FINAL IMPLEMENTATION REPORT

SAFE KIDS WALK THIS WAY PROGRAM

2012-2013 SCHOOL YEAR

Prepared by

Asia Injury Prevention Foundation/ Safe Kids Vietnam

June 2013

2

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 3

II. General Information ............................................................................................................ 3

III. Accomplishments ................................................................................................................ 4

1. Program Activities:………………………………………………………………4

2. Program results…………………………………………………………………..5

IV. Conclusion and recommendations ..................................................................................... 18

3

I. Introduction

The Problem

Vietnam continued to experience rapid growth and motorization in

2012. Road traffic crashes are the leading cause of accidental death

for children and adolescents, who comprise 40 percent of the total

road traffic death toll per annum. Despite increased motorization,

walking remains an important mode of transport, particularly

amongst children. Road traffic injuries take an estimated 22,000 lives

every year. Of reported fatal road traffic crashes, nearly 15 percent

involve pedestrian road users.

Our Solution

Under such circumstances, Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation

engages the government, private sectors, and local communities in a

comprehensive road safety program designed to deal with these

barriers. Safe Kids Worldwide and FedEx have been integral

partners to AIP Foundation since 2002 and 2009, respectively. As

the implementing organization of Safe Kids Vietnam, AIP

Foundation dedicates its efforts to addressing pedestrian safety,

specifically among Vietnamese children. AIP Foundation imparts to

students, teachers, and communities life-saving traffic safety skills,

knowledge, and resources, creating a generation of safe and smart

road users that will lead Vietnam in the future.

II. General Information

This final report is commissioned to summarize and evaluate the activities undertaken under the agreed upon

framework of the Safe Kids Walk This Way program – a sponsorship of FedEx APAC through Safe Kids Worldwide

for the school year 2012– 2013.

Project Name

Safe Kids Walk This Way

Goals of the Project

To promote pedestrian safety among teachers, children, parents, and the local community

To encourage and inspire children to practice safe behavior on the roads

To involve the local community and government agencies to provide a sustainable and safe environment for

children

To make permanent infrastructure changes

To support the pedestrian safety-themed second UN Global Road Safety Week (May 6-12, 2013)

Quick Facts

In 2011, 43,786 reported road traffic crashes nationwide led to 10,950 reported deaths and 48,356 injuries.

Road traffic crashes cost Vietnam roughly USD 800 million each year.

Quick Facts

Sponsor: FedEx Express

17 FedEx volunteers and 104 university student volunteers

Direct beneficiaries: 21,619 students from 31 primary schools in Dong Nai Province, 32 primary and secondary schools in Binh Dinh Province and secondary schools in Ho Chi Minh City

Indirect beneficiaries: Community members Ho Chi Minh City

Program budget: $95,100

Program Duration: School year 2012-2013

4

Parties involved

The Ministry of Education and Training

The National Traffic Safety Committee

HCMC Department of Education and Training

HCMC Traffic Safety Committee

Dong Nai Department of Education and Training

Dong Nai Department of Transportation

Dong Nai Traffic Safety Committee

Binh Dinh Department of Education and Training

Binh Dinh Traffic Safety Committee

Local District People‟s Committees and ward‟s authorities.

Local Police Department

Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (known as Safe Kids Vietnam)

Safe Kids Worldwide

FedEx Asia Pacific

Project site

Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province

Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province

Ho Chi Minh City

Project duration

School year 2012 – 2013

III. Accomplishments

1. Program Activities:

a) Pedestrian and general road safety education support to Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province and Trang Bom

District, Dong Nai Province:

A Traffic Safety Park to provide primary school students with a controlled environment in which children

can practice the skills and situations they learn in the classroom

Pedestrian safety informational booklets

Reflective jackets for students to increase their visibility as they walk to and from school and around their

neighborhoods, especially at night

Helmets for students through Bicycle Helmet Subsidy activity

e-Curriculum Click on Safety software and technical support to primary schools in Phu My district

Training on pedestrian safety education for primary and secondary school teachers

Pedestrian safety training for primary and secondary school students

Extracurricular activities for primary and secondary school students

Pre- and post-tests to assess change in students‟ knowledge, attitude, and behaviors

b) Environmental modifications around schools in Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province and Phu My District,

Binh Dinh Province:

5

Installation of traffic calming measures in front of the six target schools in Phu My District, Binh Dinh

