Thailand's Ministry of Public Health plans to launch a "100-percent-helmet-use" campaign next year, aimed at encouraging motocyclists and pillion riders to put on crash helmets for their safety, reports Thai News Agency (TNA).

Thai Deputy Public Health Minister Punsiri Kullanartsiri, who held a press conference Monday on the campaign, said that as part of the campaign, the ministry will distribute 300,000 free crash helmets to the people in Bangkok, Phuket and Nakhon Si Thammarat provinces.

The campaign is in response to the United Nations' promotion for the "Decade of Action for Road Safety in 2011-2020." The 100- percent use of crash helmets campaign will be one of Thailand's move to support the UN road safety campaign. TNA reported.

Punsiri said that road accidents killed 11,751 people in Thailand last year which meant that 30 people were killed per day in the country and three quarters of those who died were motorcyclists.

Of the dead, as many as 4,800 people did not put on a crash helmet.

According to the TNA report they did not put on the helmets because of "recklessness, disobedience to the law, and concerns about dirty helmets."

The minister suggested pillion riders wear inner hats before putting on the crash helmets for their hygiene.

Source : Bernama