Road safety programme expanded to 4 more HCM City schools

January 06, 2017 - 08:00

Helmets for Families is taking its road safety programme to four more schools in HCM City’s outlying Hóc Môn District.

In its fourth year now, Helmets for Families serves 15 schools in HCM City, Trà Vinh Province, and Hà Nội and has donated helmets to 17,600 students and teachers, and exchanged over 12,600 subsidised helmets with parents. — Photo Courtesy of AIP
Viet Nam News

HCM CITY — Helmets for Families is taking its road safety programme to four more schools in HCM City’s outlying Hóc Môn District.

Students, and also their parents and teachers, will be trained in the right way to wear helmets and apprised about the importance of wearing standard helmets through workshops and outdoor activities.

Moreover, more than 4,700 students and teachers at the four schools and two more in Hà Nội will get quality helmets while the students’ parents will have their helmets exchanged at subsidised prices.

The launch of Helmets for Families in the 2016-17 school year was held on Thursday at Nhị Xuân Primary School in Hóc Môn.

The programme is being carried out by the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation in co-operation with the city Department of Health and Traffic Safety Committee and sponsored by global healthcare company Abbott.

A pre-project survey found that more than 76 per cent of students in the programme’s schools come to school on their parents’ motorcycles. The average student helmet-wearing rate is around 30 per cent, well below the city’s average of 48 per cent.

Only 1.3 per cent of parents surveyed knew what makes for a high-quality helmet.

AIP Foundation identified the four new schools based on parent survey data, the schools’ proximity to industrial zones and a strong commitment from school administrators, among other criteria.

In its fourth year now, Helmets for Families serves 15 schools in HCM City, Trà Vinh Province, and Hà Nội and has donated helmets to 17,600 students and teachers, and exchanged over 12,600 subsidised helmets with parents. — VNS

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