Province

Model School Zone pilot project at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School to improve pedestrian safety

for children by modifying the environment and sharing results of the initiative. The ultimate goal is to

demonstrate that the project can be effective and adapted to benefit children in countries of varying

resource-levels, despite the diversity of risks and issues surrounding school zones. The project in

Vietnam involves:

School selection based on certain program criteria, including location, school size, and pedestrian

safety needs

Organization of a working committee of stakeholders to ensure the integration and compliance of

governmental and school authorities

Baseline assessment to identify safety issues and opportunities for improvement

Development of an intervention plan with participation of local stakeholders

Interventions at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai School and the surrounding land in the school zone

Evaluation of the interventions to identify program strengths and lessons learned

c) Pedestrian campaign in Ho Chi Minh City:

Pedestrian Safety Photo Contest to raise pedestrian safety awareness among Ho Chi Minh City secondary

school students and community

"Safe Walking" event on May 11 aligned with UN Global Road Safety Week\

d) Media Activities:

Model School Zone Launch at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School

Six project handover ceremonies at each target school in Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province

“Safe Walking” pedestrian safety campaign event in Ho Chi Minh City

2. Program results

a) Model School Zone, Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province:

Model School Zone project was developed by Safe Kids Worldwide in support of the Decade of Action for

Road Safety 2011-2020. The ultimate goal is to demonstrate that the project can be effective and adapted to

benefit children in countries of varying resource-levels, despite the diversity of risks and issues surrounding

school zones. In Vietnam, Model School Zone was piloted in Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province to

improve pedestrian safety for children by modifying the environment and sharing results of the initiative.

Problem

School selection and baseline assessment identified Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School as a target

candidate for the Model School Zone. The 615 students attending the school faced dangerous walking

conditions on a daily basis travelling to and from school. Over 16 percent of students at the school

reported being hit by motor vehicles when walking in the vicinity of the school. The students came from

poor families with parents who work in manual labor. A high percentage of students walked to school

regularly, however the environmental structure in place did not provide sufficient safety for students to

cross the road or walk safely along the sidewalk. One of the major challenges the students faced on their

6

commutes to school was an uncovered drainage channel that ran along the sidewalk near the school,

forcing them to walk along the road in heavy traffic.

Interventions

To tackle these concerns, Safe Kids Vietnam conducted a number of interventions, including:

650 pedestrian safety educational books distributed to all students and teachers at Nguyen Thi Minh

Khai School in Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province

Five teaching toolkits distributed to Nguyen Thi Minh Khai School

615 reflective jackets provided to all students

Traffic safety murals painted on Nguyen Thi Minh Khai school walls to help students remember what

they learned in the classroom

Pedestrian training for teachers and students

Installation of traffic calming measures:

One set of warning traffic lights

Four school zone signs

Four speed limit signs

Four speed bumps

Three zebra crossings

Infrastructure modifications:

Coverage of 248 meters of drainage tunnel.

Reconstruction of 384 square meters of pavement

Before and after interventions

7

Information session for 300 parents on Sep 23, 2012 at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School

provided tips to parents on how to teach their children to stay safe when walking and when riding

bicycles, as well as sitting on the back of a motorbike. Parents gave positive feedback about the

content and reported feeling confident in applying the information from the session to teach their

children to be safer road users.

Model School Zone was launched at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School on October 18, marking

continuing commitment to improve pedestrian safety in Dong Nai Province. Teachers, students,

parents, and the media joined FedEx, Dong Nai Traffic Safety Committee, Department of Education

and Training, and Traffic Police representatives and four volunteers.

Model School Zone Launch

8

Extracurricular pedestrian safety event on January 29 at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary: 60

volunteers from Dong Nai University led 600 students in group art projects and class competitions,

and students showed off what they have learned about how to be smarter pedestrians.

Monitoring and evaluation

The Model School Zone post-assessment was conducted on December 28, 2012. The results

demonstrated an improvement in student behavior before and after the project interventions.

Observations indicated the percentage of students using the crosswalk has increased by 40 percentage

points and those using the sidewalk by 75 percentage points since implementation. In addition, reflective

jackets were used by 61 percent of students. These results were influenced by the increase in students‟

knowledge and a change in parents‟ perception of safety in the school zone. The number of parents who

reported being comfortable letting their child walk to school doubled.

From 2012 to 2013, Trang Bom traffic police reported a district-wide decrease in crash cases of 84

percent and in road deaths of 67 percent. Non-fatal injuries were reduced to zero.

