Even though Vietnam issued a mandatory helmet law for children last year, parents regularly flaunt the regulation.
Parents ignore helmet rules for their children
Starting from April 10, 2015, parents with children over six years old not wearing helmets when riding on motorbikes and electric bicycles face fines of VND100,000 (USD4.70) to VND200,000.
The new law, while not only addressing a common-sense issue, was also inspired by the number of children that have died in horrific traffic accidents. In a particularly notorious case in January 2015, a truck crashed into a motorbike driving in the wrong direction. All four people on the motorbike, including two adults and two children were not wearing helmets. Three was killed and one was injured in the accident. In February, a car running on wrong direction hit a motorbike which was carrying three adults and two children, no one was wearing helmets. All five were killed.
After the helmet law took effect, police issued warnings to 31,754 cases and VND1trn in fines in 1,857 cases. 319 bikes were impounded that year. The law has already proven its usefulness, with the number of accident involving children from six to 11 in 2015 decreased by 39.4 percent on the previous year. The number of fatalities and injuries recorded also decreased by 37.5 percent and 31.25 percent respectively.
However, the authorities have struggled to achieve long-term results. Ha Thi Nga, a parent in Hanoi said, "At first, people really followed the law but after a while, parents have become lazy and they aren’t making their children wear the helmets."
Le Anh Thu, a first grade pupil at Thanh Cong Primary School said her father wouldn't let her wear helmet because of its heaviness. High school pupils who use electric bikes don’t bother wearing helmets as the police rarely can catch them.
Khuat Viet Hung, vice chairman of the
National Traffic Safety Committee, said more people wore helmets for
their children after the rule took effect, but the rate of application
varied. "It's important that we should conduct more traffic inspections
and schools should tighten their supervisions on pupils." he said.
Health Ministry's statistics show 1,800 to 1,900 children die each year in traffic accidents, some 20 percent of total child deaths, and 50 percent of those were because the child was not wearing a helmet. It is said the number could be halved if parents make their children wear helmets properly.
Surprisingly, the equally deadly situation facing babies and children below the age of six has yet to be addressed by Vietnamese lawmakers at all.
Dtinews