Safety in numbers

Its funny how you change when youre abroad. Personally I do a lot of things i dont at home; use a hair dryer (just because theres one available), get excited about little shampoos and shower gels...and even more excited if there are cotton buds too! Mcdonalds becomes a credible place to get food, i'll wear a bathrobe, i become slightly panicked about my pockets in crowded areas, i become more posh; on a sliding scale of poshness depending on the star of hotel i am in and oddest of all my concern for safety goes out of the window.

At home if i were to be offered a lift on the back of a taxi bike without a helmet, or even be approached in the first place without me notifying them of my need for a taxi, I would instantly question their credentials. But since being in Thailand i have been on quad bikes, side carts, shallow long tail boats, swaying ferries and various other rickety modes of transport and not once did i feel the need to see their health and safety certificates.


The main strip, i say strip but it was more like a wide path, parallel to the beach on Koh Tao was a mixture of wandering pedestrians and beeping motorbikes. Throwing bikes, trikes, quads and people all onto one path would never ever happen back home, but it works fine here. I never saw anyone get run over, no bike was ever speeding and everyone moved along happily and constantly. Plus there is no road rage!

So, i have to wonder why it wouldnt work at home? I can only think that we place so much blame on other people, and responsibility on motorists, that we are dangerously unaware of whats around us. It works here because you know a motorbike could be coming up behind you at any moment or you expect an old couple to come wandering across your path when driving, so everyone is pretty much aware of what is going on and taking responsibility for their own safety. Which is how it should be. Why should i be responsible for someone else's negligence? If i am driving at home i must be aware that a dog or woman with a baby or a child or a woman with a baby dog child could jump out into the road at any moment. Now, im not saying that i want to shirk off all responsibilities and awareness but unless that woman and her freaky canine kid are on a zebra crossing or other pedestrian walk way why cant i hit them and sue them for the dent in my bonnet? I know thats a bit blunt to say the least but if I were to be walking down the road and should want to cross, i would think twice about it if i knew the cars coming in my direction arent going to stop for me and its not going to be their fault because i shouldnt be there.

And why do little long tail boats and rickety ferries make their way up and down rivers here happily with no life jackets, safety inspections, secure seating and anchorage? When this would never happen on the Thames? If a man in a boat floating no more than 3 inches from the top of the water came bobbin along offering to take me to the other side id tell him where to go, and expect him to sink on his way! But here il happily jump in and ride the waves with ease, even when we tip so close to the surface of the water it could fill up at any moment!

I dont believe Thailand is, or most other foreign countries to the UK are, utopian but it does highlight that we worry a lot about too much. Maybe we do live in a nanny state; with kids needing goggles to play conkers or having their pack lunches monitored. If we abide by everything that we are warned about on a day to day basis then we should leave healthy safe lives, and if we dont; we're goin to die. But Asians do the opposite, eat what they like, pollute the air, risk their lives and drive like mentalists.....and theres billions of them live and kicking!