The 5 Things You Need To Know When Buying a Motorcycle Helmet in Thailand

jimboy

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www.asserogear.com
Or, How to Buy a Good Motorcycle Helmet

The good news. Through following some fairly basic safety principles you can reduce both the chance and the outcome of having an accident on a motorcycle. Years of research into road safety has produced a lot of information we can use.

Summary:
  • Helmets are important. Thailand's road are very dangerous.
  • Helmets need to fit. That means tight enough not to move around when you shake your head. Try on a helmet before buying it. Is it comfortable? Is it tight enough?
  • The SHARP motorcycle safety survey gives detailed safety information about specific brands and models of helmet.
  • More expensive helmets are not necessarily safer than less expensive helmets.
  • Forget air-vents, push your helmet visor up and use dark glasses. Much cooler!
Are motorcycle helmets really important?
Proportion of all motorcycle casualties with injuries to the head:
  • Proportion of all injured riders: 48%
  • Proportion with soft tissue injuries: 40%
  • Proportion with fractures: 14%
Almost one in three riders with head injuries (30%) have brain damage (Otte et al, 2002).

The Hurt report (1981) was the first to discover that many motorcyclist's helmets were insecurely fastened which meant they came off in an accident. A subsequent study in Europe (2001) found 12% of helmets came off during an accident. Make sure your helmet is a tight fit and that it is fastened for every ride! Even to 7-11.

People say that Thailand's roads are dangerous but is this true?
Recent data ranked the fatality rate per 100,000 population from road crashes in 193 countries. Thailand ranked second highest.
Rank Country Rate
1 Namibia 45
2 Thailand 44
3 Iran 38

By way of comparison, the USA and the UK have a much lower fatality rate.

Rank Country Rate
97 USA 14
180 United Kingdom 5
193 Maldives 2 (lowest)

Simply put, the mortality rate on the road in Thailand means that one is significantly more likely to die on the roads here than just about anywhere else.

Do motorcycle helmet's really save lives?
"Approximately 6% of riders were killed and 20-25% were hospitalized. Overall, unhelmeted riders were two to three times as likely to be killed, and three times as likely to suffer either death or survival with AIS > 2 brain injury. Unhelmeted survivors had three to four times as many AIS > 2 brain injuries as helmeted riders on a per-crash basis. Nearly 100% of riders with AIS > 4 somatic injuries died. Such injuries were 30% of Thailand fatalities and 57% of Los Angeles fatalities, but only about 2-3% of the overall accident population. Among the 97-98% of riders with AIS < 5 somatic injuries, helmet use could prevent about three-fourths of fatalities and brain injuries."

Conclusion:
"Helmets were extremely effective in preventing brain injury and death in 97% of the accident population in less-than-extreme crashes."

Which helmet should I buy?
The SHARP motorcycle safety survey rates motorcycle helmets. To find a helmet's safety rating go to the UK's SHARP website; Helmet Safety Scheme http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/


The very best, top rated helmets that cost $100-$200 are available in the UK and/or USA. These include several models made by Caberg, the Duchinni D832, the HJC IS-17, the Laser Bora, the Marushin 777, the MT Revenge, and the Nitro Aikido and Nitro N1700F. The Bell M1-M3-M5-M6 series are a good choice if you can import from the USA.

Of the above I could find only the HJC IS-17 in Thailand. HJC IS-17 7,500.00 &#3610;&#3634;&#3607;

Note that Shark helmets are manufactured in Thailand so they cost less than in Europe. They are available from Helmet2Home in Chiang Mai. AGV is also available but the models are not the same as the European models.

More expensive helmets are not necessarily safer than less expensive helmets, true or false?
It's true. Thanks to a PhD student called Ben Moore who has analysed the SHARP database we know, "there's a non-zero linear regression coefficient that suggests each additional £ spent on a helmet returns 2 × 10-4 SHARP rating points. It's worth noting that this trend explains a measly 6% of the variance in helmet ratings." Quite.
motorcycle-helmet-price-safety-edited.jpg


Copyright Ben Moore

According to the analysis Schuberth, Shoei, and Arai were the least cost effective helmets in the survey. Bell helmets had the highest average safety rating. Caberg and Marushin were the most cost effective motorcycle helmet brands.

