PLEIKU City, Vietnam - March 30, 2018

The prestigious Botnar Child Road Safety Challenge has awarded AIP Foundation with a grant to implement Slow Zone, Safe Zone,our new two-year, city-wide road safety program focused on reducing speed in school zones in Pleiku City, Vietnam. The overall purpose of the program is to reduce road crash injuries and fatalities in school zones in Pleiku City by improving the road safety environment and culture for students commuting to and from school. This is done through a comprehensive set of interventions to limit speed in school zones. Pleiku City is a mid-sized city located along a major regional economic corridor in Gia Lai province, Vietnam. In Gia Lai province, 51% of primary school students are members of ethnic minority groups. We are implementing the program with support from the Gia Lai Traffic Safety Committee and KOVA.

The program will improve school zone safety in the city by installing road modifications and conducting a public awareness campaign; developing and piloting a nationally-applicable road safety e-curriculum; and supporting the provincial government to develop a provincial law to enforce reduced speed in school zones in Gia Lai province. Innovative elements include the use of the iRAP Star Ratings for Schools App to assess road safety environments, high-end road marking paint, a tailored e-curriculum, and monitoring & evaluation methods developed in collaboration with the United States Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).

Road injuries account for the second highest number of deaths in Vietnam for children aged 5-14, who are particularly at risk on their commutes to school. There are many contributing factors to Vietnam’s road safety crisis, but one stands out: 25% of road crashes are caused by speeding. In Vietnam, 64% of drivers surveyed felt it was understandable to drive at speeds above the legal limit.

The Botnar Child Road Safety Challenge is designed to address locally relevant road safety problems that affect children in small- and mid-sized cities in six priority countries through implementation of practical, innovative, and evidence-based interventions. It is funded by the Fondation Botnar, a Swiss charitable foundation founded in 2003, and managed by the Global Road Safety Partnership.