 |
|
Global Newsletter July 2016 |
 |
|
Dear Friends and Supporters, The media is critical in spreading messages of road safety, and this month we spent time educating key stakeholders on the powerful positive impact of well-placed messages. For example, with support from the World Health Organization as part of the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety, we hosted a two-day workshop in Bangkok on how to leverage the media to enact policy change. In collaboration with FIA Foundation and as part of the “Agents for Change” program, we also helped journalists in Phnom Penh hone their road safety reporting skills. This month was also an exciting one in terms of AIP Foundation’s own outreach, as we were selected as one of the finalists in the donation platform GlobalGiving’s 7th annual photo contest. We received an outpouring of support from our online network and ended up placing third in our category – thank you to those who voted! Read on to learn more about our unique public awareness campaigns and program developments, as well as new reports published by major players in the road safety community. Kind regards, Mirjam Sidik
|
Table of Contents |
Global |
|
|
|
Vietnam |
|
|
|
|
Cambodia |
|
|
|
|
Thailand |
|
|
|
China |
|
|
Employment Opportunities
|
Global |
|
Photo of the month – Helmets for Kids photo selected as Finalist in GlobalGiving contest!
GlobalGiving, a U.S.-based online fundraising platform for nonprofits, recently selected AIP Foundation’s submission as one of 73 finalists in its 7th annual photo contest. The contest was open to the public for a week this month; the Helmets for Kids photo earned a third place finish in its category and came tenth overall. Thanks to all those who voted in the contest! To learn more about AIP Foundation’s online fundraising presence or to make a donation yourself, visit our GlobalGiving profile. 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! |
|
CDC highlights staggering road crash death rates in U.S.
As part of its monthly Vital Signs communications series, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cited that the U.S. has the highest rate of crash deaths per 100,000 people compared to 19 other high-income countries. In 2013, the U.S. lost 18,000 lives and more than 213 million USD compared to the average rates of other countries analyzed. Click here to read the CDC's full post, view infographics, and explore its resources. |
|
UNICEF, FIA Foundation release report examining road safety and child poverty
Rights of Way: Child Poverty & Road Traffic Injury in the SDGs, a new report published by UNICEF and the FIA Foundation, and as part of the Global Initiative for Child Health and Mobility, explores how road crash injuries perpetuate child poverty worldwide. The publication includes case studies in countries lacking adequate road safety standards such as Tanzania and Thailand, as well as success stories in Brazil and South Korea. The report connects its findings the United Nations' (UN) Sustainable Development Goals, of which road safety has been made a priority. It suggests that creating safe travel routes to schools and emphasizing pedestrian safety in city planning will significantly increase the quality-of-life of children worldwide. UNICEF and FIA Foundation released the report at the UN Habitat III planning conference in Surabaya, Indonesia. For more information on the conference and report, click here. Read the full report here. |
|
Related news: McDonald’s removes burgers on Ramadan for road safety
Source: Dubai Chronicle, 4 July, 2016. This Ramadan McDonald’s Arabia want you to focus on your road safety. Traditionally, negligent driving is one of the negative consequences of the lifestyle changes for Muslims across the world during this time of the year. Accustomed to different working and sleeping hours and eating habits is not easy for many people. It takes a toll on their ability to concentrate and on their attention to detail, their patience. Therefore, McDonald’s large alarming red billboards have been designed with the aim to sharpen drivers’ attention. Moreover, the advertising campaign’s shade of red color is not the cheerful bright red usually used for promoting mega sales. The chosen color resembles the color of blood and it sends shivering associations to your mind. Although McDonald’s promotional strategy is very different from anything you typically expect from fast food brands, it is without a doubt memorable and refreshing. Read the full article here. |
|
Related News: UN chief launches first report to track Sustainable Development Goals
Source: UN News Centre, 19 July, 2016 Launching the first-ever Sustainable Development Goals report on the new global development agenda adopted last year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today said that the 15-year undertaking is “off to a good start” but will require all parts of the UN family and its partners to work together. “We must all learn, in national governments, in local authorities, in business and civil society, and also at the United Nations, to think differently,” he said, also underscoring the need to break down silos, not only between the economic, social and environmental aspects of development, but also between government institutions, between different levels of government and between the public and private sectors. The Forum is the UN’s central platform for the follow-up and review of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted last September by 193 Member State. Road safety is included in Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages; and can be found on page 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals Report. Read the full article here. |
|
Related news: How the human body would have to be built to survive a catastrophic car crash
