Vietnam: Helmet Ownership, Price, Affordability

During the years leading up to the implementation of recently implemented law in Vietnam that required nation-wide compulsory wearing of motorcycle helmets, public health and policy officials had some concerns. They didn’t know how many Vietnamese owned helmets, what helmets cost, and whether or not they were affordable for the average motorcycle rider. Also, in spite of having a national standard for helmet design, they didn’t know if the helmets available in Vietnam met that quality standard. Clearly, if there was little helmet ownership, or if the quality of available helmets was poor, or if the average motorcycle owner couldn’t afford to own a helmet, the success of the new law requiring helmet wearing was going to be limited.

A team of researchers from the George Institute for International Health in Sydney decided to answer these questions by undertaking a survey on a random sample of about 800 motorcyclists in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam, about 60 kms from Hanoi. Motorcyclists at petrol stations were stopped and asked about their socioeconomic level, their helmet, the cost of their helmet as well as what they would be willing to pay for a helmet, The researchers also examined their helmets to determine if they met the safety standard. While only 25% of the motorcyclists interviewed were wearing or carrying a helmet, nearly 95% claimed to own a helmet. For those that didn’t own a helmet they said that they “did not own a motorcycle” or they only took short trips, and most motorcycle operators said that they didn’t have helmets for each of the riders and passengers in their households. The discrepancy between reported helmet use and ownership underscores the low compliance with the existing voluntary Vietnamese helmet laws in place at the time of the survey.

Less than 5% of the helmets examined met the safety standard, meaning that the helmets did not have proper labeling or meet other administrative requirements (i.e., size or date of manufacture markings). It appeared to the researchers, however, that most helmets seem to have construction that conferred crash protection.

The most surprising finding of this study was that there seemed to be no association between a motorcyclist’s income and the actual purchase price of the helmets. Poorer motorcyclists were not more likely to own cheaper helmets, and likewise, wealthier ones didn’t always own the most expensive models. Motorcyclists with higher incomes, however, were more likely to purchase more helmets for household members.

Authors’ conclusions: Although the prevalence of helmet use is low, there are high ownership rates. While some motorcyclists may have limited access to a helmet, this was most apparent among household riders, rather than operators. The biggest problem seemed to be that because of helmet price not all riders in a household had their own helmets. The authors suggested that helmets needed to be more affordable so that all motorcycle passengers would own their own helmets.

NOTE: On 15 December, 2007, the law requiring all motorcyclists to use helmets went into effect, and according to reports, was vigorously enforced. Recent reports from Vietnam indicate that all motorcyclists – operators and passengers – were wearing helmets. We look forward to learning whether this trend will continue.

Hung DV, Stevenson MR, Ivers, RQ. Motorcycle helmets in Vietnam: ownership, quality, purchase price, and affordability. Traffic Inj Prev 2008; 9:135-43.

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