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Global Newsletter March 2016
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Dear Friends and Supporters,
We are happy to announce that our 2015 Annual Report is now available! The past year saw dynamic activity for AIP Foundation and was a pivotal moment for global road safety more generally, and the report offers a concise overview of these topics.
The year 2015 was especially significant for global road safety as it marked the mid-way point of the UN Decade of Action for Road Safety and the inclusion of two key targets for reducing road deaths and injuries in the UN Post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals. This global prioritization in road safety helps us reflect on our past successes and articulate our vision for a more secure and informed global road community for the future.
On a separate yet important note, the 8th of March saw AIP Foundation staff across our country programs celebrate International Women’s Day. At AIP Foundation, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunity and take pride that 60% of our senior management is made up of women.
Read on to find out more about our events and advocacy efforts this month, and please click here to access our Annual Report.
Kind regards,
Mirjam Sidik
CEO, AIP Foundation
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Photo of the month
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Staff at the AIP Foundation’s Ho Chi Minh City office gather to celebrate International Women’s Day.
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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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Related news: New guide launched to keep children safe on the road
4 March, 2016
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A mural made by schoolchildren depicts a healthy road environment for all.
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A new guide has been debuted that helps keep children safe on the roads when traveling to and from school.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents was commissioned by Public Health England to produce the document, which aims to help schools promote safe active travel for school children.
The guide, titled Road Injury Prevention: Resources to Support Schools to Promote Safe Active Travel, provides advice and information for teaching staff, parents, and care-takers, highlighting the importance of supporting effective road safety education as well as sharing steps that some schools have taken to promote safe active travel.
To access this important resource, click here.
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Related news: The UPS Foundation commits $14 million to support community safety programs
14 March, 2016
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A UPS Volunteer participates in a
Helmets for Kids game at a school in Vietnam.
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With the world refugee crisis growing and the risk of other humanitarian tragedy increasing, The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS, will award the highest amount of grant funding and in-kind support ever to advance humanitarian preparedness and response and recovery programs. In addition, it will expand its support and expertise to help make roads safer around the world for drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. The combination of grants and in-kind services will go to more than 30 NGOs, nonprofit organizations, and United Nations agencies for a total of $14 million.
The UPS Foundation will also support AIP Foundation's
Helmets for Kids and
Safe Roads. Safe Communities. programs, which will provide bike helmets for children in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam in 2016. Since
Helmets for Kids started in 2011, child helmet usage has increased from 17% to 83% in program areas and 289 children have been protected from traumatic brain injury in motorcycle crashes.
Source: NASDAQ, 14 March, 2016.
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Related news: Michelle Yeoh, vocal advocate for road safety, recognized as UN Goodwill Ambassador
15 March, 2016 – New York City, U.S.
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Watch footage from a trip Ms. Yeoh took to examine the local road environment threatening Cambodian children on their way home from school.
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The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) announced this month that actress, movie producer, and humanitarian Michelle Yeoh will become its newest Goodwill Ambassador, joining other globally-recognized figures in this role. Her focuses will be on global development and disaster recovery as she raises awareness and mobilizes support for the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, which include two goals targeted towards improving global road safety.
AIP Foundation would like to extend a warm wish of congratulations to Ms. Yeoh as well as a note of thanks for the work she has done in furthering the reduction of road injuries and fatalities.
Access footage here from a trip Ms. Yeoh took to examine the local road environment threatening Cambodian children on their way home from school.
To read more on her appointment, visit the official UNDP announcement here.
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Police participate in workshop aimed at increasing enforcement of child helmet laws
12 March, 2016 – Binh Duong Province
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Traffic police gather to learn how they can better serve the needs of their communities.
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In mid-March, members of the traffic police in Binh Duong Province gathered to participate in a capacity-building training focused on increasing the enforcement of child helmet use. In attendance were 30 members of the provincial traffic police as well as the Vice Chief of the Binh Duong Traffic Police Department and the Vice Director of the Binh Duong Department of Transportation.
This training is one of six recent police workshops supported by FIA Foundation; the previous five were conducted in November and December of 2015 and involved 180 participants. Enforcement makes up a key component of the National Child Helmet Action Plan, launched in 2015 by Vietnam's National Traffic Safety Committee with technical support from AIP Foundation.