Source: bbc.com, 22 July, 2016. How would the human body need to be built to survive a road crash? To answer that question, meet Graham, a sculpture recently created by the Australian government that depicts the super-human traits needed to withstand such trauma. Patricia Piccinini, a Melbourne-based sculptor, collaborated with a surgeon and a road safety engineer to build the model that shows just how vulnerable our bodies are. Read the full article here. |
Vietnam |
|
Traffic Safety Night showcases the lighter side of road safety
Road safety is a serious topic, but sometimes even the most serious topic would do well to get an injection of fun in order to engage a broader base of people. This was in play in Tinh Hai Commune of Thanh Hoa Province this month thanks to a broader project sponsored by Nghi Son Refinery & Petrochemical Company (NSRP). Around 600 people gathered to enjoy road-safety-themed presentations, comedy shorts, and even a magic show. The more upbeat elements of the event were combined with airings of short films that featured footage from rush hour at so-called "hot spots" in the commune, or areas that are notorious for their road risks. These shorts were filmed by locals themselves, with the guidance of AIP Foundation, and served to detail how close-to-home the issue of road safety is. A facilitator was also on hand to highlight certain dangerous behaviors and ask questions of the audience, who live in a heavily industrial zone. To view more pictures from the event, click here. |
|
Industrial workers learn about on-the-job on road safety
Sixty workers from the Nghi Son Refinery and Petrochemicals (NSRP) plant attended an intensive driving skills course at the Lilama Weld Training School in Tinh Gia, Thanh Hoa. A trainer from the Thanh Hoa Vocational School of Transportation led the course and shared information on road safety issues in Vietnam. He also discussed decree 46, a new law that will go into effect on August 1st, 2016, which will fine industrial workers for participating in unsafe driving behavior. The class is just one aspect of a project between the NSRP and AIP Foundation that aims to decrease traffic crashes and resultant deaths in the community surrounding the Nghi Son Industrial Zone. |
|
Related news: Motorcycles culpable for most Ho Chi Minh City road crashes
Source: Viet Nam News, 14 July, 2016. Motorcycles were the main cause of road crashes in Ho Chi Minh City in the first six months of the year, a meeting on traffic safety heard Tuesday afternoon. The meeting was co-organized by the National Traffic Safety Committee and Ho Chi Minh City’s Traffic Safety Board to discuss efforts to ensure traffic safety in the southern city. Speaking at the meeting, Nguyen Ngoc Tuong, Vice Chairman of the Traffic Safety Board, said that, of the 1,830 road crashes in the city in the first half of the year, motorcycles accounted for 75.5%, while crashes involving trucks and cars were 7.9% and 10.3% respectively. “An average of 850 new motorcycles and 180 new cars are registered per day,” he said. The number of fatalities was 396, including deaths from road and railway crashes, a 14% increase from the same period last year. Read the full article here. |
|
Related news: Transforming a motorcycle city: the long wait for Hanoi’s metro
Source: The Guardian, 18 July, 2016. Hanoi, a city with more motorcycles than households, has to contend with heavy congestion and frequent road crashes. In recent years, studies have named it among the worst cities in Asia for air pollution. In May this year, Vietnamese media reported that the US embassy’s air quality monitor in Hanoi registered a “hazardous” spike in particulate matter, reportedly reaching a level seven times that recommended by the World Health Organization. Though the government hopes the metro can tackle both road safety and environmental issues at once, the project has faced numerous delays and setbacks. What’s more, convincing Hanoians to give up their motorcycles could turn out to be the biggest challenge yet. Read the full article here. |
Cambodia |
|
Cambodian delegation studies successful road safety intervention techniques from Thai neighbors
In our June newsletter, we covered the “Commune of Excellence in Helmet Use” competition, which, with the support of The UPS Foundation, highlighted the efforts of three Cambodian communes in changing the status quo of unsafe driving in their areas. This month, in recognition of their consistent work in building safer road habits in their communities, representatives of the winning communes were invited on a study tour to Thailand, where they were joined by representatives of AIP Foundation Cambodia and the Cambodian National Road Safety Committee. The study tour was organized around the aim of sharing specific program interventions and lessons learned within a Thai context with the Cambodian delegation, in hopes of inspiring new approaches and strategies when they return home. The Cambodian delegation learned firsthand how local Thai authorities and community members promote passenger helmet use, how they fund their programming, and the mechanisms of road safety committees at the provincial and district levels, as well as how crucial law enforcement is in supporting improvements in motorcycle helmet use behaviors. One concrete step delegation members agreed upon after learning more about organizational management on the trip was the issuing of internal regulations that require their commune council members, commune staff, and village authority members to wear helmets. For more information on the “Commune of Excellence in Helmet Use”, read the press release here. |
|
Concerted efforts continue in involving journalists in making Cambodian roads safer
