Many minors under 15 rode motorcycles in Thailand when the law prohibited it, while 78.9 per cent of injured road accident victims resulted from them not wearing helmets followed by drunk driving at 31.6 per cent and speeding at 31.1 per cent, a recent survey revealed yesterday.
Nurse Sirikul Kullieub from Khon Kaen Hospital's Emergency Centre said a survey of 1,200 motorcycle accident victims at 12 hospitals nationwide found many were young persons; 37 per cent aged between 19-30, 14.7 per cent between 15-18, and 7.1 per cent aged below 15. The youngest victim was nine and the eldest 82, she said.
Forty-three per cent admitted they had ridden a motorbike before they turned 15 and 54.3 per cent said they learned to ride on their own, putting them at greater risk.
The survey results will be used for proposals to the government for stricter traffic law enforcement, and for drivers' licences for 100cc motorbikes to be issued only to those over 18, she added.