SIEM REAP, Cambodia - March 9, 2017

Nearly 550 primary school students received quality helmets and were encouraged to wear them as part of their school uniforms during the kick-off ceremony for a new Helmets for Kids program, which is supported by the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB). The road safety initiative aims to make young road users attending Anuk Wat Koruk Kosal Primary School in Siem Reap, role models in their community. The students, along with their teachers, also participated in educational activities during the event.

Over the course of the program, ARRB will donate more than 560 helmets to members of the Anuk Wat Koruk Kosal Primary School community. The Australian organization, which provides research services in the road and transport industries, began collaborating with AIP Foundation in 2012. It has also supported schools in Vietnam and Thailand. Recently, it assisted in developing and implementing road treatments in communities served by the nonprofit’s pedestrian safety program in China.

Anuk Wat Koruk Kosal Primary School is located on a busy highway in Siem Reap Province. In 2015, one student passed away due to a road crash. The student was not wearing a helmet and suffered a fatal head injury during a motorcycle crash while his father was driving him home from school. Currently, 80% of students commute to school by motorcycles and bicycles though only about 1% wear helmets.