It said in a press release on December 20 that no student wears helmets when coming to the school on motorcycles with their parents.

Nguyen Trong Thai, chief of the National Traffic Safety Committee secretariat, said: “The issue of children not using helmets is of great concern, which highlights the need for strong collaboration with the private sector to address traffic safety issues related to children.

Traffic police officers guide students of Phu Xuan Primary School in the northern province of Vinh Phuc to identify standard helmets under the Helmets for Kids programme.

“The need for greater road crash prevention awareness at the Phu Xuan Primary School is of utmost importance. Students should not be on our roads without protective equipment for their developing brains.”

The Helmets for Kids programme demonstrates to students, as well as their parents, the importance of wearing a helmet whenever they are travelling on a motorcycle or bicycle, he added.

The programme gifted helmets to students and taught them injury prevention on roads through various activities and games.

Nguyen Thao Chi, a fifth-grader, said: “Before the programme I knew that I should wear a helmet, but my family could not afford to provide me one. I am so happy I have this helmet now, and will wear it always.”

The AIP Foundation has collaborated with the Vietnam National Traffic Safety Committee and Ministry of Education and Training for the programme with sponsorship from the Vietnam Garment Manufacturing Company-TAL Apparel.

Helmets for Kids was implemented for the first time in Binh Xuyen district last year at the Ba Hien B Primary School, and resulted in 76 percent of its students wearing helmets as against 1 percent before the programme.

Greig Craft, founder and president of the AIP Foundation, said: “Changing the culture surrounding road safety is not always easy, but that’s why we start in the classroom by targeting children. The Helmets for Kids programme is not only about providing new helmets, it is also about teaching young children important skills which will last throughout their lifetime.”

Over 1.93 million helmets to be delivered to first graders

Over 1.93 million standard helmets will be presented to first grade students in the 2019-2020 academic year as announced at a ceremony held in Hanoi on June 12.

Programme encourages children in Yen Bai to wear helmets

The “Helmets for Kids” programme carried out in Yen Bai province has encouraged children to wear helmets while travelling on road, and contributed to reducing casualties caused by traffic accidents among children, heard a conference on June 6.

Hanoi students presented with 10,000 qualified helmets

Qualified helmets have been presented to 10,000 students across Hanoi under a programme organised by the Vietnam Grand Prix company, aiming to convey traffic safety messages to the young.

Helmets presented to improve children’s road sense

Nearly 1,000 students of the Ba Dinh Primary School in Hanoi were presented with high-quality helmets on November 8 in an effort to help raise public awareness of road safety.

Helmets to be presented to nearly two million first graders nationwide

Approximately 1.95 million first graders at elementary schools across the country will be presented with free helmets that meet safety standards during the 2018-2019 academic year.

Source: VNA