WHY DO THAI GIRLS SIDE SADDLE?
Thai girls side saddle. I had been watching and admiring the poise and balance of Thai girls sitting on motorcycles for over 14 years, then one day it dawned on me……
Why do Thai Girls Side-Saddle?
Thai girls side saddle
From that day on, I started to look for any visible reasons that would explain why so many Thai girls sit on a motorcycle side-saddle, and not just mindlessly admire them, as I was in the habit of doing.
Thai girls side saddle
Why do Thai Girls Side-Saddle?
This question needs to be answered!
Thai girls side saddle
I was determined to find the answer. Not only to ease my mind, but to help the thousands of other men who have endured many sleepless nights wondering the same thing.
Thai girls side saddle
For over one year I patiently observed as many Thai girls sitting as passengers on motorcycles as I possibly could.
Thai girls side saddle
Watching all of these girls eventually started to pay dividends, I could see some trends appearing that may bring me closer to the answer.
Thai girls side saddle
Fact 1: Around 50% of Thai girls sit side-saddle on a motorcycle.
Fact 2: Obviously, the other 50% sit on the motorbike in the normal fashion.
Have a close look at the photo above. What do you see?
This photo provides the answer that I have been searching for.
Fact 3: Most of the Thai girls who wear shorts or jeans, DO NOT sit side-saddle.
The girls who are wearing jeans or shorts, predominately sit on the motorcycle in the traditional way, with one leg on either side of the seat.
Fact 4: Around 90% of the Thai girls who wear skirts or dresses, DO sit side-saddle.
The girls who are wearing skirts or dresses, sit on the motorcycle side-saddled, some with their legs crossed and some not.
Fact 5: Every male should know and accept they will never understand female logic.
Being male, and long ago accepting that I will never understand females,
I knew that any explanation I thought correct, would most likely be wrong.
Thai girls side saddle
The correct answer to this question would only come from the girls who sit on the motorcycles side-saddle!
I set about the task of asking over 100 girls the potentially dangerous question, why do they sit on the motorcycle side-saddle, with extreme caution.
As the girls got off the motorcycle I would approach them and ask for a moment of their time to answer a few questions.
FACT 6: Here is a collection of the answers I received. (the ones that are printable in this article)
“If you sit with 1 leg on each side when wearing a skirt, it will be around your waist by the time you get to the end of your soi”.
“I am shy and it is much more polite and modest to sit sideways with your knees together and your handbag in your lap”.
“My Auntie taught me to sit this way, just like the Thai girls did 100 years ago, when riding on a buffalo or elephant”.
“The wind blows up my skirt if I sit the other way”.
“If I sit on the motorcycle the other way, you can see everything”.
“I only sit this way when I wear a dress. I sit the other way when I wear jeans”.
A collection of photos of Thai girls on motorcycles.
As a U.S. motorcycle rider who has lived in Thailand for about 4 years and is married to a Thai, I say that sitting side saddle is dangerous. Can you imagine the likely head injury of someone who goes off the bike backwards onto their head if the driver has to make a quick turn or is knocked over? I had forbid my wife to ride this way, and she wears a helmet whenever possible. I investigated traffic accidents for my job, and in my opinion, helmetless riding is NOT smart either.
I totally agree with you on these points. Side saddle is dangerous and a helmet should also be worn.
Simple answer is because they can and do not understand the dangers of doing so. There are many reasons why it is illegal in other countries. The UK law, for example, is that pillion passengers must “sit astride the motorcycle with their feet on the footpegs”. But it is only one of many things that are done as standard practice in Thailand while considered dangerous elsewhere. Most of the helmets are not going to actually save someone’s life in an accident, yet the only approach is to insist people wear one.
I agree with your points Thairoadcraft and it really is a safety issue to sit side saddle as a pillion rider. They appear to think more about their modesty than road safety.
Is it even allowed in the west?
I doubt that very much.
Mark, you failed to mention that helmets should be worn any time anyone ever gets on a motorcycle because when you fall (or are thrown) from a motorcycle or scooter, it doesn’t matter how you’re sitting when it comes to brain injury. I’ve been a daily rider in Los Angeles for over thirty years, and have seen and experienced just about everything you can on a street bike. In the last dozen years alone I’ve been hospitalized four times with life-threatening injuries at the hands of distracted drivers on their cellphones, and none of these collisions happened at any speed over 25 mph; the worst of the wrecks no faster than 15 mph. And in every instance my head impacted asphalt. If I wasn’t wearing a full-face helmet in each of these incidences, I’d be dead. Or, in two of these instances, at the very least my face would have been scraped from my skull. When you say your wife wears a helmet “whenever possible,” I can’t help but think that this is the most irresponsible thing I’ve read regarding motorcycling in a while. No one should ever mount a motorcycle that is about to move forward without a helmet fully secured to his or her head. And if you want to keep your face, make it a good, full-face helmet. Because wearing a helmet is a far more important consideration than how you sit in the saddle.
Suffice to say that i totally agree with your sentiments, but it is the law that one should wear a crash helmet whilst riding a motorcycle in Thailand. Sadly many don’t and pay the price.
Thanks for your comment.