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Trainings and support offered for drivers hoping to get officially licensed
12-13, 19-20, and 26-27 March, 2016 – Hai Yen, Mai Lam, and Hai Truong Communes
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Training participants listen in to important messages of driving safety during the weekend training session.
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As part of a broader project carried out with the collaboration of the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemical Complex (NSRP), AIP Foundation recently teamed up with Hung Do Vocational School to provide safe-driving skills and support to both un-licensed drivers getting their official driver’s certifications and older drivers hoping to brush up on their skills.
Three motorcycle driver trainings were conducted for a total of 303 participants from Hai Yen, Mai Lam, and Hai Thuong communes during the month of March. The participants at the trainings received valuable traffic safety knowledge and safe-driving skills, and received a free quality helmet. In addition to attending two full days of training for each weekend course, participants were then required to successfully complete a driver’s test in order to receive their licenses from the Transportation Department.
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National road safety stakeholders collaborate to reduce the number of road crash fatalities in Vietnam
16 March, 2016 – Hanoi
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Stakeholders meet to articulate their shared dedication to improving the traffic situation in Vietnam.
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A kick-off meeting took place in mid-March for a two-year program led by the Traffic Safety Department of the Ministry of Transportation (MOT) in Vietnam and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP). The program is aimed at strengthening national road safety management capacities in Vietnam. AIP Foundation was invited to attend and lend its expertise in the implementation of road safety projects on a nationwide level.
Mr. Nenad Nikolic, Regional Advisor of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, highlighted the importance of partnerships such as these and said that more focus was needed on the five main pillars of road safety: road safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users, and post-crash response.
The MOT in Vietnam suggested UNESCAP focus on providing appropriate road construction support to Vietnam, where there is a distinct lack of sufficient traffic signaling devices and other safety measures. In addition, support was requested from UNESCAP for the training of senior investigators for traffic safety assessments; trainings for investigation and data collection at high-risk ("black spot") crash areas; trainings on urban traffic management at the national and provincial levels; and traffic law advocacy.
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Related news: Accidents caused by unaware motorists
7 March, 2016
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It is hard to stay aware of all of one’s surroundings when the traffic jams are as bad as this one in Hanoi. Photo credit: vietnamnet.vn
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A lack of awareness about traffic safety and laws is the chief reason for the high number of traffic accidents in the country, the Executive Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee has said.
“People are aware of their actions, but they deliberately violate laws because of the belief that it will not cause a traffic accident,” Dr. Khuat Viet Hung said. “If it does happen, they will not be punished strictly.”
He mentioned a recent accident as an example. A driver of a car lost control of his vehicle and hit and killed three people, including a six-year-old child, in Ha Noi’s Long Bien District.
Hung said better management was the key to improving the situation, which kills 12,000 people every year on average.
Source: Viet Nam News, 7 March, 2016.
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Related news: Debate heats up over school suspension for traffic violations
11 March, 2016
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Unsafe driving habits are normally passed down from parents to children, as seen in this picture.
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In late February, the National Traffic Safety Committee (NTSC), the National Traffic Police (C67), the Ministry of Education and Training, and AIP Foundation organized a year-end review of the National Child Helmet Action Plan (NCHAP). The gathered stakeholders discussed key results following the first year of project implementation. In a subsequent move, the Hanoi Department of Education and Training issued a new directive about road safety for the 2016-2020 period that calls for pupils to be suspended for not wearing helmets.
The policy states “Pupils will be reprimanded publicly for first-time offences and face a three-day suspension for a subsequent offence. If the pupils violate the law multiple times, they will be publicly reprimanded and suspended for a week".
This directive has, perhaps unsurprisingly, stirred up debate and some backlash among parents of school-aged parents. This affected group expressed certain reservations of the policy, saying that this punishment inadvertently takes away the right of children to go to school and that there is no helmet storage in class. They suggested other punishments such as sending them to traffic safety classes or doing community service at schools.
Source: dtinews, 11 March, 2016.
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Related news: Traffic accidents cause $13 million of damage every day
14 March, 2016 – Thua Thien-Hue Province
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Families of traffic accident victims commemorate their lost loved ones.
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Traffic accidents cause a loss of VND 250-300 billion (USD 11.22-13.46 million) a day in Vietnam, equivalent to 2.2-2.9 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, said Executive Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee Dr. Khuat Viet Hung on Sunday, citing WHO’s reports.
