Give a Vietnamese child a helmet; save a life

To prevent further senseless risks that primary school students face, Prudential Vietnam is supporting the SAFE STEPS KIDS Road Safety Day as part of the SAFE STEPS KIDS – Road Safety (SSK-RS) program. Yen Bai and Quang Ngai are the two provinces chosen to implement the SSK-RS program for 2022-2023 due to the provinces’ high need for road safety interventions. 

The Road Safety Day is organized by AIP Foundation in collaboration with the provincial Traffic Safety Committee of Quang Ngai and the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), aimed to create an exciting playground for students in Quang Ngai province to have the opportunity to exchange, improve and strengthen their knowledge and skills on road safety. Throughout the day, students will explore different ways to be safe on the roads through interactive games and booths, including a helmet decorating contest as well as other team-building activities.

“Today marks an opportunity to spread the achievements of interactive and participative methods of the program for road safety education. This year, Quang Ngai province is honored to organize a provincial Road Safety day with the participation of more than 700 students and teachers of 4 project schools with the desire to spread the project’s profound message about the idea of establishing a safe school zone and educating to raise students’ awareness of traffic safety. We hope the Safe Steps Kids model will be replicated in many schools in Quang Ngai province and nationwide too.” shared Mr. Thanh, Chief of Provincial Traffic Safety Committee Officer of Quang Ngai.

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Although Vietnam is regarded as a success story in enforcing the mandatory helmet law for riders of motorcycles, with a relatively high wearing rate nationwide, the persisting issue of wearing low-quality helmets needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, there are many helmets used that do not meet the standard of the National Technical Regulations on safety helmets. 

A total of 540 child and adult motorcycle helmets were collected and exchanged in Ho Chi Minh City and Thai Nguyen Province to undergo a quality research study conducted in partnership between the AIP Foundation and the Hanoi University of Public Health through the Safety Delivered program, supported by The UPS Foundation. 

25.9% of the surveyed helmets were identified as “cap helmets,” which lack the foam lining needed to adequately protect wearers’ heads. Worryingly, 89,5% of surveyed helmets worn are sub-standard helmets that would fail to significantly reduce the chance of brain injury or skull fracture of their users in a road crash.

To address this, AIP Foundation is working with The National Traffic Safety Committee and the Thai Nguyen Provincial Traffic Safety Committee to enhance the efficacy of the implementation of mandatory regulations. The plan serves as a basis for further solutions to enhance the effectiveness of enforcing laws requiring the use of helmets under the National Technical Regulations for riders of motorcycles, mopeds, and e-bikes nationwide to ensure that every road user is better protected on the streets. 

We are also gearing up to launch our first ever distribution of UN-standard helmets in Vietnam to increase the use of quality helmets among our students and parents. Stay tuned for more exciting updates on our journey to make roads safer for Vietnam!