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Global Newsletter September 2015
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
This month, we made progress towards safer roads through hosting and participating in several stakeholder workshop meetings. In Vietnam, a movie night helped spread the message of the importance of helmet use; in Cambodia, preparations for the upcoming enforcement of the passenger helmet law are being made; in Thailand we worked with provincial leaders to roll out road safety activities across six schools; and in Tanzania, lawyers set the groundwork for policy-change to address and improve road safety conditions.
Greig Craft, President of AIP Foundation, was invited to present at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board in Washington, D.C. this month. He presented on child motorcycle helmets and the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety. AIP Foundation is honored to have been invited to present and hopes to continue spreading the message of the importance of road safety and its potential to save lives.
Please see below to read more on AIP Foundation’s activities and achievements throughout the month.
Kind regards,
Mirjam Sidik
CEO, AIP Foundation
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Photo of the month
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Thousands of vehicles are stuck along a street in Ho Chi Minh City after working hours on 10 September, 2015. The congestion reportedly stretched over three kilometers. Photo credit: Tuoi Tre
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Have a relevant road safety photo? Tag AIP Foundation on Facebook, Twitter, or on Instagram (@makingroadssafe) for a chance to have your photo featured here!
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Road safety officially included in Post-2015 Development Agenda at UN Summit
25-27 September, 2015 – New York, United States
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17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted at the UN Summit this week, including road safety
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Member countries of the United Nations convened for the UN Sustainable Development Summit 2015 on 25-27 September in New York to officially adopt the Post-2015 Development Agenda (now known as Agenda 2030). At the highly anticipated Summit, global leaders reaffirmed their commitment to international development and formally instated 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to focus on after 2015 until 2030. This Summit marked a momentous occasion for road safety advocates, because for the first time in SDG history road safety was included under not just one but two of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted:
Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages:
• 3.6. By 2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents
Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable:
• 11.2. By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons
Read the full article at: Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety, 30 September, 2015
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Greig Craft, President of AIP Foundation presents to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board
30 September, 2015 – Washington D.C., United States
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President and Founder, Greig Craft and NTSB Vice Chairman, Tho Bella Dinh-Zarr
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AIP Foundation’s President, Greig Craft, was invited to present at the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (the NTSB), an independent federal agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents, promoting transportation safety, and assisting victims of transportation accidents and their families.
The NTSB is a government agency that reports directly to President Barack Obama and it is an honor for AIP Foundation to present to the board, which includes representatives from a variety of sectors like aviation, rail, and marine safety. At the event, Mr. Craft presented on child motorcycle helmets and the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety.
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WHO releases guide for journalists reporting on road safety
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The new guide reflects the experiences and lessons learned from workshops with journalists and editors
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WHO and the Pulitzer Center, with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, have released a new guide which aims to increase media interest and understanding of road safety as a critical health and development issue. In this guide for journalists, readers will find links to stories, suggestions for new story angles, descriptions of projects, and tips from editors, journalists and public health experts to enhance reporting on road safety.
Download the guide here.
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Opinion piece: Tackling the Invisible Pandemic on Our Roads
22 September, 2015
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Jean Todt, President of the FIA, Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for Road Safety
Credit: FIA
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In a recent Huffington Post article, Jean Todt, the FIA President, who is also UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, calls for the ratification of road safety as specific targets in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, which will form the organization’s agenda over the next 15 years, and appeals for urgent public and political attention to be devoted to the issue of safety of the world’s roads.
Jean Todt’s op-ed ‘Tackling the Invisible Pandemic on Our Roads’ can be read here.
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U.S. Embassy organizes event at SOS Children’s Village to educate on road safety
10 September, 2015 – Hanoi
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U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius and AIP Foundation President Greig Craft meet children at the SOS Village in Hanoi
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The U.S. Embassy held road safety education activities and games at an SOS Children’s Village in Hanoi. SOS Children’s Villages aim to care for abandoned, destitute, and orphaned children by providing family-based child care. During the event, U.S. Ambassador Ted Osius met one of the SOS families headed by mother Nguyen Thuy Mai, who has adopted 27 SOS children in the past 23 years. He presented 100 Protec helmets with the logos of the 20th anniversary of U.S.-Vietnam relations to the SOS children and advised them how to wear their new helmets correctly.
To view photos of the Ambassador’s visit, click here.
