Hero American gives out free motorcycle helmets to children in Thailand

A hero American gives out free motorcycle helmets to children on Thailand's notoriously dangerous roads - helping to save countless lives.

Rick Brown, 55, was shocked at the number of people flouting the law by riding without hard hats when he moved to the country almost two years ago.

The expat had first-hand experience of the perils of not using protection, having crashed his bicycle when he was 14. He still suffers from neck pain and PTSD from the accident.

Rick has now set about trying to change the culture of riding helmetless in Thailand, which has one of the world's highest rates of road deaths, with most of the fatalities coming from motorcycle crashes.

Despite legally requiring helmets, police often ignore violations while schools rarely scratch the surface of road safety education.

Rick is seen in the video carrying out his daily mission of donating protective headgear to young people he sees riding on the roads.

He said: 'I saw that there are many kids here riding on motorbikes without helmets and it bothered me to a point where I said I want to do something about it.


'I asked the local police if they could help me give out helmets and they agreed. It just was the best feeling ever just being able to give and protect these children from disability harm or something more serious.'

Rick said he started his mission six months ago. He tested helmets from online stores, and he was shocked by the poor quality compared with the West and the high number of fakes being sold.

He found a brand called 'Space Crown' with a safety standard similar to the United States.

The Good Samaritan struck a deal to buy directly from the factory and has since received financial help from sponsors, who can put their logos on the helmets.

Rick added: 'In the U .S., it's the law. You have to wear a helmet in most Western countries in Europe. It's the law.

'But here it's the law as well. You have to wear a helmet. Everyone must wear a helmet, but a lot of people choose not to wear a helmet. But they should. So what I want to do is educate the kids.


'I want them to understand how noble, how honourable it is to protect, not only themselves but their family. They are the future of Thailand and they're going to teach the next generation that it's honorable to wear a helmet and protect the family, protect themselves, and protect the future.'

Rick has set himself the ambitious goal of handing it a million helmets across the country. He publicises his work through his social media channels.

He added: 'Right now the focus is on the children. The goal is to give out as many helmets as possible, but we're starting with the children.'

Despite being one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, and a staggeringly high number of billionaires, Thailand has one of the world's worst road safety records. Only a handful of African countries are worse.

In comparison, neighbouring Vietnam has around half as many road fatalities, at just 17.7 per 100,000 people in 2021. The World Health Organisation reported that Vietnam had successfully implemented measures to reduce its traffic death rate by 43.5 per cent.

Thai ministers have set the goal of reducing fatalities from 32.7 deaths per 100,000 people to 12 per 100,000 people by the year 2027.

Critics blame a lack of investment in education, poor maintenance of highways, driving license tests that are notoriously easy to pass, and lax enforcement of road laws by local police as just a few of the problems.