HANOI, Vietnam – October 21, 2021

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Today, we are proud to share that AIP Foundation and the Ministry of Transport signed the Partnership Framework for the Safe School Zones Guide (SSZ Guide) 2021 -2025 to safeguard every child on their journey to and from school in Vietnam. In collaboration with our long-time partner, FIA Foundation, we are developing the SSZ Guide to reduce injuries and fatalities in and around all school zones by improving road conditions and setting legal speed limits across the whole country.

In Vietnam, over 17 million children are commuting between home and school 2-4 times per day. The dangers of the road are everywhere. Many children share the road with speeding trucks, they have no sidewalks to walk on going to school, and no standardized school zones exist yet. Alarmingly, traffic speeds around schools frequently and significantly exceed internationally recommended school zones’ speed limits.

The SSZ Guide aims to reduce road crash injuries and fatalities by developing a safer road
environment around schools by establishing a national policy and legal framework for the
creation of school zones to protect vulnerable children and road users. The SSZ Guide builds upon the success achieved in Pleiku city, where our pilot program, Slow Zones, Safe Zones resulted in extensive road modifications, infrastructure improvements on the school streets, and speed was reduced by 18-21 km/h.

At the SSZ Guide signing ceremony today, AIP Foundation and the Ministry of Transport emphasized the importance of developing a national Safe School Zones Guide for Vietnam and having it approved and issued for national application. Our Founder and President, Mr. Greig Craft and Mrs. Kieu Thi Diem, Deputy Director of the Traffic Safety Department, were further joined by Mrs. Hoang Na Huong, AIP Foundation Deputy CEO, and two senior officials who are assigned by the Ministry’s leader to be contact points for the SSZ Guide Project 2021-2025. By signing the Partnership Framework, both parties officially commit their roles and responsibilities for this national project. The SSZ Guide will provide a policy and procedure framework for safe school zones to be constructed and implemented around the country.

Mr. Greig Craft was honored to officially hand over the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety Global Plan to the Ministry of Transport’s Leadership representative at the meeting. This was truly a symbolic moment, representing Vietnam’s inherent alignment of its road safety agenda and the Global Plan.

The SSZ Guide will be used to implement infrastructure modifications at 13 schools in Northern, Central and Southern Vietnam. The aim of the 4-year program is to apply the SSZ Guide nationally outlining mandatory engineering parameters for all school zones in Vietnam including 30km/h speed limits. All newly built schools will be designed with these parameters in mind and all existing schools will be gradually updated as well.

This aligns with Vietnam’s National Road Safety Strategy and supports meeting the goals of the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development as part of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. We are truly proud to take this first step together with our partner, FIA Foundation to safeguard every child on every journey to and from school.

To view more photos from the signing ceremony, please click here.

To learn more about the Global Plan, please click here.

A message from the United Nations:

In September 2020, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution A/RES/74/299 “Improving global road safety”, proclaiming the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, with the ambitious target of preventing at least 50% of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. WHO and the UN regional commissions, in cooperation with other partners in the UN Road Safety Collaboration, have developed a Global Plan for the Decade of Action, released in October 2021.

The Global Plan aligns with the Stockholm Declaration, by emphasizing the importance of a holistic approach to road safety, and calling on continued improvements in the design of roads and vehicles; enhancement of laws and law enforcement; and provision of timely, life-saving emergency care for the injured. The Global Plan also reflects the Stockholm Declaration’s promotion of policies to promote walking, cycling, and using public transport as inherently healthy and environmentally sound modes of transport.

To download the Global Plan, please click here.