The United Nations urges parents to ensure their children wear properly fitting helmets whenever they are on a motorcycle to reduce the risks of serious injury and death.
“The implementation of Viet Nam’s helmet law is a serious commitment from the Government to saving lives and preventing serious injuries,” says Jesper Morch, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Representative to Viet Nam. “It is everyone’s responsibility to protect their children. Children’s helmets are widely available and have been proven to dramatically reduce the incidence of traumatic brain injury.”
Parents should find alternative means of transport for infants who are too young to wear helmets, and for whom appropriate helmets are not available.
Motorcycle accidents are a leading cause of death in Viet Nam, with traffic-related mishaps claiming 12,800 lives and causing injury to a further 10,266 people last year alone. Young people are at particular risk, with 15-24-year-olds accounting for nearly 40 percent of serious road accidents. Viet Duc, the leading traffic injury hospital in Ha Noi, treated 1,637 children under the age of 15 years in 2007 – equivalent to 136 children hospitalized on average every month due to road accidents.
Using a properly-fitting helmet consistently and correctly can decrease the risk and severity of head injuries by about 72 percent and the likelihood of death by up to 39 percent, according to WHO.
“Parents are responsible for making sure their children wear suitable helmets whenever they ride on a motorbike,” says Dr. Jean Marc Olivé, WHO Representative in Viet Nam.
In a bid to improve road safety, Viet Nam introduced a traffic law on 15 December 2007 obliging all travellers on motorcycles to wear a helmet. The Ministry of Science and Technology has set national standards which children’s helmets produced in Viet Nam must meet. These include restrictions on the weight of the helmet and durability requirements for the materials used.
“Parents should be aware that there is no evidence of appropriate helmet use causing fractures to the neck. Wearing a high-quality, properly strapped helmet is in fact the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities from motorcycle and bicycle crashes," Dr. Olivé adds.
One month after the nationwide implementation of the helmet law, Viet Duc hospital in Ha Noi reported a 24 percent decrease in the number of severe head injuries compared with the previous month and Cho Ray hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, a 20 percent decrease.
“Parents and teachers must respect and enforce the law, which applies without exception to all motorcycle riders and passengers, including children. As adults, we have a duty to teach our children responsible behaviour and to do all we can to protect them from injury and death,” says Dr. Nguyen Trong An, a paediatrician and Deputy Director of the Child Protection and Care Department of the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA).
The World Health Organization and UNICEF call on parents and teachers to adhere to Viet Nam’s helmet law and instruct children of the health benefits of helmet use.
Statistics used in this press release come from the following sources:
· National Traffic Safety Committee
· NTSC and Population dynamic survey 1 April 2005
· Helmets-A road safety manual for decision makers and practitioners, WHO 2006.
· Viet Duc Hospital, 2008.
For more information please contact:
Ms. Laura Vinha, UN Communications, Tel: 84-4-822 4383, ext. 117, Email: vinha@unfpa.org
Mr. Trinh Anh Tuan, UN Communications, Tel: 84-4-942-5706, ext. 234, Email: tatuan@unicef.org
Ms. Dida Connor, WHO Communications, Tel: 84-4-943 3734/5/6, Email: connorc@wpro.who.int
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