The presentation event was organised by the Embassy of Sweden in Vietnam, the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation, and some Swedish businesses.
According to the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), traffic accidents claim the lives of almost 1,900 children in Vietnam every year, and they are one of the two main causes of deaths for those aged between 5 and 14. Aside from the accidents caused by adults, in many cases, children are both the cause and the victims.
The main cause of children’s traffic rule violation is adults’ lack of responsibility and attention to them, the committee said, adding that the poor road sense of many adults has set bad examples to children.
At the event, NTSC Office Manager Nguyen Trong Thai said road accidents are currently a challenge to Vietnam as well as all countries around the world. In Vietnam, the numbers of traffic accidents, deaths and injured people remain high through they have declined in recent years. Nearly 6,600 people were killed and 11,000 others got injured by traffic accidents from January to October this year.
He added that wearing helmets for children is firstly the responsibility of schools and parents, urging teachers and parents to instruct students to abide by traffic rules and encourage parents to require their children to wear helmets while bringing children to schools by motorbikes.
President of the AIP Foundation Greig Craft said although the adherence to the helmet wearing rule has been improved among adults, the rate among children is still low.
The AIP Foundation estimates that motorbike users account for 58 percent of the total deaths from traffic accidents and they mainly sustain head injuries.
