Thank you Monica and Shane, thank you authorities, thank you riders themselves. This a fantastic achievement for all. Bravo and well done.
Folks we are going modern.

Posted by Graham on June 29, 2010 12:42

Unless they take action in the mornings and afternoons at all the schools, things will not change much. Drive by any school in the morning, most arrive without helmets.

Posted by mike on June 29, 2010 12:53

I'm scratching my head over this helmet law....first of all, most helmets here are just cheap plastic not worthy of protecting anything...so whats the point?....secondly, if I'm getting on a motor bike taxi, do I want to put on an old sweaty, stinky helmet worn by hundreds of other people?...I don't have cleanliness phobias, but I like to draw a line somewhere...I mean, this is the tropics and believe it or not, there are people out there that pay no attention to basic hygiene....do I want any part of that???,,....Now what about the laws involving 5 or 6 people, let alone a dog riding on a bike...That's ok as long as they all have helmets??

Posted by headache on June 29, 2010 16:15

For the sake of transparency and to ensure everyone understands the same, please someone clarify the following to all readers:
As per the authorities and this article, we can drive without helmet from 10PM to 06AM? Please confirm.

Riders and pillion passenger(s) must wear helmets as well the authorities say! Good! - However, how many people and children are actually allowed to be on one bike? I think a clear number should be used. Lets say the first 5 passengers on each motorbike must wear helmets. If it is a motorbike with side-car a minimum of 10 people must wear helmets at all times.

Kids and infants: I hope their life is equally important than the life of us adults. Any information where infant and small kids helmets can be purchased?

Can we still use the construction helmets as we did the past 10 years to avoid any fine?

Sorry for being negative, but i actually want to say that again everything is too 'gray' and it still does not make sense to me. The fact is that it does not make sense to announce new laws as long as the existing laws are not enforced!

Posted by Observer on June 29, 2010 16:28

Damned if they do and damned if they don't as usual based on the above comments. Any improvement is better than none. I was in Pattaya the other day and was going to scrounge a ride back from Jomtien on a motoci. The guy said he'd rather give me B10 for the bus than risk a fine - that speaks volumes to me.

If you're that worried about a 'stinky helmet' first I'd suggest an STD clinic, then a baseball hat or bandana to wear underneath the communal helmet. I know middle aged men and bandanas look ludicrous but they won't see it under the cover.

Bearing in mind the local hygiene standards they're probably more concerned about the state of a helmet after a tourist has worn it!

Posted by Mister Ree on June 29, 2010 19:45

The whole discussion is just wasted time. If you don't know what a helmet is good for and you just wear a plastic shell for avoiding the ticket, then you deserve an accident with broken skull or whatever. There are good helmets for sale here, but you cannot get 'em for a lousy 300 baht.

Posted by Fritz Pinguin on June 30, 2010 00:19

Take a look in the ICU, all you negative people. Any helmet is better than none. Dirty helmet: wash your hair after wearing it. Better to wear one than be six feet under. My son pulled through, but he has brain damage. His recovery is going to take years, if he ever recovers fully. I am very lucky he is alive, he reads, writes, walks, and still has his wicked sense of humor. But even he knows it was silly for him not to wear a helmet. Looking at his accident site, he was not traveling any speed. Very little damage to the bike, which makes the whole incident specious. Fell on his head, fractured it, only little skin scrapes. If MoM can save one mother from going through what I am going through, Shane has inspired a brilliant action group. We start at the beginning, and soldier on. And if it doesn't sink in the first time, we go back and start all over again until it does. At the end of the day there are people that do something, and there are people that don't. No one deserves to lose their life, or be maimed.

Monica, Shane's Mother. (MoM)

Posted by monica on June 30, 2010 06:25

anyone worried about dirty helmets can carry a shower cap in their pocket!!
you can actually also buy disposable helmet liners from big c and tesco lotus!!
nice green highlighting, ed!!

Posted by another steve on June 30, 2010 08:07

"The roads are packed with cars in plague proportions, and numbers are likely to grow rather than shrink".

There........fixed it for you.

Posted by Sir Burr on June 30, 2010 10:39

F1 Drivers wear helmets. How many needless deaths in cars do we have every year because drivers and passengers do not wear helmets? We need to start the movement and require all passengers in cars wear helmets.

Posted by Larry on June 30, 2010 12:04

Right on, Monica (Shane's Mum)!

Posted by D on June 30, 2010 13:36

Nice reporting as ever. Can't see the average Thai or foreigner taking any notice so hope a pain in the pocket will make all of us comply and become safer I am happy it will go island wide.

Out to buy more helmets today for the people I support. Will they wear them ???

Posted by tony pope on July 1, 2010 10:07