AIP Foundation, in collaboration with FIA Foundation as part of the “Agents for Change” program, has coordinated a workshop for a group of 35 journalists to further hone their skills in delivering high-quality reporting on the subject of helmet use and road safety. This workshop built on similar efforts undertaken since 2015 to increase helmet use rates in Cambodia, especially among passengers and children. Its main aims were to assess the current state of road safety following the January 1st, 2016, start of enforcement of the new Road Traffic Law and the subsequent quality of media coverage on this enforcement. In addition, the workshop continued to build the expertise of journalists in accurate, engaging reporting on these issues. |
|
Related news: Driver error leading cause of road traffic accidents in Cambodia
Source: voacambodia.com, 29 June, 2016. Human error is the leading cause of road crashes in Cambodia, and young people on motorcycles make up the largest number of deaths on the nation’s roads, where 1,108 fatalities were recorded in the first six months of 2016. Young adults between the age of 15 and 34 years old accounted for 60% of the total number of reported road crash deaths in the first half of 2016. Motorcyclists accounted for 73% of all fatalities, while pedestrians accounted for 10% of road crash deaths. Read the full article here. |
|
Related news: Traffic accidents are leading cause of death in Cambodia
Source: Voice of America, 4 July, 2016. Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death in Cambodia, destroying not only lives but national morale, dignity, property, and development efforts, a road safety expert told the Hello VOA call-in program on Wednesday. In 2015, traffic accidents killed 2,265 people and injured more than 15,000, 40% of whom were seriously injured, said Ear Chariya, director of Cambodia’s Institute for Road Safety. Traffic accidents remain the leading killer in Cambodia and one of the major challenges for national development, he added. According to a 2013 study by U.S.-based Handicap International, traffic accidents cost the government $337 million that year, equal to about 3% of gross domestic product. Read the full article here. |
Thailand |
|
Legal Development Program welcomes 10 new members
Ten experts with experience in law, media, policy, and advocacy recently joined the Legal Development Program (LDP), a project aiming to strengthen road safety policy and enforcement in Thailand. New members include professionals from the Royal Thai Police and government officials working for key road safety stakeholders such as the Transport Safety Bureau and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation. The group now has 14 total members. The LDP program is supported by the World Health Organization as part of the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety. |
|
Workshop challenges professionals to engage media in changing road safety norms
The first "Media for Policy Influence" workshop was recently hosted by AIP Foundation, with the support of the World Health Organization, as part of the Bloomberg Initiative for Global Road Safety’s Legal Development Program (LDP). The focus of the workshop was to hone LDP members’ understanding of how to successfully influence the media to advocate for policy change in the area of road safety. The workshop spanned two days and brought together professionals from a variety of different backgrounds spanning law enforcement, law, academia, and journalism, including representative from the Royal Thai Police and the Transport Safety Bureau. The workshop ended with the gathered LDP members laying out their program plan for the remainder of 2016. The next workshop will take place in mid-August, and, in preparation for this event, the three groups formed in this initial workshop will put their newfound skills to use in crafting a media campaign around key issues, such as increasing seat belt use. To view videos of three workshop participants delivering their road safety messages, please click one of the following issues (all are in Thai): Improved road signage; Reducing urban speed limits; Reducing urban speed limits (motorcycle focus). |
|
Songkhla police, school officials plan road safety programs
Representatives from the Provincial Police Division of Songkhla and the Wichieanchom School convened this month to discuss how to cooperate on the implementation of the Street Wise program, a program supported by Chevron, within their jurisdiction, specifically on a series of extracurricular activities planned for later in the year. The meeting represents just one example of how the community is coming together and working in new ways to promote road safety among its members and create lasting change. |
China |
|
Walk Wise program reaches out to under-served children on summer holiday
Over the past three years, AIP Foundation has consistently delivered quality road safety education to schools throughout Kai County as part of the Walk Wise project. This month, however, the program partnered with local nonprofit Chongqing Youth Aid Volunteer Organization to focus their efforts on children from previously overlooked and under-served communities, including those from low-income families. A group of sixteen volunteers made the journey to remote areas of the county during the hottest season of the year to educate children who had stayed in their local communities over the summer holiday. The volunteers, who engaged the children with interactive games and videos, saw firsthand that their knowledge of road safety was poor and that they were not receiving consistent road safety education in the context of their schooling. The volunteers hope to ultimately reach 100 students through these efforts and work towards raising the road safety knowledge of the entire community. |
 |