Every year, 2000 children and young people are killed on Viet Nam’s roads, many of them because they are wearing helmets that do not adequately protect their heads.
To help address this preventable tragedy, a workshop, “Safe Heads, Strong Future: Advancing Helmet Use and Quality for Children and Youth”, was held in Ha Noi today. It brought together members of the Viet Nam Project 2000 Road Safety Partnership, as well as Government agencies, civil society and the transport sector. The event focused on strengthening compliance with helmet rules – especially improving helmet quality.
For anyone on a motorcycle, correct helmet use can reduce the risk of death in a crash by more than 6 times and the risk of brain injury by up to 74%. Wearing a quality helmet correctly is so important that helmets use is one of the three top priorities for the Project 2000 Partnership. The Partnership’s aim is to support the Government to reduce child and youth road deaths from 2000 to zero.
The World Health Organization (WHO) Representative in Viet Nam Dr Angela Pratt said, “Quality helmets save lives. Yet these days on the streets of Viet Nam, we often see helmets that offer as little protection as a piece of cardboard. We urgently need a standard for quality helmets for children. Parents, schools, communities and young riders need clear information on the life-saving difference wearing the right helmet can make. They also need easy access to quality helmets – and to know how to wear them correctly. Our youngest members of society are relying on adults to protect their heads – and their lives – on every ride.”
AIP Foundation’s president Sir Greig Craft said, “The vision of the Partnership is clear: a Viet Nam where every child and every young person can travel safely on the roads. Our collaborative focus today is not just on helmet use, but on quality. We must work together to close the dangerous loopholes in our system by implementing vigorous market surveillance to strictly ban and outlaw fake products.”
The workshop called for:
- The development of technical standards for children’s helmets, as current national standards primarily cover adult helmets.
- Stronger market surveillance and enforcement to ensure only quality helmets are produced, sold and worn.
- Increased public awareness so people are empowered to choose quality helmets.
Workshop participants pledged their support for more coordinated, multisectoral efforts with the Government to help ensure that only quality helmets are produced, sold and worn.