Throughout April and May, traffic police have partnered with the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation to stop 2,929 motorcycles whose passengers were not wearing helmets, as part of an innovative new approach to raising passenger helmet use around the country. Though driver helmet wearing rates in Cambodia are more than 60 percent, fewer than 10 percent passengers wear helmets.

Once stopped, AIP Foundation informed riders about the importance of wearing helmets and the upcoming passenger helmet law through discussion, flyers, and multimedia advertisements. Campaign volunteers also requested riders to pledge their commitment to wearing a helmet as a passenger. Traffic police and AIP Foundation will continue this project throughout May at checkpoints along several major roads leading from Phnom Penh to outer provinces.

Street-based awareness has been accompanied by public discussions organized at universities in Phnom Penh to raise awareness about the tragic impact of road traffic crashes in Cambodia, traffic laws, and the life-saving importance of helmet use. AIP Foundation also informed students about a small grant scheme, offered from May to December 2013, to fund road safety awareness activities at their universities. High level government officials, including Major General Kim Yideth, Deputy Secretary General of the National Road Safety Committee Chhuon Voun, and more than 600 students have participated in the discussions.

Read the press release and check out the photos!