A traffic police in Ninh Binh delivers trafic safety flyers to locals (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Wearing helmets and driving slowly are among effectivemeasures to ensure traffic safety for children, heard a ceremony to launch Gohome safely campaign in Hanoi on December 9, which aims to call for thecommunity’s actions to ensure traffic safety for children.
Traffic accident is the second major reason behind child fatalities inVietnam after drowning, said Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social AffairsDao Hong Lan at the launching ceremony, which was jointly held by the Ministryof Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Lam said that traffic accidents resulted in 50 percent of deaths amongadolescents and youngsters aged 15-19.
She stressed that road accident-stemmed injuries in children can beavoided through raising public awareness of traffic safety regulations and law.
Wearing helmets is an effective way to protect children, as it canreduce 40 percent of death risks and 70 percent risks of serious injuries inchildren, she stated, adding that if drivers slow down their average speed byonly 5 percent, fatal accidents will be reduced by 30 percent.
Meanwhile, Yoshimi Nishino, UNICEF Acting Chief Representative inVietnam noted that every year, about 2,000 people die of traffic accidents,including 500 children, worldwide. One child dies every four minutes in road,while 50 percent of traffic accident victims are pedestrians, bicycle andmotorbike riders, she added.
In Vietnam, the National Committee for Traffic Safety reported that in2016, traffic accidents killed nearly 9,000 people and dozens of thousands ofothers injured, said Yoshimi Nishino.
She lauded Vietnam’s efforts for proactively implementing global roadsafety initiatives with specific steps in building effective traffic law.
The UNICEF official called for the community to wear helmets for bothadults and children when riding bicycles and motorbikes, and speed down whencrossing areas crowded with children.
At the event, representatives of ministries, sectors, localities,schools, parents and students signed commitments to wear helmets and driveslowly for children’s safety.-VNA
VNA