How can I manage the heat wearing a helmet in Thailand?
Forget air-vents, push your helmet visor up and use dark glasses. A cost effective option are the King's Safetywear range of impact resistant polycarbonate clear and tinted glasses sold in hardware shops and HomePro for about 300 baht.
(FWIW, I've found the models with curved arms to be the most comfortable, specifically KY211, KY212 and KY214. Model KY712 was less comfortable since the arms were thicker and tended to be pressed against the side of the head by the helmet.)

Conclusion
Wearing a helmet in Thailand is a sensible thing to do. While the probably of injury to your head isn't as high as injury to your legs, repairing a broken head is much more difficult. Safe riding!

Disclaimer: As part of my job creating motorcycle clothing I tend to read numerous scientific papers on motorcycle safety. For the sake of the readers of GT Riders I will attempt a few summaries, without the detailed statistical analysis, for your viewing pleasure.

Sources:
Hurt, H.H. Jr., Ouellet, J.V. & Thom, D.R. (1981), Motorcycle Accident Cause Factors and Identification of Countermeasures, Final Report to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, US Department of Transportation, PB 81-206443, 81-206450.

Hurt, H. H. Jr., Ouellet, J.V. & Wagar, I.J. (1981), Effectiveness of motorcycle safety helmets and protective clothing, Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the American Association for Automotive Medicine, San Francisco pp 223-235.

Source: February 2014, "Mortality From Road Crashes In 193 Countries : A Comparison With Other Leading Causes Of Death"; Michaels Ivak, Brandon S Choettle; The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Source: Traffic Inj Prev. 2006 Mar;7(1):49-54.
"Motorcycle helmet effect on a per-crash basis in Thailand and the United States."
Ouellet JV1, Kasantikul V. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16484033

Read about Ben Moore, the PhD student with a head for non-zero linear regression coefficients who analyzed the SHARP database.
http://blm.io/blog/motorcycle-helmet-safety-price/

For the rigorous and skeptical reader, here's the source code:
https://github.com/blmoore/blogR/blob/master/R/sharp_bikehelms.R

Traffic Inj Prev. 2006 Mar;7(1):49-54.
Motorcycle helmet effect on a per-crash basis in Thailand and the United States.
Ouellet JV1, Kasantikul V. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16484033

Safety Interventions - Helmets
Effectiveness in different jurisdictions
http://www.carrsq.qut.edu.au/APEC/safety_interventions/helmets.html

Motorcycle Standards Comparison - Snell and DOT
http://www.smf.org/docs/articles/dot

BS 6658:1985
Specification for protective helmets for vehicle users
http://shop.bsigroup.com/ProductDetail/?pid=000000000030140499

Helmet Efficacy to Reduce Head Injury and Mortality in Motorcycle Crashes
Published 2010
https://www.east.org/education/practice-management-guidelines/helmet-efficacy-to-reduce-head-injury-and-mortality-in-motorcycle-crashes

Which parts of your body are most at risk in a crash?
http://roadsafety.mccofnsw.org.au/a/91.html
 

DavidFL

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Thanks for this Jim.

I'm an Arai man myself - because of the fit & comfort. Feels perfect on my head & has not failed yet in any spills coming off the bike & there's been a couple of big ones, starting in 95 with a bus, a pick up in 96, a rock under the bull dust in Laos 2007, oil on the road R118 in 2013 & 2014.
 
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canthai

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I wear an LS2 FF324. Modular style.
I bought it because of the ventilation - best on the market.
Only helmet I have worn here which does not leave my scalp wet.
So Ventilation is important to me.
 

mikerust

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Is there a Shark distributor in Nakhon Si Thammarat? Also I'm looking for a Bluetooth system for the helmet. Mostly for music and Google maps. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Jerry

About $120 from somewhere in Germany last time I looked. Not compatible with others so can't talk to friends with other systems.
 
