"Putting a hat on your child is a true expression of parental love."

(Baonghean) - Starting from April 10th, the regulation requiring children to wear helmets when riding motorbikes and electric bicycles officially comes into effect. To effectively implement this regulation, the Department of Education and Training has issued a plan to strengthen the enforcement of the mandatory helmet wearing regulation to educational units in the province, the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee, and forces such as traffic police to conduct widespread awareness campaigns…

Following the directive from the Ministry of Education and Training regarding the strengthening of mandatory helmet use for students in 2015, on March 16, 2015, the Department of Education and Training developed a plan with specific actions. Starting from March 20, all educational institutions throughout the province launched a campaign to raise awareness and educate students on helmet use and to intensify inspections of helmet use among students; organized the signing of commitments with parents to ensure their children wear helmets when riding motorcycles, mopeds, and electric two-wheeled vehicles; and committed to not allowing underage students to operate motorcycles or mopeds without a driver's license.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, from Hung Loc commune (Vinh City), puts a helmet on her son before taking him to school.

Currently, educational institutions in the province are ready to implement the message of helmet use among students. Mr. Tran Van Phuong, Principal of Ha Huy Tap 2 Primary School (Vinh City), said that as a school located in the city center, most of its 1,420 students are dropped off and picked up daily by their parents. Therefore, the school has long required parents to ensure their children wear helmets when using motorbikes for transportation. At the beginning of the year, the school collaborated with a motorbike sales company to distribute helmets to students. Mid-year, the school's management board, along with the Ha Huy Tap Ward Police, organized a campaign to promote helmet use among students, held a competition on proper helmet use, and had parents and homeroom teachers sign a commitment to ensure students wear helmets when riding motorbikes.

In addition, the school's Red Flag Team will also monitor students' helmet use. If any student is found riding on their parents' motorbike without a helmet, the Red Flag Team will record it in the logbook to deduct points from their performance evaluation… “Currently, 100% of the school's students are doing a good job of wearing helmets when riding on their parents' motorbikes to school. We hope that the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training will be strictly implemented nationwide to not only contribute to reducing traffic accidents but also to building good habits for students,” affirmed teacher Tran Van Phuong.

According to our research, most primary and secondary schools in Vinh City have successfully implemented the regulation requiring students to wear helmets when riding motorbikes and electric bicycles. However, a significant number of high school students still do not comply with the helmet-wearing regulations. During rush hour, walking along streets such as Le Hong Phong, Phan Boi Chau, and Phong Dinh Cang, the sight of students riding electric bicycles in pairs or groups of three without helmets is still very common. In rural and mountainous areas, it is also very common for students not to wear helmets when riding their parents' motorbikes or when riding electric bicycles or motorbikes to school. While primary, secondary, and high schools in the city have long benefited from programs promoting helmet use and distributing free helmets, schools in mountainous areas have received very little benefit from such programs. According to teacher Ho Thi Thao from Quy Chau Ethnic Boarding High School, the school has 1,200 students, and only about 20 of them ride electric bicycles to school, but they don't wear helmets regularly. They only wear helmets on days when the school's student union conducts rigorous inspections.

Students are not wearing helmets while participating in traffic (photo taken on Phong Dinh Cang Street, Vinh City).

Currently, not only are educational institutions entering a peak period of promoting helmet use regulations, but parents are also closely monitoring the new regulations from the authorities. Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen, from Hoa Tien hamlet, Hung Loc commune (Vinh City), said that she has two sons; the older one is in 3rd grade at Hung Loc Primary School, and the younger one is in kindergarten. For a long time, she only put a helmet on her older son when dropping him off at school, but not on her younger son. After hearing the news that helmet use is mandatory, on the morning of March 18th, she bought a new helmet for her younger son to wear to school. According to her, the regulation requiring students to wear helmets when riding motorbikes or electric bicycles is completely correct. “We parents all want our children to be safe, and implementing the regulation is not difficult at all,” Ms. Nguyen Thi Huyen affirmed.

Not only the Education sector but also other functional agencies in Nghe An province are now involved in disseminating information about the new regulations. The Provincial Traffic Safety Committee stated that with messages such as: “Put a helmet on your child, a true expression of parental love,” “Children must wear helmets when riding motorcycles, scooters, and electric bicycles,” and “Remember what your teacher told you: Wear a helmet when riding a motorcycle or electric bicycle,” from April 6th to 9th, 2015, traffic police and police in districts and communes will organize a week-long intensive patrol and control campaign, both to raise awareness and to remind and penalize violations of the mandatory helmet-wearing regulations for children. Authorities will also inspect, remind, and evaluate the implementation of helmet-wearing regulations among students in schools; and will reprimand teachers, school staff, and students who violate the regulations.

On April 10th, the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee will coordinate with relevant forces to organize a "High-intensity Day" of patrolling, inspecting, and handling violations of the mandatory helmet wearing regulations for children. Following this, they will continue to maintain the planned patrols, inspections, and enforcement of road traffic safety regulations. "Implementing the regulation on helmet use for students riding motorcycles and electric bicycles not only helps reduce the consequences of traffic accidents but also builds a traffic culture and contributes to the formation of law-abiding awareness among students. This is not only the responsibility of the students themselves but also of their families, schools, and the entire society," affirmed Mr. Vo Minh Duc, Chief of the Office of the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee.

Nguyen Khoa