Traffic Safety Law Education for Students: Don't Kidnap and Throw Away the Disk

(Baonghean) - Educating students about traffic safety laws is very important in contributing to ensuring traffic safety. The problem is finding solutions so that this work can soon achieve the desired results...

Multiple violations

At nearly 11:30 a.m. on November 21, at the gate of Ha Huy Tap High School (Vinh City), on Phan Boi Chau Street, less than 5 minutes after the school bell rang, students rushed out like a swarm of bees. Most of them went home on bicycles and electric motorbikes, a few got into cars picked up by their parents.

Some students of Nguyen Truong To Private High School ride motorbikes to school.

The road in front of the school gate became chaotic as many students stopped their bikes on the road to wait for each other, then lined up in threes and fours to ride. Many students riding electric bikes did not wear helmets, many of whom brought their helmets but hung them on their bikes instead of wearing them.

At the gate of Nguyen Truong To Private High School, along with the chaotic scene above, there is also a situation where the school's students use large-displacement motorbikes (vehicles with a cylinder capacity of over 50cc) quite commonly.

Just a few dozen meters from the school gate, there are two parking spots for students from local households. At these parking spots, bicycles and electric bicycles are parked outside, while large-displacement motorbikes are “hidden” inside the house.

Late afternoon on November 21, at the intersection of Nguyen Sy Sach - Ha Huy Tap, at rush hour, all kinds of vehicles began to pour in. This was also the time when students from Ha Huy Tap High School (from Phan Boi Chau - Nguyen Sy Sach Street), Nguyen Truong To High School (from Ha Huy Tap Street), Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted, Huynh Thuc Khang High School (from Nguyen Van Cu Street) finished school and returned home.

According to our observations, although there were 3 traffic police (2 men, 1 woman) on duty at this intersection, most of the students "innocently" went straight ahead or turned left when the traffic light turned red, causing many cars and motorbikes to brake suddenly. By 5:00 p.m., the intersection was partially blocked, and 2 traffic police had to step in to regulate traffic. The drivers of cars and motorbikes strictly followed the traffic police's orders, but many students riding bicycles and electric bicycles ignored them, making the traffic police's job even more difficult.

Need to deal with it seriously

In recent years, the Education and Training sector has made certain efforts in educating traffic culture for students.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Hoan - Deputy Chief of Office of the Department of Education and Training said: "Since the beginning of 2014, implementing Decision No. 482/QD-UBND-NC of the People's Committee of Nghe An province on approving the Project "Strengthening propaganda and education on traffic safety and order in schools in Nghe An province from 2014 to 2018", the Department of Education and Training has also regularly coordinated with the Provincial Traffic Safety Committee and relevant agencies to organize propaganda and guide students to participate in traffic safety... At the same time, organize the issuance and distribution of books on Traffic Law to all schools in the province; launch movements and competitions on traffic safety and traffic culture.

In addition, instructing all levels of education to organize teaching programs on traffic safety during peak months; regularly integrating education on the Road Traffic Law with subjects such as: Fine Arts, Ethics, Civic Education... with slogans such as: "Traffic accidents - the pain is still there", "Youth with traffic culture", "Traffic culture is no accidents"..., up to now, more than 1,500 schools at all levels in the province have implemented propaganda work on the Road Traffic Law and traffic culture for students.

In addition, the Department of Education and Training also strengthens the direction of schools to organize students and parents to sign a commitment to strictly implement the Traffic Law at the beginning of the school year; and strengthens inspection of students' compliance with the Road Traffic Law.

In fact, some schools in the province have done quite well in raising awareness of traffic law compliance and traffic culture among students. In Thanh Chuong district, Nguyen Sy Sach High School is located near a residential area and close to Provincial Road 558, so there are many potential risks of traffic accidents; however, in recent years, the school has not had any cases of students being disciplined for violating traffic safety and order or traffic accidents.

Carrying 3, 4 or even 5 people is not an uncommon phenomenon during rush hour. Photo: Lam Tung

Mr. Nguyen Khac Diep - Principal of the school said: "The school's Board of Directors has directed the Youth Union to maintain the activities of the Volunteer Shock Team, which is responsible for guiding and directing traffic, reminding students not to gather in large numbers and wait for each other at the school gate. Any student who violates the law will have their name recorded and be notified to the class for a warning. If they repeat the offense many times, their conduct will be reduced. The school also manages the use of electric bicycles by students, strictly prohibiting students from riding motorbikes to school. Every year, the school coordinates with the police to organize propaganda, sign commitments and especially resolutely handle students who violate traffic safety laws such as notifying parents, reducing their conduct..."

Hoang Thi Hanh, an 11th grade student at Nguyen Sy Sach High School, said: "Before, every time school was over, my friends and I would wait for each other and go home together, often walking in a row. Now, thanks to the school's propaganda and education about traffic culture, we have realized that this is a behavior that can lead to traffic accidents."

A skit in the Youth and Traffic Culture Contest organized by Vinh City Youth Union

However, traffic safety education in high schools in the province still has many shortcomings. Teacher Bui Thi Hang - Civic Education teacher, Le Viet Thuat High School (Vinh City) said: "Currently, there is no specific, unified curriculum framework for traffic culture education at all three levels. Knowledge about traffic laws is only introduced sporadically in the subject of Civic Education. Currently, propaganda in many schools only focuses on traffic safety laws and not on traffic culture."

Meanwhile, traffic culture is not only strictly obeying traffic laws but also having a sense of community when participating in traffic (such as when encountering an accident victim who needs timely help...) and behaving in a cultured manner when traveling on the road, such as participating in traffic slowly, calmly, giving priority to the elderly and children, knowing how to apologize and thank when there is a collision... Therefore, the effectiveness of propaganda is still lacking and the impact on students is limited".

Horizontal lines cause traffic safety problems. Photo: Lam Tung

In addition, coordination between schools and traffic police has been carried out, but has only stopped at propaganda at the beginning of the school year and handling students riding motorbikes. Cases of students riding electric bicycles, bicycles running red lights, and riding in rows of 3 or 4 have not been handled or have been handled leniently.

According to Mr. Tran Cao Cuong - Secretary of the Youth Union of Ha Huy Tap High School (Vinh City), the traffic police force needs to strictly handle these violations, such as temporarily detaining the violating vehicle, reporting to the school to have a basis for classifying the student's conduct, or notifying the parents to pay the fine to get the vehicle back..., only then will it have a strong deterrent effect on students who violate the law so that they know how to be afraid, know how to comply with the Traffic Safety Law, and have a culture when participating in traffic.

Minh Quan