In the first two months of this year, Vietnam saw 3,618 traffic accidents, a reduction by 489 cases over the same period last year. 1,590 people were killed and 3,367 injured.
On this occasion, leaders of the National Traffic Safety Committee, other agencies, and businesses gave presents to the families of traffic accident victims, helmets to local residents, and life jackets to students who have to go to school by boat.
Source: SGGP English edition, 14 March, 2016.
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Students engage in extracurricular activities to reinforce road safety skills
10 March, 2016 — Phnom Penh
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Students from Sothearos Primary School engage in an interactive game meant to reinforce their knowledge of road safety and helmet use.
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AIP Foundation, with support from Manulife Cambodia, delivered extracurricular road safety activities to approximately 150 students from Sothearos Primary School this month. The activities focused on the importance of helmet use and involved a drawing contest, question and answer games, and pedestrian, bicycle, and motor-vehicle safety lessons. The students were enthusiastic about learning life-saving skills and were committed to sharing these road safety lessons with their family and peers.
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AIP Foundation presents on successes at the annual meeting of the Road Safety Network
11 March, 2016 — Phnom Penh
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Mr. Kim Pagna makes a presentation to gathered governors, private sector stakeholders, and development partners.
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At the Annual Meeting of the Road Safety Network, an initiative organized by the Coalition for Road Safety (CRY), AIP Foundation presented the new rates of helmet-wearing among drivers and passengers in Cambodia as a result of the
Head Safe. Helmet On. project. At the meeting, Cambodia Country Director Mr. Kim Pagna also urged for support from government and private stakeholders in taking initiative in passenger helmet-use campaigns at the national and sub-national levels and to direct the public's attention toward this crucial topic, especially as it concerns child passengers.
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Parents included in road safety trainings
11, 12, 18, 19, 22 and 23 March, 2016 — Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Kampong Speu Provinces
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A training course leader demonstrates proper helmet use to a crowd of parents and their children.
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In March, parents at the 18 target primary schools for the USAID-DIV-sponsored
Head Safe. Helmet On. program took part in a training course focused on road safety, proper helmet use, and the importance of parental involvement in child road safety. The training courses took place in Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Kampong Speu Provinces. At the trainings, parents made commitments to always put helmets on their children when they get on a motorcycle, irrespective of expected travel distance or time. The training also conveyed information to parents on the status of the new traffic law mandating all motorcycle passengers wear helmets.
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Manulife Cambodia encourages mothers to invest in road safety
17 March, 2016 — Phnom Penh
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Attendees of the forum focus on vital messages for themselves and their families.
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In support of International Women’s Day, which occurred on March 8th, AIP Foundation organized a “Mothers and Helmet Use” forum at Sothearos Primary School. The forum represents a vital part of the
Helmets for Families project sponsored by Manulife Cambodia. The mothers in attendance received information about the broader ramifications of the new passenger helmet use law, the toll that road crashes take on society and families, the relationship between helmet use and injury prevention, and the role that mothers have in encouraging helmet use among their family members.
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Cambodian civil society representatives renew their call for stricter implementation of the new Road Traffic Law
18 March, 2016 – Phnom Penh
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Stakeholders address the government in their call for a return to the initial provisions of the Road Traffic Law.
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AIP Foundation, along with six other NGOs working on road safety in Cambodia, have recently re-emphasized their stance on the new Road Traffic Law by updating a joint statement that was previously issued at a press conference in late January and submitting it to the Royal Government of Cambodia. The joint statement urged the government to focus on implementing stringent, targeted law enforcement; retain the license provision for 125cc motorcycle riders; support public awareness campaigns; and, throughout this process, consult key road safety stakeholders as well as the public. The conference was attended by 40 participants and was covered by local and international media as well as a Cambodian TV channel.
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AIP Foundation partners with Automobile Association of Cambodia for an inaugural
Helmets for Kids ceremony
26 March, 2016 – Kampong Cham Province, Cambodia
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Students and representatives of AAC and AIP Foundation celebrate the end of a successful day of traffic simulations, road safety lessons, and helmet-donating.
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This month 404 helmets were donated to students of Trapiang Kork Primary School in Cambodia’s Kampong Cham Province, a school notorious for its high levels of yearly road injuries. This is the first collaboration between AIP Foundation and Automobile Association of Cambodia (AAC), an organization established in 2010 and a member of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
The helmet donation, along with a ceremony and road safety activities, aimed to promote helmet use among students and encourage them to be responsible motorcycle passengers and future drivers. This effort comes at an important time in Cambodian road safety, considering National Road Safety Week will be celebrated in the second week of April.
