HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – October 7, 2020

In order to implement the Prime Minister’s Directive 04 / CT-TTg dated January 19, 2018 on accelerating the application of solutions to improve the effectiveness of legal regulations on mandatory helmet wearing for motorbike drivers, motorcyclists, and electric bicyclists, AIP Foundation and the National Traffic Safety Committee co-hosted a program mid-term review forum. The event discussed strategies to improve the use of quality helmets, with the engagement and support of national and local government representatives, road safety and public health experts, and private sector stakeholders, including helmet manufacturers in Vietnam.

Mr. Khuat Viet Hung, Executive Vice Chairman of National Traffic Safety Committee, stated, “The research findings mentioned above shows that poor-quality helmet usage leads to a higher risk of fatalities in road crashes. Although the number of helmets tested is low, the research can still reveal the quality of helmets on market today. This raises a question on the effectiveness of our work on supervising and managing protective equipment. In addition, the research also serves as evidence for government agencies to further investigate and closely monitor policies to improve their work on the quality of motorcycle, bicycle and electric bike helmets in Viet Nam.”

Russell Reed, Managing Director of UPS Thailand and Vietnam, shared, “Safety Delivered has made much progress in encouraging helmet use in Vietnam, thanks to the efforts by AIP Foundation and National Traffic Safety Committee. It is important that the conversation also focuses on the quality of helmets used. We look forward to further progress in educating students while on the roads and continued research efforts to protect broader communities.”

The mid-term review forum also covered the achievements of the first half of the 2019-2020 Safety Delivered program year. Safety Delivered has expanded to address the issue of quality helmets, building upon a partnership between AIP Foundation and The UPS Foundation to increase child helmet use in Vietnam since 2011. Safety Delivered successfully distributed 10,942 helmets and implemented educational road safety activities and awareness campaigns at program primary schools in 2019. As a result, helmet-wearing rates among students were observed to have increased from 23% to 77% at 7 primary schools in Ho Chi Minh City and from 27% to 82% at 11 primary schools in Thai Nguyen Province.