Two road safety groups have announced the result of an “extensive” nationwide survey aimed at determining how many Thais actually wear helmets when riding motorcycles. The (somewhat predictable) conclusion: not very many.
According to the study, only 43% of Thais regularly wear helmets, a figure far, far lower than the 100% helmet usage the government began pushing for in 2011.
The survey, conducted by the Thai Roads Foundation and the Road Safety Watch Group, found that helmet users tended to skew older, with 49% of adults, 28% of teenagers and only 7% of children wearing protection while on the road.
In case you feel like these statistics don’t warrant attention on their own, keep in mind the Bangkok Post’s helpful reminder that 100,000 people have died of automotive accidents in Thailand over the past 10 years. That’s roughly 30 people per day. Yikes.
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