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AIP Foundation and MOET launch school guidelines on child helmet use
12 September, 2015 – North Central Region
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Representatives from Vinh University, Nghe An, MoET, Honda, C67, NTSC, DoET, AIP Foundation, and 1,000 students attended the launch of Traffic Safety month
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School guidelines on child helmet use developed by the MOET and AIP Foundation were promulgated during the launch of the 2015 Traffic Safety month lead by the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) and in collaboration with the National Traffic Safety Committee, C67 traffic police, Honda, AIP Foundation, and five Provincial Departments of Education and Training (DoET) in the North Central region.
The guidelines are aimed to help school administrators and teachers to plan and organize extracurricular activities in education and to encourage helmet use. At the ceremony, held at Vinh University, Nghe An, a Representative of the five DoETs in the North Central region signed an agreement with the MoET to implement the objectives of ensuring road safety and enhancing child helmet use in schools.
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Industrial zone residents attend road safety event sponsored by Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical
12 September, 2015 – Thanh Hoa Province
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President of the Mai Lam Commune makes opening remarks to start the night
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A “Movie and Road Safety Night,” held by Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical, LLC (NSRP), was organized for citizens of the Mai Lam Commune. The event aimed to educate people about road safety through a documentary screening of dangerous crash areas around the NSRP plant in order to raise awareness about the immediate risks and for residents to exercise caution when navigating these areas.
With assistance of AIP Foundation, the documentary film was made by local community members who were trained to identify high-risk areas –“hot spots”—in their respective communes. The footage featured risks specific to the hot spots identified including examples of the most common unsafe driver behaviors in those areas and highlighted inadequacies in infrastructure and safety measures. During the screening, a facilitator mediated a discussion around the video screening. The event attended by 600 participants also included performances, dances, comedies, and games to raise further awareness.
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Picture caption contest launched to increase child helmet use awareness
20 September, 2015 - Nationwide
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Enter our helmet safety caption contest for a chance to win a grand prize
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To support the National Child Helmet action plan, AIP Foundation is holding a helmet safety caption contest to increase child helmet use awareness throughout Vietnam. From 20 September to 16 October 2015, 8 photos will be published on the campaign’s Facebook page and website. To enter the competition, a road safety caption for each photo must be submitted. Every week, a winner will receive a prize; on the fourth week, a grand-finalist will be selected and will receive a prize worth up to 5,000,000 VND ($222 USD).
Please review the terms and conditions and enter the photo caption contest here.
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Related news: Fewer traffic deaths but still far too many
11 September, 2015 – Hanoi
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The scene of a crash in Thu Duc District, Ho Chi Minh City
Credit: www.vov.vn
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On 10 September, 2015 a sleeper bus in Quang Nam Province killed an 18-year-old woman and injured 40 others after hitting a truck parked on the side of National Highway 1A. Despite the National Traffic Safety Committee’s report of a drop in the number of road crashes and related casualties this year, the incident is not uncommon. Repeat offenders of traffic violations and a risky road-culture continue to make roads unsafe. There is still a long way to go and AIP Foundation is dedicated to promoting road safety and continuing improvements.
Read the full article here.
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Related News: Government looks to youth for improving traffic safety
21 September, 2015 – Ho Chi Minh City
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10,000 helmets are presented to elementary students in central Binh Dinh Province in an event held by the National Committee for Traffic Safety
Credit: VNA/VNS Photo Manh Minh
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More than 2,000 students paraded on motorcycles and electric bikes as part of a government program to improve road-safety education. The Ministry of Education and Training, along with the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), is sending helmet safety guidelines to primary schools to urge them to organize more extracurricular activities to educate students and their parents on road safety. Written by the Ministry with consultation from the Committee and AIP Foundation, these guidelines are part of the Ministry’s National Child Helmet Action Plan, launched last March, which aims to increase students’ helmet use rates.
To read more about how schools are educating students on how to be safe road users, click here.
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“Head Safe. Helmet On.” mid-term evaluation shows positive results
10 September, 2015 – Phnom Penh
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A media campaign spread the message of the importance of helmet use throughout Cambodia
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Over the past year, as part of the
“Head Safe. Helmet On.” project, AIP Foundation has been implementing a public awareness campaign aimed to inform people about the importance of helmet use and the new passenger helmet law.
After a year of delivering the public awareness campaign, findings from the project’s mid-term evaluation survey, which had more than 400 respondents in 18 target communes, show positive results. Through school based programs, helmet use has increased at 18 target schools compared to control groups and road safety knowledge has increased since initiating the project. Through the enabling environment campaign component of the project, we have helped enhance the commitment of the passenger helmet law and assisted with enforcement action plans.
