The campaign to get everyone, particularly children, to wear crash helmets is to be stepped up.
The Save the Children group has issued a statement saying that statistics show the number of Thai children wearing crash helmets while traveling on the back of a bike seat has quadrupled to 30% in recent years, meaning a whopping 70% don’t wear them.
Partly because of the low use of helmets, more than 2,600 children die in road accidents each year, meaning over seven fatalities each day, the group points out.
In addition, some 200 children are injured, and in some cases crippled in road accidents daily, because they weren’t wearing crash helmets, added the group.
The Save the Children group said it would continue its campaign to help children understand the importance of wearing a crash helmet as a basic safety measure. However, it is really down to parents ensure that they wear them.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of Thailand’s road fatalities is ranked second in the world.
It said that in 2015, about 1.3 million school-age children in Thailand regularly traveled on the back of motorcycles each day but only 7% put on crash helmets.
Whilst it is good that children are being made to understand the importance of wearing a helmet, it is time that parents stop thinking about the financial cost of buying a helmet. What price a child’s life ?
(Source: ThaiVisa News)