Bangkok – Metropolitan Police have indicated they intend to seize the motorcycles of any riders who fail to wear helmets during the holiday period and will be fining them up to 1,000 baht.
Deputy Commander of the Metropolitan Police Pol Maj Gen Jirapat Bhumjit said that to reduce road accidents and fatalities among motorcycle riders during the holiday, police will be stringently enforcing rules affecting Bangkok’s 3.4 million riders.
He noted that as most motorcycle accident fatalities are linked to failure to wear a helmet, police will be working to have 100 percent of Bangkok motorcycle users wear appropriate safety headwear by arresting and fining all violators.
The commander of the Metropolitan Police has already issued an order to all of the city’s 88 stations and traffic police to promote the regulation. A campaign held between December 11 and 17 informed motorcycle riders that riding without a helmet means they run the risk of having their vehicle seized.
Between now and December 24, riders without helmets will have their motorcycles impounded but will not have to pay a fine for retrieval. From December 25 onwards however, police will impose a fine of up to 1,000 baht.
It is hoped that the more stringent measures will result in a significant drop in fatalities during New Year holidays.