Behavior change communications also appear to have contributed to increased road safety awareness. The evaluation revealed that 78% of passengers are more likely to wear a helmet and believe that wearing helmets is as necessary for passengers as for drivers. The main message of the project was “Protect your passengers’ lives. Make sure they wear helmets.” The evaluation found that 88% of respondents recognized this message. When prompted with an image from the campaign, 85% reported seeing it as a TV commercial. Posters on tuk tuks and billboards were the most commonly reported sources for receiving the campaign message.
When asked if there is a law that requires passengers to wear a helmet while they are riding, approximately 91% of people responded “Yes”. Many people know about the law regardless of age group, gender, and geographic location. The Royal Government of Cambodia will begin the enforcement of the new Road Traffic Law in January 2016.
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AIP Foundation hosts second commune-wide meeting on road safety
17 September, 2015 – Phnom Penh
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Participants at the meeting discuss helmet use
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Under the
“Head Safe. Helmet On.” (HSHO) project, AIP Foundation organized a second commune-wide meeting which attracted 45 participants in Chba Ampov District, Phnom Penh. The participants included commune road safety groups from the three targeted communes, district governmental officials, and media representatives. At the meeting, AIP Foundation reviewed commune-based activity plans and presented the progress, challenges, and recommendations for future
HSHO activities. Chba Ampov’s District Governor attended and gave welcoming remarks to participants, delivering key messages for group discussion and highlighted the importance of promoting a better road safety environment.
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AIP Foundation gathers stakeholders from across Cambodia to discuss passenger helmet enforcement
29 September, 2015 – Phnom Penh
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Participants lead discussion on the upcoming enforcement of the passenger helmet law
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AIP Foundation held its second nationwide stakeholder workshop as part of the
“Head Safe. Helmet On.” project. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the enforcement of the passenger helmet law, especially to include children, scheduled to begin from January 1st, 2016.
The workshop gathered approximately 30 participants from government institutions and the private sector. Among the attendees were representatives of the General Secretariat of the National Road Safety Committee and of the Department of Order, Ministry of Interior. At the event, AIP Foundation presented information on the project’s recent progress, challenges faced thus far, and recommendations for the second year of the initiative.
Group discussions focused on the law and its sub-decree that mandates penalties for un-helmeted passengers, and particularly the importance of including children in the new traffic law. Also discussed were the national- and district-level passenger helmet enforcement action plans, which are currently in their draft phase.
Read the press release here.
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Road safety school groups inspire their community to be safer road users
30 September, 2015 – Phnom Penh, Kandal, Kampong Speu
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The award committee discussed the criteria and the process of evaluating Schools of Excellence in helmet use
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Last month, 18 schools from Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Kampong Speu completed disseminating road safety messages as part of a “schools of excellence” competition to raise road safety awareness.
Throughout the year, school groups arranged road safety murals and distributed materials to help improve road safety behavior and their school’s surrounding infrastructure. To take part in the competition, students and teachers received road safety education training.
In August, an award committee, comprised of representatives from the National Road Safety Committee, National Police, Ministry of Education, and AIP Foundation evaluated the 18 schools. The committee reviewed relevant documents and interviewed teachers and students. Afterwards, the committee surveyed the area around the school to observe school murals, the surrounding infrastructure, and safety materials available for students to cross the road. After gathering the necessary information, the committee will provide information to AIP Foundation to determine the outstanding school in each participating province and to track its progress the following year. Evaluating successful schools is important in developing improved implementation guidelines and to determine best practices in order to cultivate safe road environments for all students.
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Related News: Developing world’s road trauma crisis prompts search for new solutions
8 September, 2015
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Rescue volunteers treat two women involved in a head-on motorbike collision in Vientiane, Laos
Credit: Getty Images
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In many parts of the world, economic development is closely linked to a rise in road crashes, injuries, and deaths. Booming economic growth led to the popularity of motorcycles and scooters in the 1990’s in South East Asia. Tom Hundley, who researched the surge in motorcycle ownership for Foreign Policy magazine, believes that while motorcycles are cheap, fast, and allow for more flexible mobility, they’re also proving to be highly dangerous. Approximately a third of all highway deaths in Asia involve two and three-wheeled vehicles. Compounding the issue, law enforcement is rather weak in many south-east Asian countries and police do not fully implement traffic laws.
Hundley's research took him to Cambodia, where he found that only about a quarter of drivers know what a simple stop sign means, few have a license to drive even though it’s mandatory, and helmets are rarely worn although they are compulsory for motorcycle riders. Even when helmets are worn, they are severely lacking in quality with their only purpose being to deter the police from stopping drivers rather than to protect the driver’s head.
