PHUKET police are seeking assistance from resorts and guesthouses to make sure tourists understand the need to wear helmets when riding motorcycles on the island.
''We are talking with every hotel in Patong, with the motorcycle renters, and with schools,'' Colonel Jakkawat Boontaveekulsawat told Phuketwan today. ''And we are also talking to all the communities.''
He said the plan was for receptionists to tell tourists on check-in about the need to wear helmets.
Colonel Jakkawat, Kathu's traffic chief, was speaking before representatives from all eight Phuket police stations sat down at Phuket City Police Headquarters to discuss the island-wide campaign to enforce helmet laws from January 1.
The idea was first introduced earlier this year by Colonel Wanchai Eakpornpit in Phuket City, who told the gathering that he had a letter from Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban saying that the ''Phuket model'' would be spreading to the whole country from January 1.
The Thailand campaign will adapt an old Thai saying for the motto: ''If you love your child, put a helmet on your child.''
Public relations campaigns are expected around the island in advance of the launch.
Phuket's Commander, Major General Pekad Tantipong, said that the persuasion strategy would need to be adapted to suit different areas of Phuket because the whole island was not built up, like Phuket City.
''It will not be easy to explain to everyone why they need as helmet, so we will have to be inventive,'' he said.
General Pekad said that Colonel Wanchai invited the leaders of Phuket City's 14 mosques to the police station, showed them how important it was to protect their children, got them to wear helmets, then put photographs of the imams wearing helmets on billboards near every mosque.
The success of the campaign and its spread to the entire island is a far cry from the time years ago when motorcyclists blockaded police stations that tried to enforce the helmet law on Phuket.
While vast improvements have been made in Phuket City, many people still remove their headgear when night falls or when they reach a minor road.
Colonel Wanchai said it was important to make an impression, especially at schools and colleges and resorts. Signed Memos of Understanding had the facilities backing the wearing of helmets - and enforcing additional penalties if people did not wear them.
Schools who sign the helmet MoUs are obligated to alert parents at a student's third offence, and dock schoolmarks if there is a repetition.
Whether every station is as adept at the public relations part of the process remains to be seen.
Offenders will be obliged to go to a safety movie if they are caught between January 1 and February 1, and the ''Phuket model'' involved switching checkpoints to different points at different times of day.
Colonel Wanchai said 3800 people had seen the safety movie since the campaign began, which meant police had voluntarily passed up the opportunity to take almost two million baht in fines.
As police usually hold onto 35 percent of fines, this represented a real commitment on the part of police to road traffic safety that was costing them money.
General Pekad said that if tourists are told at the point of hiring a motorcycle about the need for a helmet, they will also have to be supplied with one or more.
He said he was worried about parts of the island where helmets are worn by less than one in 10 people.
''We will work harder in those local village areas,'' he said. ''There are no problems for now with short journeys, to the rubber plantation, but if people head to market, they must start to wear helmets.''
Statistics showed 69 percent of motorcycle crashes involved males. Most victims were aged 10 to 35. The most dangerous periods on the island were from 5pm to 10pm, and from midnight to 1am.
Two-thirds of crashes took place in the Phuket City area, General Pekad said. Patong recorded 15.15 percent, he said. Chalong is a big area that needed special attention, he said.
Phuketwan supports Mothers or Motorcyles (MoM), an action group that encourages road safety, especially the wearing of helmets.
Phuket Leader Hopes Football Star Can Recover''We are talking with every hotel in Patong, with the motorcycle renters, and with schools,'' Colonel Jakkawat Boontaveekulsawat told Phuketwan today. ''And we are also talking to all the communities.''
He said the plan was for receptionists to tell tourists on check-in about the need to wear helmets.
Colonel Jakkawat, Kathu's traffic chief, was speaking before representatives from all eight Phuket police stations sat down at Phuket City Police Headquarters to discuss the island-wide campaign to enforce helmet laws from January 1.
The idea was first introduced earlier this year by Colonel Wanchai Eakpornpit in Phuket City, who told the gathering that he had a letter from Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban saying that the ''Phuket model'' would be spreading to the whole country from January 1.
The Thailand campaign will adapt an old Thai saying for the motto: ''If you love your child, put a helmet on your child.''
Public relations campaigns are expected around the island in advance of the launch.
Phuket's Commander, Major General Pekad Tantipong, said that the persuasion strategy would need to be adapted to suit different areas of Phuket because the whole island was not built up, like Phuket City.
''It will not be easy to explain to everyone why they need as helmet, so we will have to be inventive,'' he said.
General Pekad said that Colonel Wanchai invited the leaders of Phuket City's 14 mosques to the police station, showed them how important it was to protect their children, got them to wear helmets, then put photographs of the imams wearing helmets on billboards near every mosque.
The success of the campaign and its spread to the entire island is a far cry from the time years ago when motorcyclists blockaded police stations that tried to enforce the helmet law on Phuket.
While vast improvements have been made in Phuket City, many people still remove their headgear when night falls or when they reach a minor road.
Colonel Wanchai said it was important to make an impression, especially at schools and colleges and resorts. Signed Memos of Understanding had the facilities backing the wearing of helmets - and enforcing additional penalties if people did not wear them.
Schools who sign the helmet MoUs are obligated to alert parents at a student's third offence, and dock schoolmarks if there is a repetition.
Whether every station is as adept at the public relations part of the process remains to be seen.
Offenders will be obliged to go to a safety movie if they are caught between January 1 and February 1, and the ''Phuket model'' involved switching checkpoints to different points at different times of day.
Colonel Wanchai said 3800 people had seen the safety movie since the campaign began, which meant police had voluntarily passed up the opportunity to take almost two million baht in fines.
As police usually hold onto 35 percent of fines, this represented a real commitment on the part of police to road traffic safety that was costing them money.
General Pekad said that if tourists are told at the point of hiring a motorcycle about the need for a helmet, they will also have to be supplied with one or more.
He said he was worried about parts of the island where helmets are worn by less than one in 10 people.
''We will work harder in those local village areas,'' he said. ''There are no problems for now with short journeys, to the rubber plantation, but if people head to market, they must start to wear helmets.''
Statistics showed 69 percent of motorcycle crashes involved males. Most victims were aged 10 to 35. The most dangerous periods on the island were from 5pm to 10pm, and from midnight to 1am.
Two-thirds of crashes took place in the Phuket City area, General Pekad said. Patong recorded 15.15 percent, he said. Chalong is a big area that needed special attention, he said.
Phuketwan supports Mothers or Motorcyles (MoM), an action group that encourages road safety, especially the wearing of helmets.
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re. Motorcyle helmets: Here's an idea for Colonel Jakkawat Boontaveekulsawat - enforce the law, fine people. Even take away their bikes. They'll soon buy a 109 baht helmet that'll put them on the right side of the law.
It won't do much for them in a bad accident, but the law will be satisfied.
Posted by Mike Boyd on November 2, 2010 13:14
Editor Comment:
Satisfying the law is not the issue. What's important is making people understand that it's all about safety. That's always been the key. Now, the door to sane enforcement of the law has been unlocked. There's no point in trying to enforce a law that is perceived to have no point. Laws have to be understood. Westerners understand the sense in this kind of law. Thais are now beginning to understand. The key is road safety - not enforcement for enforcement's sake.