HCMC – AIP Foundation, in collaboration with the National Traffic Safety Committee and the HCMC Department of Education and Training, on December 26 hosted a helmet handover ceremony at Tran Khai Nguyen High School, distributing 750 United Nations ECE 22.06 standard helmets to HCMC students.

The handover was part of the launch of the Empowering Safety program, supported by the Puma Energy Foundation.

Besides, the ceremony served as an opportunity to raise awareness of the life-saving importance of quality helmet use.

“We are proud to support the launch of the Empowering Safety program in Vietnam as we strongly advocate for safer streets and a safer future for all young people,” said Vincent Faber, executive director of the Puma Energy Foundation.

A representative of the municipal department of education said, “The HCMC Department of Education and Training is highly dedicated to ensuring that youth across the city have access to quality helmets that will protect them in a crash. We expect the meaningful initiative to expand to more schools across the city.”

The Empowering Safety program aims to increase the use of high-quality helmets in the community through the distribution of United Nations-standard ECE 22.06 helmets being produced in Vietnam.

A 2019 helmet study conducted by AIP Foundation in HCMC found that nearly 90% of surveyed helmets were substandard.

Meanwhile, Vietnam is stepping up efforts to crack down on low-quality helmets. In October this year, an intersectoral plan was launched to improve the effectiveness of the execution of quality helmet regulations across the country.

“One of the simplest and most effective measures that can be taken to prevent road fatalities is to use a helmet,” said Mirjam Sidik, chief executive officer at AIP Foundation.

The partnership between the Puma Energy Foundation and AIP Foundation contributes to the global Safe and Affordable Helmet Initiative in Vietnam that is implemented by the International Automobile Federation and Protec.