20.2%

9.6%

59.7%

85.7%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Crosswalk Sidewalk

Percentage of crosswalk and sidewalk use

in pre and post assessment

PRE POST

27.8% 25.4% 24.4%

44.3%36.9% 35.8%

18.9%

21.8% 23.2%

6.3%12.1% 12.3%

2.7% 3.8% 4.3%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Pre (N=334) Post (N=339)* Post (N=422)**

Parents’ comfort to let child walk

Very comfortable

Comfortable

Neutral

Uncomfortable

Very uncomfortable

Extracurricular activities at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai School

9

b) Traffic Safety Park Practice, Trang Bom District, Dong Nai Province:

31 teachers from as many primary schools in Trang Bom district, Dong Nai province participated in a

capacity building training on November 16, 2012 to learn how to facilitate methodological practice at the

1,700m2 Traffic Safety Park. The Park was built in 2010 to provide a realistic and interactive setting for

students to practice pedestrian safety.

Between December 2012 and April 2013, trained teachers took turns bringing their students to the Traffic

Safety Park on Saturdays. Continuing at this pace, these practices will educate as many as 3,100 students.

Students were taught to use the park effectively to practice of safe road skills through various games. The

purpose of the course is to equip students with road safety skills and encourage them to practice safe road

behaviors.

On November 24, observations indicated a 17 percent reduction in mistakes made by students from their

first to their second practice session.

c) Binh Dinh Province:

Problem:

Phu My District, which ranks third in traffic accidents in Binh Dinh Province, was selected for expanding

WTW program for the 2012-2013 school year. The primary focus of the program is reducing traffic

Practices at the Traffic Safety Park

Capacity building training on Traffic Safety Park facilitation

10

accidents among schools located along National Highway 1A through pedestrian safety education and

environmental modifications.

On August 16, the orientation workshop for this new program was organized successfully with over 60

local participants, including provincial and district authorities, school administrators, teachers, parents,

media.

Stakeholders informed about WTW implementation procedure and ways they can become more

involved

Focus group discussions with key provincial, district, community, and school authorities secured the

relevance of interventions and accountability to stakeholders

Interventions:

16,000 pedestrian and bicyclist safety booklets distributed to all students and teachers of 30 primary

schools and two secondary schools in Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province

e-Learning Click on Safety software and technical support provided to 30 primary schools in Phu My

district, Binh Dinh Province

3,472 reflective jackets distributed to all students of the six target schools, including My Hiep 1, My

Hiep 2, My Phong, and My Chau 1 primary schools, as well as Phu My and My Hiep secondary

schools in Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province

3,472 helmets provided to all students of the six target schools in Phu My District, Binh Dinh

province through Bicycle Helmet Subsidy activity

Infrastructure and signage improvements, including warning traffic lights and zebra crossings,

installed in front of the six target schools.

At six helmet use trainings at each of the target schools on October 4, nearly 250 teachers learned the

three steps to put on a helmet properly, as helmets are only effective when worn with the chinstrap

buckled correctly and the helmet positioned appropriately on the head

Effective traffic safety teaching methods workshop on October 5 focused on new educational

methods, road safety information, and interactive teaching skills; 30 core teachers from 30 primary

schools practiced opening group discussions, raising questions, organizing games, incorporating

physical activities, and integrating their own personal experiences into their lesson plans

Walk This Way Orientation workshop

Traffic safety and helmet use trainings

11

On December 12 and 13, FedEx Express and Safe Kids Vietnam launched the Walk This Way

program at six primary and secondary schools in Binh Dinh Province

3,744 primary students and 1,817 secondary school students in Phu My District trained in basic

knowledge of traffic safety, including safe pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorcyclist behaviors from

February to April 2013

Extracurricular activities enabled students to understand the enormity of the traffic accident situation

and poor traffic culture in Vietnam, as well as learn to apply and practice safe road behaviors

Safe Kids Walk This Way Launch in Binh Dinh Province

Student trainings and extracurricular activities

12

Monitoring and evaluation:

The post-assessment in May 2013, including knowledge and behavior assessments and observations,

found:

Motorcycle helmet use rates at six target schools increased from approximately 26 to 90 percent

Bicycle helmet use rates at six target schools increased from approximately 0.4 to 80 percent

Students wearing reflective jackets when travelling on the road increased from 0 to 69 percent