Experts have recommended implementing preventative strategies, like increasing seatbelt and helmet use. AIP Foundation strives to fill the gap and address the road death epidemic.
Read more about new solutions here.
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Related article: Traffic carnage continues
16 September, 2015 - Sihanoukville Province
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Traffic law enforcement is taking measures to crack-down on unsafe driving behaviors
Credit: www.khmer440.com
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In Sihanoukville Province, Cambodia highways and roads are the scene of many crashes involving motorists and pedestrians. Last week, photos of a 20-foot truck that had veered off the road and crashed into the front of a shop, causing injury and carnage, were published. In the days before the photo was published, there had been television reports of drivers colliding with buffalo, pictures of smashed scooters and dead, helmet-less riders along with images of riders being rushed to hospitals with serious injuries.
Doctors in Sihanoukville report that a large percentage of their patients arrive with road crash related trauma—broken bones and head injuries being the most common afflictions—but medical facilities are oftentimes inadequate and many patients are sent to Phnom Penh for better care. It is not uncommon for doctors to refer a traffic crash patient elsewhere when they know he or she will not survive. Last year, Cambodian officials documented 4,350 crashes and 2,400 deaths. According to the World Health Organization, on average, 6.5 motorists and road-users are killed daily—many believe this number is actually higher since many crashes go unreported and unrecorded.
Cambodia is taking measures to crack-down on unsafe driving behaviors. The Land Traffic Law is expected to begin implementation in January 2016, with increases for fines for offenses like speeding and talking on the phone while driving. Fines for not wearing a helmet are set to increase. AIP Foundation believes that updating laws is a step in the right direction but needs to be supported with increased funding, enforcement, and awareness in order to see improvement. Working together with key stakeholders, AIP Foundation strives to better the road safety environment in Cambodia.
Read more here.
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Chevron hosts
Street Wise extracurricular activities across five program schools
3 September, 2015 — Songkhla Province
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Students learn about traffic signs and how to practice safe behavior on the roads
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From the 24th to the 28th of August 2015, five schools in the Signhanakhon District in Songkhla Province participated in
Street Wise activities. Sponsored by Chevron Thailand Exploration & Production, Ltd., the project aims to improve road safety awareness and behaviors of the Signhanakhon and Muang Districts. According to baseline research, only 3% of children in the Signhanakhon District wear helmets.
The activities held at the five schools include lessons on how to wear a helmet properly and how to practice safe pedestrian behavior. Other components of the extracurricular activities included sessions on road safety regulations and laws, led by Educational Officers from the Department of Land Transport, Songkhla Province and bicycle safety activities such as road traffic simulations led by Phithan Panit Company Ltd. and Honda Ariya Motor Co., Ltd.
AIP Foundation is dedicated to equipping children to be safe on the roads. With the activities conducted through the Street Wise project, Thailand is making progress towards developing a generation of safe road users.
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AIP Foundation receives donation from Ducati Thailand to support road safety projects
11 September, 2015 – Bangkok
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AIP Foundation receives a check for 120,000 THB from Ducati Thailand
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Ducati Thailand gives AIP Foundation a donation of 120,000 THB (US $3,300) to support road safety projects in Bangkok. Mr. Paul Smart, an English Ducati racer and former world champion visited Thailand to deliver 24 special edition Ducati Scrambler Paul Smart Edition motorcycles to their new owners. At the event, a helmet and photo auction was held by Ducati Thailand to benefit AIP Foundation. AIP Foundation is grateful for Ducati Thailand’s support.
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ARRB Group sponsored
Helmets for Kids holds extracurricular activities to promote road safety
18 September, 2015 – Bangkok
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Students at Prathom Tawee Pisek School learn about the importance of helmet use
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This month, AIP Foundation staff delivered extra-curricular road safety activities to 522 students and 20 teachers from Prathom Tawee Pisek School. Thanks to the support from ARRB Group, these road safety education programs have been made possible and are accessible to children who need it most. The activities focused on the importance of helmet use and involved road safety drawing along with question and answer sessions and several road safety games.
AIP Foundation hopes that through these activities, children will become safer road users.
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AIP Foundation meets with stakeholders to introduce upcoming road safety activities sponsored by Denso Thailand
21-23 September, 2015 – Udon Thani Province
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AIP Foundation meets with key stakeholders to begin planning for road safety activities in target schools
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AIP Foundation in collaboration with the Udon Thani Provincial Transportation Office conducted a stakeholder meeting for
Helmets for Kids, supported by Denso Thailand at Udon Thani Provincial Office. Participants included school directors, educational officers, and key organizations involved in road safety in Udon Thani Province. Participants began planning for upcoming activities under the project, which will roll out across six schools in Udon Thani province. AIP Foundation also signed MoU's (Memorandum of Understanding) with the three top-up schools. Further meetings were held with teachers, parents and community leaders of the three new schools joining the
Helmet for Kids program this September.