Jul 18, 2011
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i find it amazing how people can bend statistics to support any argument.
i deal with reporting a lot at work and i can bend statistics to support any argument.

we should be looking at the exposure levels versus the outcomes.

thailand will have a massive amount of scooter/motorbike road fatalities simply because of the number of hours that the overall general population are actually riding.

In the first quarter of 2021, approximately 434.4 thousand motorcycles and scooters were sold in Thailand. The number of sales of two-wheelers has decreased since 2017, when approximately 1.8 million motorcycles and scooters were sold in Thailand.
this is a direct google quote
The current population of Thailand is 70,061,744 as of Friday, December 31, 2021, based on Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data.
Thailand's roads are the deadliest in Southeast Asia and among the worst in the world, according to the World Health Organisation. About 20,000 people die in road accidents each year, or about 56 deaths a day. Despite a myriad of government measures to reduce road casualties, they show no sign of abating.

so in 2021 a population of 70 million odd people purchased 1.5 million bike/scooters with @ 20 k dying.

It is estimated that customers in the United States purchased about 780,000 new motorcycles in 2019. Retail sales have increased sharply compared to 2019, with 2020 being the peak for new sales during the period reported.
the United States 2020 population is estimated at 331,002,651 people at mid year according to UN data
Cars killed 42,060 people in 2020, up from 39,107 in 2019, according to a preliminary estimate from the National Safety Council (NSC), a nonprofit that focuses on eliminating preventable deaths.
For motorcycle riders, America's roads have never been more deadly. That's not an exaggeration. There were 5,458 motorcycle fatalities in 2020

the average Somchai who has a scooter will probably ride it every day, to get to work, do some shopping, drop the kids of at school.
the average American will ride his bike on Sunday and only if it isn't raining.

so in Thailand in 2021 a population of 70 million odd people purchased 1.5 million bike/scooters with @ 20 k dying.
In the USA a population of @331 million people purchased @780 thousand bikes/scooters with @ 5.5 thousand motorcycle deaths.

it would be interesting to see a report on the number of deaths worldwide weighted against the number of hours that that people actually riding their bike.

another great example of statistics is the simple fact that every known substance on earth is edible...... 100% edibility rate.
but you cannot eat somethings twice......... unknown survival rate.

as far as helmets go, i have about 8 of the bloody things.
 
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canthai

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it would be interesting to see a report on the number of deaths worldwide weighted against the number of hours that that people actually riding their bike.
For Sure
Until the statistics provide more information, they will remain meaningless.
Of all the bikes in LOS - what is the total Km ridden per year. Balance that against the number of people killed, and you will have a stat of X Km per death.
Comparing stats without all the info give you a meaningless number which reflects absolutely nothing
 
Last edited:
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Jul 18, 2011
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Exactly my point.
The average Somchai probably spends more time riding in a month than most “developed” country riders do in a year.
So the exposure level is so much higher for old Somchai.
 

jimboy

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An update on the availability of 5 Star SHARP rated helmets in Thailand, priced less than 20,000THB.

AGV K6
Helmet weight 1.23 kg
UK Price from £317.99
In Thailand price 14,000THB on Shopee in dull Grey color, 16,000THB for choice of colors.


HJC IS-17
Helmet weight 1.55kg
UK Price from £139.99
There are a couple of special offers, one for ฿4,290 for two or more helmets and one ฿4,830 for Small size. A search of Shopee will reveal them.


HJC C70
Helmet weight 1.60 kg
UK Price from £149.99
Price on Shopee from 5,000THB.
Extra weight is largely due to the built-in dropdown sun-visor.


Reference discussion above on, "Recent data ranked the fatality rate per 100,000 population from road crashes."

The key phrase is "road crashes." It's not an observation on motorcycle accidents. Specifically, it is a generalized statement. In other words, there are a shed load of road accidents in Thailand. Nothing more.

I should draw your attention to the difference between "fatality rate" as quoted, and "mortality rate," also mentioned. The latter is influenced by factors such as getting First Aid to an injured rider within fifteen minutes of an accident.

Ride safely.