I'm pretty sure the girl who instigated the accident will never drive drunk again - but it hasn't got through to the rest of her colleagues.

For the uneducated, who will quote 'Buhha's will' to you, I'm not sure there's anything that will stop them.

[Simijim]

Just came back from Pattaya and 90% or more ware helmets still. Unlike Hua Hin police stand on corner of road and would pull motorbike over for not waring a helmet. Every morning taking boy to school I see police standing next to motorbikes with no helmet waving them on in traffic. If the city government won't change how can you expect the people of the city to change. So true someone close has to die before you change. Unfortunate way to learn.

[Dannie Boy]

It's not that unusual to see a cop on a motor bike wearing a peaked cap rather than a helmet, so if they don't set an example, it's no wonder countless others don't and that includes % wise, just as many farangs as locals. An occasional 200 baht fine is no deterrent, it has to be at least a 1000 every time until the message hits home.

[Gregjam]

Just another aspect of Thailand that as foreigners we can do little about. The choice is yours, live with the risks you are exposed to or don't use the roads. The roads would be pretty empty if ever the words law and enforcement got even close to each other.

[m_right]

I see plenty of non Thais riding without a helmet. So it isn't just a Thai thing. In Wisconsin USA. where Harley Davidson's are made it is not required to wear a helmet and many riders do not. Another not just a Thai thing.

[Gregjam]

I realise it is not just a Thai thing but unlike Wisconsin, wearing a helmet in Thailand is compulsory by law. When I first came here it was not and the lack of enforcement after the law came into force explains why people do not wear them, foreigners included. This is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the roads are concerned, unlicensed riders, underage riders/drivers, uninsured or taxed vehicles, uninspected or unsafe vehicles, drunk driving to name just a few. Enforcement would force many off the road including foreign tourists who invariably do not have an Internstional driving licence which is also a requirement. Despite the likes of the big international car hire companies renting out cars to foreigners with EU licences. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong but this is another on the spot income source in the shady spots where helmet less riders are penalised.

[HHTel]

When I first came here it was not and the lack of enforcement after the law came into force explains why people do not wear them, foreigners included.

It's been the law in Thailand for rider and passenger to wear a helmet for at least 35 years. Enforcement in most places is non-existent.

[Billy Joe I]

I simply look at it as a form of natural selection!

[Gregjam]

Not wishing to provoke an "I know better" situation but, I understood that it was December 1994 when the Helmet Act came into force as evidenced by a quick google search. This made wearing a helmet compulsory, before that it was just optional.

[daddee]

gruesome accidents and injuries/deaths every day all over Thailand... most from mini buses and motorbikes... and the Thais like to post pics and videos of it so this doesn't seem to be a deterrent...

I plan to get a motorbike when I settle in Hua Hin... maybe... and if I do, I will be wearing shoes and helmet...

[HHTel]

I'm don't want to get into an argument. I was pointing out that even after 35 years, there has been no progress on enforcing the law.

Land Traffic Act, B.E. 2522 (1979)
Given on the 15th March B.E.2522.

Section 122 (500B)

The rider and passenger of a motorcycle shall wear a motorcycle helmet.

[Gregjam]

No argument and thanks for correcting my mistake. Totally agree about the total failure to enforce the law too.