Belgian Embassy holds seminar on road safety

[webfact]

Belgian Embassy holds seminar on road safety

 

 

BANGKOK, 22nd November 2018 (NNT) - The Embassy of Belgium in Thailand has hosted a seminar on road accidents as part of its celebration of 150 years of Thailand-Belgium relations, hoping to extend its successes against drunken driving to the Kingdom. 

Belgian Ambassador to Thailand, HE Philippe Kridelka spoke at the seminar, saying that campaigns and more stringent legal enforcement in Belgium had reduced its road accident casualty rate from 6,000 deaths per year to only 600 over the past 10 years. 

Secretary-General of the Drunk Don’t Drive Foundation, Dr. Taeching Siripanich remarked that Thailand is yet to have a central agency to regulate and seriously tackle driving problems while expressing hope that by adopting foreign techniques to make its roads safer, it will build confidence among tourists and attract more visitors to the Kingdom.

 

-- nnt 2018-11-22

[Thaiwrath]

Nobody is going to listen.

They have their own way of doing things over here, it doesn't reduce deaths, but the police seem to be happy with the way it works !

[ezzra]

They would have more success in how to make a Belgian waffle seminar than road safety in Thailand...

[Somtamnication]

For Thais? That is a first. Viva Belgium!

[ubon farang]

Might as well talk to the brick wall. As most of us have said on here  Make the cops do their jobs That won't solve it all but it sure will help. Yesterday I had pulled up at some lights waiting for Green. Two cops on a motorbike pulled up beside me. Cop on the back of the bike was on his mobile phone. In front of them was another bike. 4 people were on that bike wearing no helmets and the cops did nothing. So they can talk all they like but unless you start making your police force do their job then you might as well go sit in the corner and read a book

[RotBenz8888]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

...it will build confidence among tourists and attract more visitors to the Kingdom. 

Hey Chinese people! It's almost safe in Thailand now, get back here!

[jayboy]

I think it commendable the Belgians make an effort on this key issue where European countries can genuinely help Thailand with an intractable problem.

 

Other Embassies including the British should follow suit. The UK has a very good record on road safety and has much to contribute.

 

Frankly, it would be time much better spent than on the Embassy's endless virtue signalling obsession with diversity and LGBTQ workshops etc. It's not that these matters aren't important but Thailand has a pretty good record here - and so doesn't need the UK to lecture it.

 

 

[stanleycoin]

They should stick to what they know best.

Beer making. 

For the rest,  shut up. 

[jackinthebox]

1 hour ago, stanleycoin said:

They should stick to what they know best.

Beer making. 

For the rest,  shut up. 

ohooo....you forgot the delicious french fries! Original belgium potatoes, fried in suet. Search for small Brussels-frituur. You won't find that anywhere else.

[fruitman]

But this is too expensive for Thailand...they can only buy Benzes for the corrupt ones...

[Lupatria]

There will be a pickup truck at the embassy to bring all 5 participants to the seminar venue.

[1337markus]

2 hours ago, ubon farang said:

Might as well talk to the brick wall. As most of us have said on here  Make the cops do their jobs That won't solve it all but it sure will help. Yesterday I had pulled up at some lights waiting for Green. Two cops on a motorbike pulled up beside me. Cop on the back of the bike was on his mobile phone. In front of them was another bike. 4 people were on that bike wearing no helmets and the cops did nothing. So they can talk all they like but unless you start making your police force do their job then you might as well go sit in the corner and read a book

I just wonder if any of those 4 with no helmets were a farang, would that change the non actions of plod?

[Borzandy]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Belgian Embassy holds seminar on road safety

All the Thai officials attending to this seminar, hold in English language, said yes, yes, yes, yes.....

[colinneil]

Yes i applaud the Belgium embassy for trying, but do they honestly think Thais will listen?

 

[evadgib]

If PR was granted to long term residents and included a 'drink-drive' clause the authorities could solve two 'ferang' probs overnight.

[stanleycoin]

Thais are not interested in being told,  or having suggestions from outsiders.

( the higher up the ladder,  the more evident this is )

It's all just show boating with a nice lunch and maybe some of the best beer in the world.

 

Thailand needs to look at it's self in the mirror for the answers to the outrageous death toll on the roads every year.  

But that requires Thailand's people to be honest and unselfish.

Fat chance. 

 

Ps, Nice French fries. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bournville]

Thai drivers are perfect. They are better and can go fast with no problems. So says all the Thai people.

