HÀ NỘI — People who do not wear a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be thrown out of a vehicle during a crash.

More than 75 per cent of people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries.

The information was released at the launching of “Protect Your Precious” campaign in Hà Nội on Sunday. Co-organised by General Motors Việt Nam (GM Việt Nam), Việt Nam National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), Ministry of Education and Training and Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation, it aimed to promote the use of safety seats for children and raise awareness of the importance of children wearing seat belts.

The campaign includes a series of communication activities and three knowledge-sharing workshops for car-owning parents in Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng and HCM City.

Nguyễn Trọng Thái, NTSC’s chief officer, said there were more than 20 fatalities and 60 injuries (in Việt Nam) every day due to road accidents. Annually, accidents cost 2.5-2.9 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product, or VNĐ250-300 billion (US$11 million - $13 million) per day.

According to AIP Foundation, children are particularly vulnerable and road accident is the second-leading cause of death of Vietnamese children in the five to 14 age group. Every four minutes around the world, a child dies in a road crash. In Việt Nam, 2,000 children die in road accidents every year. 

“As Việt Nam’s economy continues to grow, so too will the number of families who own cars and use them as their main mode of transportation. To protect our children and promote a culture of road safety, we must encourage safe habits among all road users, whether it’s wearing a helmet or buckling a seat belt,” said Greig Craft, President of AIP Foundation.

“GM Việt Nam is conducting this campaign to join the Government’s efforts in ensuring the safety of young passengers through the 2018 National Traffic Safety Year, which is themed on ‘Traffic Safety for Children’”, said Ian Nicholls, president of GM Southeast Asia.

The 2018 National Traffic Safety Year aims to reduce the number of children deaths caused by accidents by 10 per cent from last year.

Government’s Decree 46/2016 made it mandatory since the beginning of this year for passengers in the back seats of a car to put on their seat belts on the road. Violators will be imposed a fine of VNĐ100,000-200,000. The old regulation only required the driver and passenger sitting next to the driver to wear seat belts. — VNS