The second phase of the MobileKids Vietnam programme and Safety with Moki Tour kicked off on Tuesday at Chi Lăng Primary School in HCM City’s Gò Vấp District. — VNS Photo Gia Lộc

HCM CITY — The second phase of the MobileKids Vietnam programme and Safety with Moki Tour at Chi Lăng and Hoàng Văn Thụ primary schools in HCM City’s Gò Vấp District kicked off on Tuesday.

The programme provides helmet safety and road crash prevention education to nearly 1,850 children aged 8-10 in the district.

Using updated training materials developed with educational experts during Phase I, the Phase II segment will also offer training workshops in helmet safety and safe behaviour when inside cars, such as getting out of a locked car, fastening seat-belts and using child restraints, refraining from leaning out of an open car window, and watching carefully when opening a car door.

The Safety with Moki tour features in-class “edutainment” (educational and entertainment) training sessions and road-safety challenges in the form of games, puzzles and Q&As. Additionally, in each classroom, three students with the highest scores on their road-safety education challenges will be awarded the title of “Moki ambassador”, enabling them to serve as positive road-safety models for their peers.

Large vehicles often conduct U-turns, causing greater traffic congestion and unsafe conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists. At the district's Hoàng Văn Thụ Primary School, which is located on a narrow street with high traffic volume occurring at rush hours, especially when parents pick up their children, students are particularly vulnerable to potential road crashes.

Brad Kelly, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, said: “Following the success of last year’s Mobilekids, which benefited 974 students across 22 classrooms, we are pleased to deliver 41 training sessions this year to students in a lively, interactive manner that will directly benefit their safety.”

Mirjam Sidik, CEO of AIP Foundation, said: “Empowering young children to learn about road crash prevention at an early age is key to ensuring long-term effectiveness of behaviour change campaigns. Whether students are on a bus, in a car, or on the back of a motorcycle, they should be given the knowledge and tools on how to protect themselves to avoid a potential injury or in the case of an emergency.”

The helmet safety and road crash prevention programme is carried out by the HCM City Traffic Safety Committee, Department of Education and Training, and Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation, supported by Mercedes Benz Vietnam.

Last year, the total number of vehicles in HCM City exceeded over 755,000 cars and trucks, and over 7.2 million motorbikes. Additionally, the number of people with registered cars has risen 8.15 per cent since 2018.

With the increase in car drivers, the MobileKids Vietnam and Safety with Moki Tour has expanded the scope of its programming to focus on child car safety, ensuring both students and parents are aware of the potential dangers and risks when driving children. — VNS