[hotchilli]

Better stick with selling waffles, beer & chocolate.. you might get a better result.

Thais are not interested in sobriety!! 

[CLW]

Thai drivers are perfect. They are better and can go fast with no problems. So says all the Thai people.

You forgot to mention they think they are all race drivers. Without the according licence...

[connda]

 

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Belgian Ambassador to Thailand, HE Philippe Kridelka spoke at the seminar, saying that campaigns and more stringent legal enforcement in Belgium had reduced its road accident casualty rate from 6,000 deaths per year to only 600 over the past 10 years.

Perhaps in Belgium the primary cause of road deaths was drinking.  Here in Thailand it is one of many causes.  The reason for that is that Thailand has literally no 'legal enforcement' at all.  The 'enforcement' is limited to road blocks that are totally ineffective in proactively eliminating the primary cause of most accidents here in Thailand which is simple: Half the population doesn't even know what 'road laws' are, and the other half doesn't care.  And most Thais don't have the training and skill levels as most Western drivers.  So without cops in patrol cars on the streets pulling over traffic laws violators - there is no effective enforcement in this country.  And even if they did, the penalties for violating traffic laws aren't stringent enough to deter bad driving.  And lastly, the cops drive just like the citizens, so my guess is that they would be hard pressed to know if laws are being broken or care if they are. 
Nothing is changing here anytime soon.  Same, same and not different - more highly publicized road blocks during the holidays - so business as usual.

[fruitman]

1 hour ago, Bournville said:

Thai drivers are perfect. They are better and can go fast with no problems. So says all the Thai people.

Thai drivers already can drive motocy when 7 years old...they are much smarter than farangs.

[connda]

3 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Thai drivers already can drive motocy when 7 years old...they are much smarter than farangs.

Without helmets or safety gear.  If you compare child mortality due to motorcycle accident between Thailand and West - they are not 'smarter'.   I know plenty of Western families whose kids do moto-cross and motorcycle racing.  Those kids are slaughtered on the race courses - Thai children on the other hand are slaughtered on Thai roads.  Not 'smarter' at all.

[connda]

3 hours ago, fruitman said:

But this is too expensive for Thailand...they can only buy Benzes for the corrupt ones...

Thailand has nice patrol cars - They're used to escort VIPS. 

[marko kok prong]

But in Belgium no doubt ,people are properly instructed to drive,take a test and have a driving licence,and know the rules of the road, things that for many Thai's are akin to myth.

[CLW]

 
Perhaps in Belgium the primary cause of road deaths was drinking.  Here in Thailand it is one of many causes.  The reason for that is that Thailand has literally no 'legal enforcement' at all.  The 'enforcement' is limited to road blocks that are totally ineffective in proactively eliminating the primary cause of most accidents here in Thailand which is simple: Half the population doesn't even know what 'road laws' are, and the other half doesn't care.  And most Thais don't have the training and skill levels as most Western drivers.  So without cops in patrol cars on the streets pulling over traffic laws violators - there is no effective enforcement in this country.  And even if they did, the penalties for violating traffic laws aren't stringent enough to deter bad driving.  And lastly, the cops drive just like the citizens, so my guess is that they would be hard pressed to know if laws are being broken or care if they are. 
Nothing is changing here anytime soon.  Same, same and not different - more highly publicized road blocks during the holidays - so business as usual.

Couldn't have said it better.

Where do you start in Thailand to improve road safety?

It's almost like how long is a string...

[Ossy]

2 hours ago, evadgib said:

If PR was granted to long term residents and included a 'drink-drive' clause the authorities could solve two 'ferang' probs overnight.

What the hell has public relations got to do with a safety initiative? Farang or Thai, it might help if you could summon the strength to hit a few more keys and make words that not only smart <deleted> understand.

[stanleycoin]

12 minutes ago, connda said:

Thailand has nice patrol cars - They're used to escort VIPS. 

Thats so true.

or anyone that pays the fee. 

[stanleycoin]

6 minutes ago, CLW said:

Couldn't have said it better.

Where do you start in Thailand to improve road safety?

It's almost like how long is a string...

Go for the top and work down.

removing any idiots on the way.

but maybe not many people left by the time you get to the bottom. 

[Jeremy50]

It's a nice gesture, but nobody is listening........nor will they ever.  Better just accept the 25000 pax annual road slaughter. It's a form of population control, and as most of the victims are young male motorcyclists,  it is , in theory, making the surviving population cleverer. 

[joskeshake]

For him no problem for safe driving, with his Rolls Royce and privat driver.