Community participation and behavioral changes of helmet use in Thailand

The loss of life and property from motorcycle accidents is a significant public issue in countries with a high dependency on motorcycles. This includes Thailand, where the damage from motorcycle accidents has been increasing yearly. Helmets are one of the most effective pieces of equipment in reducing the severity of injuries in each crash. An increase in helmet use amongst motorcycle riders would therefore reduce the loss of life. With this in mind, Thailand has adopted a wide-scale enforcement of laws regarding helmet use, but there are limits to how widely enforcement can work. Community participation is considered key in increasing the rate of helmet usage. In this, people in the community become the driving force behind mechanisms of community safety through community participation, including public information, public consultation, public meetings, and participative decision-making. This study aims to capture the concept of community participation as a means of increasing the rate of helmet use, and to identify economic, social, and environmental factors that affect the helmet usage of people at the local level, including gender, age, location, number of road lanes, time of day, day of the week, and traffic conditions. As a result of this community participation project in the study area, this survey has found an increase of 13.23% in the rates of helmet usage.

► The community participation is a significant approach used in increasing the helmet-wearing rates. ► The study considers the statistical analysis of the helmet-wearing behaviors. ► The before and after analyses of the helmet-wearing rate were performed. ► As a result of the community participation project, an increase in helmet usage was found. ► The outcomes of the research noticeably demonstrated better helmet-wearing rates.