The President of Automobile Association of Cambodia and the CEO of Automobile Association of Singapore, along with other representatives of AAC and several from AIP Foundation, were joined by the Under-Secretary of State of the Ministry of Interior, a representative of the Automobile Association of Singapore (AAS), students, teachers, and parents, as well as community members and local authorities.
For more information on this event, read the Press Release here.
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Related news: Stricter enforcement of new traffic law will begin today
15 March, 2016
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While the new Road Traffic Law has been in effect since January, full enforcement had not yet come into effect until this month.
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After focusing their efforts on educating drivers about the traffic law for the past two and a half months, police will begin strict enforcement of the new rules today, imposing fines and punishments on offending motorists, the National Road Safety Committee announced on Friday.
“From March 15, 2016, traffic police will increase the inspection and strict implementation of the law for those not wearing helmets, speeding, driving under the influence of alcohol, not driving in the correct lane, [driving] overloaded or poorly-loaded transport vehicles and [driving] vehicles in unsafe condition,” reads a statements signed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng.
Run Rathveasna, director of the National Police’s Public Order Department, said today will mark a turning point with a shift from issuing warnings to enforcing the law.
Source: The Cambodia Daily, 15 March, 2016.
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88 students recognized as Road Safety Ambassadors
15 March, 2016 -- Songkhla, Thailand
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Student ambassadors perform on stage for a road-safety-themed competition during the ceremony.
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AIP Foundation, in partnership with Chevron Thailand Exploration and Production, organized an event to acknowledge the efforts of 88 student Road Safety Ambassadors in Thailand’s Songkhla Province. The ceremony is part of a broader
Street Wise project aimed at increasing the awareness of road safety dangers and the fluency in preventative skills among Songkhla’s students.
At the event, there was a presentation on the achievements of
Street Wise in 2015 to the gathered stakeholders in efforts to receive feedback and recommendations for the future success of its programming. In addition, the recognition ceremony honored 88 students who had chosen to become Road Safety Ambassadors at five schools in Singhanakhon District. These student leaders help cultivate familiarity with road safety tools among their peers and community members and play an integral part in the
Street Wise goals. A road safety-themed contest was included in the activities of the day to further engage these students.
From an initial rate of only 3% of students wearing helmets prior to implementation of
Street Wise, the latest monitoring has shown that 33% of students are now wearing helmets in Singhanakhon District.
For more information on this event, see the Press Release here.
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Stakeholders' meeting reflects on
Walk Wise program and looks to future improvements
March 25, 2016 – Kai County
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Gathered stakeholders from various schools come together to share their experiences as part of the
Walk Wise program.
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AIP Foundation recently held a Phase 4 stakeholder meeting for its
Walk Wise program in Kai County, China. Principals and school safety officers from 20 project schools were in attendance at the meeting, which aimed to review the program's previous successes while also looking at what could be revised.
Mr. Li, an official from the Kai County Education Committee, gave the introductory speech, in which he conveyed his thanks to AIP Foundation for providing road safety curriculum and yellow caps to protect the schools’ students. This education, he said, had gone a long way in improving the behaviors of the students.
AIP Foundation's China Manager, Xiaoyan Xu, acknowledged that even the parents’ road behaviors were changing as a result of this type of educational intervention.
At the meeting, AIP Foundation China staff also introduced the
School Zone Traffic Modification Manual and application. These tools will help project schools modify traffic conditions in the area surrounding their campuses. In addition, Taiyuan Primary School and Baiquan Primary School also gave speeches that chronicled the
Walk Wise implementation they had overseen.
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Video shows the unsettling dangers of Chinese roads
21 March, 2016 – Weifang, China
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This video contains graphic imagery. Viewer discretion is advised.
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A graphic and disturbing video out of Weifang, China, was released this month illustrating the manifold hazards that motorists face there on the roads. In the video, a motorcyclist making an illegal turn is hit at an intersection by a car traveling at a notably fast speed. While the motorist did disregard traffic rules, his injuries came about in large part due to the car's speeding. Most unsettling, however, is that the car kept on going, leaving the man in the middle of the street, wounded.
Source: Epoch Times, 21 March, 2016.
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