Saying no to sub-standard helmets in Vietnam

Since the GRSP first began working in Vietnam back in 2003, much progress has been made on the culture and legislation around helmet wearing, however there is still much to do, particularly on the issue of helmet standards. Whilst helmet wearing rates have improved, there is little or no control over the quality of the helmets being worn, or sold throughout the country.

Through the Bloomberg Philanthropies funded Global Road Safety Programme, GRSP recently conducted three training workshops in the provinces of Ninh Binh, Hanam and Bac Ninh in Vietnam around a theme of ‘Say no to sub-standard helmets’. A participatory approach was used following the GRSP ‘Train the Trainer’ methodology to increase knowledge of current helmet wearing legislation, enhance understanding of the risks associated with not wearing a helmet and of wearing a sub-standard helmet, and provide handy tips on how to recognize a sub-standard helmet.

In total 250 representatives from traffic safety committees, traffic police, road safety institutions and the media were trained, each now possessing the knowledge and tools to transfer the learnings to colleagues within and beyond their organizations.

Further traning sessions are scheduled for the provinces of Quang Ninh and Vinh Phuc later in 2013.