VietNamNet Bridge – Up to 80 per cent of helmets sold at markets are substandard and would not protect a rider's head in an accident, a conference heard on Dec 26.

llustrative image. (Photo: VNN)

The conference on the quality of helmets, held by the Viet Nam Red Cross and the Viet Nam-based Global Road Safety Partnership, was part of the policy-making process on helmet standards.

Vice chairman of the Viet Nam Red Cross Nguyen Huu Hong said there were, on average, 36 traffic accidents nation-wide each day, killing 30 people and injuring 28.

Statistics from Ha Noi-based Viet Nam-Germany Hospital showed that the number who suffered brain injuries due to not wearing helmets was 33.8 per cent, three times higher than the number who did.

Up to 86 per cent of cases of brain injuries in the hospital were as a result of traffic accidents.

Regulations on wearing helmets had been issued to reduce the number of fatalities and injuries. However, substandard helmets were among problems yet to be solved.

Nguyen The Dat of the municipal Market Watchdog Department said that vendors could say the helmets were being sold for cyclists, not motorcyclists.

"Even authorised agencies are misunderstanding between counterfeit helmets and other kinds of hats such as bicycle helmets," Dat said. "This has caused difficulties for inspectors and consumers."

Nguyen Hoang Linh of the Ministry of Science and Technology's Directorate for Standards, Metrology and Quality said that the ministries of Science and Technology, Industry and Trade, Public Security and Transport had collaborated to draft a decree on producing, importing, trading and using standard helmets for motorbike drivers.

The decree was expected to give fines for violators and responsibilities of relevant authorities, he said.

Figures from the Ministry of Transport showed that by the end of July, there were 35.2 million motorbikes operating nation-wide.

More than 6,160 traffic accidents this year had killed 5,370 people and injured 4,500 others. More than 70 per cent of the accidents involved motorbikes.

It has been estimated that wearing helmets could reduce fatalities by 40 per cent.

Source: VNS