20,000 helmets to be presented to students in 2018

The helmet presentation programme was launched in Hoa Binh city, the northern province of Hoa Binh by the NTSC, the provincial People’s Committee and Honda Vietnam on May 23.

At the launch ceremony, 2,000 helmets were granted to all students of the Hoa Binh Ethnic Boarding School and the Hoa Binh Industrial High School.

As one of the activities in response to the Year of Traffic Safety 2018 themed “Traffic Safety for Children”, the programme aims to raise awareness of abiding by regulations on wearing helmets among the public, especially students, in the country in order to minimise deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents, towards a society of safe and civilised traffic.

Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Khuat Viet Hung, this is the fourth year the committee and Honda Vietnam have jointly presented 20,000 helmets for people nationwide.

The move is expected to equip children with knowledge on traffic safety regulations so that they go to school safely, he noted.

The helmet law is estimated to have created a substantial uptick in the number of riders who wear helmets in urban areas, from 30% in 2007 to 90% today.

Teachers and families have been called to provide children with protection skills, including wearing helmets when riding motorbikes.

With the good practice of wearing helmets, Vietnam is now recognised among developing countries for its positive achievements in traffic safety.

The data from the NTSC shows that 80% of road traffic accident deaths are related to motorbikes. Wearing a helmet helps to reduce head injury risk by 60% and mortality risk by 40%.