Following the direction of the National Traffic Safety Committee, the Da Nang Traffic Safety Committee has just coordinated with Vital Strategies - A Global Public Health Organizationt - to launch the campaign "Slow down for the future of children".

The campaign aims to promote awareness and behaviour of drivers nationwide about controlling vehicle speed according to regulations when participating in traffic, and at the same time, spread the campaign's message: “Pedestrians or cyclists who are hit at a speed of less than 30km/h will have a 90% chance of survival”.

According to Deputy Chief of Office of the city’s Traffic Safety Committee Le Tang, in recent years, the number of traffic accidents in Viet Nam has always been controlled and decreased in terms of cases, deaths and injuries.

However, the consequences of traffic accidents have affected the achievements of economic growth and damaged the image of a safe and friendly country in the eyes of friends and partners.

Everyone should strictly comply with the law on traffic safety and order, voluntarily give way and help each other when participating in traffic to build a safe and civilized traffic environment, he added.

The campaign "Go slow for the future of children" aims to not only reduce traffic accident numbers but also build sustainable awareness in the community, contributing to well implementing the city’s goal of safe and sustainable development.

Recently, the Office of Education and Training of Hai Chau District has directed relevant units and schools to seriously implement the teaching of traffic safety in extracurricular activities, and organise experiential activities and career guidance within the time frame of extracurricular lessons.

Relevant units and schools have encouraged parents to sign a commitment not to give motorbikes to their children who are not of legal age or do not have a driver's licence (for senior high school students). Meanwhile, pupils have been asked to wear helmets and not use mobile phones when riding motorbikes, scooters, and electric bicycles and motorbikes.

It is known that 1.19 million people worldwide die in road traffic crashes every year. Driving at excessive speed is the leading cause of collisions, especially for children who are vulnerable due to their limited height, making it difficult for drivers to see, as well as their ability to perceive the surrounding environment is still in the process of development.

Through monitoring, the spreading effect of the campaign "Go slow for the future of children" is very positive. Only after a period of implementation, public awareness of participating in traffic safety has improved.

Meanwhile, the local transport sector has actively got involved in placing billboards; printing leaflets to propagate the implementation of traffic safety regulations to distribute directly to parents and students; installing a surveillance camera system with the function of automatically detecting violations of traffic safety in front of the school gate; and integrating the recognition of license plates of violating vehicles displayed on the LED screen combined with the voice sound emitted from the loudspeaker (mounted in front of the school gate, where the driver can see and hear) to notify, propagate, remind vehicles with signs of violations to move elsewhere, minimise speed and traffic congestion in front of the school gate area and transfer violation data to the authorities for handling.

Ms. Irina Morozova, Director of Traffic Safety Communication Programme of the Vital Strategies, expressed that the campaign was developed based on research, data and the actual situation of each locality, to ensure feasibility and the highest efficiency. Vital Strategies has supported more than 100 road safety campaigns in 27 cities in 14 priority countries worldwide. In Viet Nam, the campaign has been carried out in Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

Reporting by GIA MINH - Translating by M.DUNG