A park for children’s safety in traffic was inaugurated at a primary school in Dong Nai province on November 3 with financial assistance from an international umbrella group, making it the first of its kind in Vietnam.

The 71,000-plus USD project, with funding from the FedEx company, has been designed as a miniature city on 1,700 sq. m., with railways, highways, overpasses, a traffic light system, and footpaths.

The project was also sponsored by the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP) and Safe Kids Worldwide.

The park will help train primary pupils in traffic safety skills, strictly following traffic guidelines shown by traffic lights and signals.

Fedex also presented the provincial education service with a set of electronic curriculum, including a computer, a projector and curricula, which will show children in different traffic situations and show potential dangers if they ignore traffic rules.

Mirjam Sidik, executive manager of AIP-Vietnam, said pedestrians are the group most vulnerable to traffic injuries. The situation called for education of pupils in safe traffic behaviour, along with investment in upgrading infrastructure surrounding schools, as the best ways for children to protect themselves from traffic accidents.

Over 60 percent of children from Quang Bien primary school in the southern province of Dong Nai have to walk to school along accident-prone roads./.