In addition, AIP Foundation conducted stakeholder meetings with Rotary Udon Thani, the Chamber of Commerce, the local Administrative Office, and Udon Thani Provincial Police to introduce the
Helmets for Kids program and to discuss further collaboration and partnership.
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Related news: Thailand ranked among countries with most road deaths
5 September, 2015
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Thailand ranks third in the world on highest road death rates according to the World Health Organization
Credit: www.thaivisa.com
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According to the World Health Organization, Thailand is among the top five countries with the highest number of road fatalities in the world. The results of a survey on road fatalities conducted by the WHO found that Libya has the highest road death rate at 48.4 per 100,000 people, followed closely by Iraq at 40.5, and then Thailand at 38.1 per 100,000 people. South Africa held the fourth ranking and the United Kingdom held the fifth.
Thailand’s high road death rate highlights the importance and relevance of AIP Foundation’s work towards safer roads in the country.
Read more here.
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Related news: Why drivers in China intentionally kill the pedestrians they hit
4 September, 2015
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Look both ways: Pedestrians wait for the light to change in central Beijing
Credit: Getty Images
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A hit-to-kill phenomenon is sweeping China, as drivers who have injured pedestrians will sometimes then try to kill them. Many say that laws on victim compensation have, in part, driven this horrific trend. In China, compensation for killing a victim in a traffic accident is small compared to paying for a lifetime of care for a disabled survivor. Drivers who hit-and-kill are oftentimes doing so because it is more economical. Chinese legislators and policymakers are working towards changing the law to criminalize this practice and to condemn it as murder.
Pedestrian safety remains an important priority for China in light of this trend. AIP Foundation is committed to providing children with the skills necessary to stay safe on the road. Read more here.
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Related news: Girl who lost both legs in traffic crash becomes a model student
22 September, 2015 - Guizhou
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Having endured serious injury after being struck by a bus, Xu attends school
Credit: www.dailymail.co.uk
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At the young age of six Xu Caifen lost her legs when a speeding truck crushed her. She was walking to the local market with her mother when a truck came their way, Xu managed to push her mother out of the truck’s way but was crushed herself. She was fortunate to have survived and she very quickly learned how to walk with her hands. Despite her handicap, she still wanted to go to school like all the other children. Her parents were reluctant at first because the commute would be too difficult and they were concerned about bullying, but after devising a cover for her lower body and shoes for her hands she began attending school. She is now an eighth-year student at Kuanping Middle School. Xu’s dreams are not inhibited by her disability, as hopes to attend university.
Xu is an exceptional person and while her disability has not prevented her for dreaming big, the loss of her legs may have been prevented if road conditions were better for pedestrians in Guizhou. AIP Foundation works towards improved road conditions and seeks to equip children and communities with the skills necessary to stay safe on the roads to prevent injuries like Xu’s from happening.
Read more about her story here.
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Legislation workshop sponsored by the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety
8-20 September, 2015
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Lawyers meet to discuss potential policy action for improving road safety
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Lawyers representing different firms attended a Legislation Workshop in Tanzania. The workshop was meant to enhance participants’ capacity on development of comprehensive legislation on the main risk factors associated with road injury and death.
Participants looked at the overviewing status of road injuries and fatalities and the magnitude of the issue in Tanzania to develop legal context. Additionally, the participants reviewed the challenges and opportunities of implementing a road safety legal framework in Tanzania.
At the workshop, participants completed a number of tasks including reviewing evidence for relevant risk factors, identifying ways to improve laws and regulations, outlining proposed changes to the Road Traffic Act to include mandatory helmet usage for passengers.
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Related News: Police Vehicle Knocks Pupil to Death
1 September, 2015 – Kibaha
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A student crossing the road to commute to school was hit and killed
Credit: FIA Foundation
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Two students in Kibaha, Tanzania were hit by a police vehicle during their commute to school. One student died and the other was critically injured. The incident occurred as the students were crossing the road to school and the police vehicle was transporting staff to different posts in the district.
Tragedies like this exemplify why road safety work and education is necessary to protect lives. AIP Foundation is working diligently to promote the safety of road users.
Read more about the incident and the actions taken here.
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