I’m invincible, so I don’t need a crash helmet
I’m the best motorbike rider in the world – I don’t need a crash helmet
I’m in Thailand, I don’t need a crash helmet
I will only go slowly, I don’t need a crash helmet
I don’t look cool in a helmet, I don’t need a crash helmet
Nobody else is wearing a helmet, I don’t need a crash helmet
THINK AGAIN!
Your Not Ironman!!
It’s taken your entire life to put the knowledge you have in your brain. Why not take that knowledge and protect it with a crash helmet when riding a motorbike.
Your bones can be broken and you will live. Your head may be protected by a skull, but traveling at less than 20 mph into something hard, is game over…
It’s estimated that more than 5 people per month die because of motorbike accident, and a crash helmet could have prevented that death.
Your holiday in Thailand is going to be a wonderful experience. And at one stage you may rent a motorbike. Continue the wonderful experience and wear a crash helmet and be safe.
Throughout all of Thailand, crash helmets are law. But in many provinces across Thailand where the traffic levels are low, locals do not wear them. This is also the same in many tourist areas across Thailand, people do not wear crash helmets. Places like Bangkok, Phuket and Pattaya the policing is alot higher and if you are caught riding a motorbike or scooter not wearing a helmet, police can fine you on the spot.
Here on the Islands of Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao 90% of the riders on the road are not wearing crash helmets. Koh Samui has one of the highest rate of motorbike accidents in all of Thailand. So wouldn’t it make sense to wear a crash helmet.
A women said I just want to try the scooter. She went along the road very slowly, less than 10km per hour and lost balance, went off the road, head first into the ground. She was not wearing a helmet because she thought she would only go slow and in most people’s minds going slow means you will not fall off. She smashed her upper lip and the side of her face and banged her head, wounds that would last her entire holiday! This was a true incident that happened. We not saying a helmet could of prevented her from falling off, but it could of saved her from the damage to her head. Now if she had fell off and her head hit a rock or the impact to her head was in a different place it could have been a different story. Huge hospital bills, maybe even loss of life or ended up being a couch potato.
We can’t emphasize enough how important a crash helmet is when riding a motorbike or scooter. Good motorbike riders reach for their helmet every time they ride. You should too… Its a no brainer, its a simple process, its common sense, its stupidity not to wear a helmet.
A high number of tourists that rent motorbikes or scooters, wear a pair of flip-flops, and if a female a bikini or a male a pair of shorts. This is great, when for your holiday, but protection to your body is zero.
A good pair of shoes can be vital when on a bike! The first thing anyone does when losing balance or getting into a problem during riding a scooter is touch ground with their feet, that means your feet become the brakes, or the balancing, or even the escape route from an accident. Any open shoes like flip-flops or sandals fold on impact, or tear, leaving your feet very vulnerable. Imagine a scenario where you have lost control and need to use your feet to balance or at least keep upright, the ground is stones, hard tarmac or rocky, your feet are not going to be very good at helping you gain balance!! A pair of trainers or any shoes with a strong soul are going to help big time and give you more protection to your feet and even save the day of not hitting the tarmac.
So why do motorbike riders in most of Europe wear hard leathers! Leather works well as a protection for your skin and body. But here in Thailand the temperatures are lot higher and you don’t want to be winter styled clothes. Although alot of big bike riders do wear leathers even here in Thailand. Take that as road knowledge, or even common sense.
Its nice to see a girl in a bikini on a scooter, but when she has even the smallest accident, she will end up with some lovely tattoos across her body, has her skin grazes the ground. Covering up with at least a thick nylon t-shirt is going to give you some protection if you fall off. A strong pair of shorts, like jeans or cargo pants that have thicker material than your average pair of swim shorts could help a little depending on the impact to the ground.
But the important subject here is that a helmet is very important and your bones can break, skin can tear, and it will heal. But your brain can not repair its self 90% of the time. We all know the great Michael Schumacher 7 times world champion formula 1 driver had accident when skiing and was wearing a helmet, and we know his story, so hopefully this helps you decide on wearing a helmet.
