Mr. Tran Huu Minh (Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee) said that in order for traffic safety education in schools to be effective, there must be mandatory exams for students.
Police check a case of a student violating traffic laws - Photo: HONG QUANG
"Solutions to improve traffic safety for motorcyclists in Vietnam" was the topic discussed on the morning of February 12 at a meeting of the Center for Health Consulting and Community Development in coordination with the National Traffic Safety Committee.
The event took place in the context that motorbikes are playing the main role as a means of transportation for the majority of Vietnamese people, with about 77 million vehicles registered by the end of 2024.
"Improving safety for motorcyclists is a matter of great significance to millions of people who use this vehicle every day," according to the National Traffic Safety Committee.
Motorcycles are involved in 65%-70% of accidents.
According to Mr. Le Kim Thanh (Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee), it is forecasted that by 2030 and the following years, motorbikes will likely remain the preferred choice, playing an important role in people's lives and livelihoods.
The reasons are that road infrastructure conditions are still inadequate, personal income is still quite low and public transport services in provinces and cities do not meet travel needs.
Citing Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as examples, Mr. Thanh said that these are the two localities with the most developed transport infrastructure systems in the country, however the public transport system only meets about 10-15% of travel needs.
Meanwhile, road density per land area and the number of buses per million people are still many times lower than in other Asian cities.
"If the expansion of road networks and public transport continues at the current rate, in the next 10 years, the provision of infrastructure and public transport services will still be very low compared to other cities in the region," said Mr. Thanh.
Mr. Le Kim Thanh (Vice Chairman of the National Traffic Safety Committee) spoke at the meeting - Photo: HONG QUANG
As a main means of transportation and with many advantages, motorbikes are also considered to have disadvantages in terms of comfort and safety features that are not as high as cars...
According to statistics from the authorities, motorbikes are involved in about 65%-70% of accidents. "Of course, it must be affirmed that not all of them are caused by motorbikes, in many of these cases the motorbike rider is the victim," said Mr. Le Kim Thanh.
The testing program has not met
Mr. Tran Huu Minh (Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee) said that many families with 1-2 cars still have to use motorbikes to serve the roads that cars cannot go.
Raising some safety issues, Mr. Minh emphasized factors affecting children.
In particular, students riding electric motorbikes and electric bicycles is an issue that needs to be considered. "Adults with a driver's license are allowed to ride motorbikes, but children with insufficient knowledge are still allowed to drive similar vehicles, so the risk of accidents is very high," according to the Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee.
Mr. Tran Huu Minh - Chief of Office of the National Traffic Safety Committee - speaking at the meeting - Photo: HONG QUANG
Another important thing is that the current motorcycle driving license training and testing program still lacks a lot of content on handling situations, while this is a disadvantaged and vulnerable group.
For example, in the practical test, for many years the testing agency still requires students to drive in figure 8 and figure 3 while in reality on the road there are trucks, cars and many other dangerous situations.
This shows that the training program does not meet the current practical context.
In addition, there are currently no regulations against transporting children under 6 years old without helmets. At the same time, there are no helmet standards for children when riding on motorbikes or scooters.
Therefore, Mr. Tran Huu Minh suggested that the management agency should supplement the training program and test for driver's license. In particular, the education sector needs to develop a specific process for traffic safety training in schools. "For education to be effective, it is necessary to have a mandatory assessment test for students," according to Mr. Minh.
In addition, the completion of the vehicle database system, linked to the owner's address, is also proposed to be accelerated. From there, it is possible to effectively implement the cold penalty for motorbike drivers, ensuring that the law is strictly and fairly enforced.
Regarding the current state of infrastructure, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Hoai Nam (representative of the research team of the University of Construction) said that the traffic environment in Vietnam still lacks lane separation, and there are many large trucks and container trucks entering urban roads. Many accidents have occurred with motorbikes in this mixed traffic situation.
"There should be standards for separate lanes for trucks to pass through urban areas, other vehicles are not allowed to enter," Mr. Nam proposed.
The expert from the University of Construction explained that if this could be done, it would ensure both safety and "not have to ban trucks from passing through urban roads, which would greatly affect the economy."
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/de-xuat-dua-an-toan-giao-thong-vao-giang-day-tai-truong-hoc-va-co-bai-thi-danh-gia-20250212113948036.htm
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