Vietnam: Mandatory motorcycle laws and children

In 2007, Vietnam passed sweeping legislation that required all riders of motorcycles to wear helmets at all times and on all highways. This law was passed in response to escalating numbers of deaths and injuries that were occurring to motorcycle riders. The law made no specific exemptions for children, however, but in Vietnam because of a national Ordinance for Administrative Sancations, children under 14 years of age cannot be sanctioned or penalized. Children between 14 and 15 years old can only be given warnings, and those 16-18 can be penalized but are fined at half the rates of adults. There is no provision for penalties for the adult responsible for a child not wearing a helmet. This is in contrast to other countries such as Australia, Malaysia and Cambodia.

Teams of observers from the Ministry of Health and the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation observed helmet wearing for adults and children on motorcycles in four major cities in Vietnam: Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Can Tho. Nearly 19 000 obeservations were made of helmet use and approximate age of riders. In some locations, specific information on attitudes towards helmet wearing was also collected. In addition 4189 respondents were interviewed to gather information on demographic characteristics, knowledge about correct use of helmets, and opinions on child helmet use.

Results: The percentage of adults wearing motorcycle helmets ranged from 90% in Hanoi to 99% in Da Nang. The percentage of children wearing helmets was consideraby lower. It ranged from about 34% for those under 7 years old to 23% for children who were 8 to 14 years old in Hanoi; 28% and 52%, respectively, in Ho Chi Minh City; and 53% and 54%, respectively, in Can Tho. In Da Nang, where observations were made only for children who looked older than 14 years, a helmet wearing rate of 30% was reported .

Motorcycle riders knew little about the penalties that applied under the helmet law. An average of 42% riders indicated that penalties did apply to the motorcycle driver when children are not wearing helmets. Another 32% of the riders did not know if there were any penalties. Further surveys of the riders indicated that over 82% felt that helmets were safe and effective for children in preventing injury and 61% felt that children should wear helmets.

Conclusions: Although the universal helmet law has had a positive impact on increasing adult helmet use in Vietnam, parallel progress has not been made for children. Part of this may be due to persistent misinformaion that helmets may cause spinal and neck injuries in children. In addition, the seeming loophole in enforcing the universal law for children has limited helmet use. Several collaborative efforts between governmental, nongovernmental, and the international organizations such at WHO are underway to change the law and to promote helmet use for children.

Pervin A,Passmore J,Sidik M et al. Viet Nam’s mandatory motorcycle helmet law and its impact on children. Bull World Health Organ 2009;87:369–373.

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