HÀ NỘI — The global #3500LIVES traffic safety campaign, which reminds people that 3,500 people die on the road every day, was launched on Tuesday in Hà Nội.

With the theme ‘Safe traffic, thousands of lives are saved’, the event jointly held by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the National Committee for Traffic Safety attracted the participation of more than 3,000 people.

Việt Nam was honoured to be the representative of Asia launching the campaign and committing to voluntarily implement the UN’s traffic accident reduction goals.

Launched for the first time in 2017 by FIA, the #3500LIVES campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of traffic safety. The campaign represents the FIA’s commitment to fulfill the United Nations’ sustainable goal of halving traffic accidents from now until 2020.

The campaign spread to over 900 cities in nearly 80 countries and became the largest road safety campaign in history. Fifteen global ambassadors of the campaign, who are professional sports athletes, politicians and celebrities in many fields, have actively conveyed messages about safe driving through 12 golden rules set by the FIA.

In Việt Nam, the launch ceremony is the first official event in order to raise the community’s awareness, especially among young people, about life saving behaviour while driving. The behaviour includes not using a mobile phone while driving, not driving while drunk and wearing helmets while driving motorbikes and electric bikes.

The campaign is not only a necessary step to reduce fatalities caused by traffic accidents, but also the Vietnamese Government’s and people’s commitment to the international community on traffic safety.

Applauding the campaign, Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hòa Bình said that the Party and the State had conducted different practical measures to reduce the number of traffic accidents, as well as the number of deaths and injuries on the road.

In the first two months of this year, the number of traffic accidents, deaths and injuries dropped by 532, 150 and 348 compared with the same period last year, respectively.

The results showed Việt Nam’s efforts and the coordination of the whole political system and people in improving traffic safety, he said.

However, the Deputy PM said that traffic safety was still a problem, and traffic accidents in Việt Nam remained high compared with other countries.

The issue requires determination and strong measures to ensure traffic safety and order.

Deputy PM Bình said that the Vietnamese Government believed that with co-operation from the international community, global organisations, domestic organisations and the people, traffic safety would improve in Việt Nam and around the world.

The measures would contribute to Việt Nam’s sustainable development, he said.

Jean Todt, FIA chairman, hoped that Việt Nam’s road traffic safety would receive more care after the country’s participation in the campaign.

Việt Nam is the only country in Asia that was selected by the Global Alliance of Non-governmental Organisations for Road Safety to organise the ceremony announcing the commitment to the UN’s traffic safety objectives.

Việt Nam was selected thanks to the Government’s effective initiatives to reduce traffic accidents over the past decade, especially the compulsory requirement of wearing helmets while driving motorbikes and electric bikes.

Since 2009, the UN has called on all nations to work together on the crisis and Việt Nam has always been the pioneer.

For countries like Việt Nam, where motorcycles are the main means of transport and present a higher risk of accidents than other vehicles, wearing helmets was very important, he said.

Todt called for concerned organisations, especially traffic police, to fulfill their task and save many young lives. He expressed his appreciation of the Vietnamese Government’s commitment adding that he was ready to help. — VNS