It has been more than two months does the government make public campaign for helmet law starting for today. The Phuket City Police will begin the enforcement of a long-ignored traffic law requiring all motorbike riders, including the passenger to wear crash helmets.

Infringement toward this regulation would make the violator will be fined. Fined charge for driver and passenger without helmets is up to 500 baht. A driver transporting a passenger not wearing a helmet is subject to an additional fine of up to 1,000 baht.

Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit said that stepped-up enforcement of the law could save about 30 lives annually in Phuket City Police District, which covers Rassada, Wichit and Koh Kaew as well as Phuket Town.

A random review by police of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage taken in the district in February and March this year revealed that about 60% of motorbike riders wore crash helmets, compared to just 4% of passengers.
Furthermore, the survey found that when fewer traffic police are on duty, helmet user plummeted is merely 25.4 % after dark.

Another disturbing trend revealed by the CCTV images was the correlation between helmet use and age. Adult is in a higher percentage of those who did not use any protective headgear rather than teenager and what most shocking one is that kind of head protector never does used by children and infants, just like it never exist in the first place.

Government statistics regarding helmet use among motorcycle riders in the USA revealed that helmets were 35% effective in preventing death and 67% effective in preventing brain injuries according to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Statistics released by the injury surveillance unit at Vachira Phuket Hospital for June 2008 to November 2009 period, revealed that 70% of motorbike riders involved in accidents requiring hospital treatment in Phuket were not wearing helmets. And, the highest risk of this young riders group are those ages 15 to 30. Young riders were also 2.9 times more likely to be involved in motorbike accidents requiring hospital treatment and 2.6 times more likely to die in motorbike accidents, the researchers found.

Muang District is where 66.3% of all accidents in Phuket take place, followed by Thalang (18.6%) and Kathu (15.1%). The vast majority of road accidents in Phuket, 87.6% overall, involve motorbikes.

Research by the US-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety shows that per vehicle miles traveled, motorcyclists are about 21 times more likely die in traffic accidents than people in cars.

News by Phuket Gazette