According to school reports, there were 15 students involved in road traffic crashes at the six target

schools in the school year 2010-2011 and 19 in school year 2011-2012. In school year 2012-2013, no

students were reported to be involved in road crashes.

d) Ho Chi Minh City:

From January 2013 to May 2013, Safe Kids Vietnam organized a photo contest to highlight the challenges

that pedestrians face in Ho Chi Minh City, culminating with a walking event on May 11. This pedestrian

Behavior observations

13

campaign aimed to:

Increase awareness of pedestrian safety among students and the community in Ho Chi Minh City

Support the second UN Global Road Safety Week 2013 with the theme: “Pedestrian Safety”

Pedestrian photo contest:

In partnership with HCMC DOET and HCMC TSC, the pedestrian safety photo contest website was

launched to engage secondary school students from all 24 districts in Ho Chi Minh City. Secondary

students participated in the contest by logging on to the contest‟s website, reading information about

pedestrian safety, completing pedestrian quiz, taking photos of their surroundings, and submitting

these photos through the website. Photo contest lasted from March 1 to May 11, 2013.

The photo contest website was linked to Facebook. All photos were posted to Facebook for public

voting for the top 100 photos; voting also occurred on the contest website. A panel of judges selected

the winning photos from these 100 finalists. Six winners were awarded valuable prizes, including an

iPad, cameras, and iPods.

Over two months, pedestrian photo contest website attracted 16,461 page views, 2,343 registered

accounts, 542 comments; 311 students completed the pedestrian quiz, and contestants reporting

knowing how to walk safely increased from 0.7 to 98 percent.

Walking event:

More than 1,000 people, including the Chief Secretariat of Vietnam's National Traffic Safety Committee

and the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Public Security, Ho Chi Minh City authorities, and 13 FedEx

volunteers, joined "Safe Walking" event on May 11, 2013.

Focused community's attention on risks pedestrians face when walking on the road and raised

awareness of the need for improved pedestrian safety, the theme of the United Nations' second

Global Road Safety Week (May 6-12)

Pedestrian photo contest website images

14

Route began and finished at the Youth Cultural House, passing through Ho Chi Minh City's main

streets, including Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Hai Ba Trung, Le Duan, and Pham Ngoc Thach

Photo exhibition opening for 60 photos that received the most Facebook "likes" were displayed at the

Youth Cultural House from May 11-16

Award ceremony for winners who received valuable prizes, including iPad, cameras, and iPods

The walk

Awarding ceremony

15

Monitoring and Evaluation

Over two months, Pedestrian Photo contest website attracted 16,461 page views, 2,343 registered

accounts, 542 comments; 311 students completed the pedestrian quiz, and contestants reporting

knowing how to walk safely increased from 0.7 to 98 percent

From May 11-16, around 20,000 people visited the photo exhibition displayed at the Youth Culture

House

e) The Long Short Walk:

The Long Short Walk is a campaign promoting safe walking for all. Everyone should be able to walk without

fear of injury, it should be a basic right – like access to clean water. Encouraging walking makes sense for

transport policy, for health policy and for environmental policy. It is particularly important for the health and

independence of our children. So, in support of the UN Global Road Safety Week 2013, the Zenani Mandela

Campaign has launched the „Long Short Walk‟ for safer, healthier and greener mobility.

Pedestrian Photo Exhibition

16

In Vietnam, the Long Short Walk was organized on May 11. The route began and finished at the Youth

Cultural House, passing through Ho Chi Minh City's main streets, including Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Hai

Ba Trung, Le Duan, and Pham Ngoc Thach.

The Long Short Walks were also organized in Hanoi, Ha Tinh Province and in District 9, Ho Chi Minh

City throughout April and May.

17

f) Media Coverage:

Three printed news and seven online news covered Model School

Zone Launch at Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Primary School on

October 18

Five printed news, eight online news, and two TV news covered

Walk This Way launches at six primary and secondary schools in

Phu My District, Binh Dinh Province on December 12 and 13

The “Safe Walking” campaign‟s pedestrian photography contest

for secondary school students in Ho Chi Minh City and public

event on May 11, tied into the UN Road Safety Week (May 6 –

12) and drew attention of media and public to the challenges that

pedestrians are facing, with coverage from seven printed news, 16

online news, and six TV news

g) FedEx volunteer activities

The FedEx staff matched their generous donation of pedestrian safety education with the invaluable donation

of their time – during program implementation. The volunteers demonstrated FedEx‟s strong and continued

commitment to promote community consciousness of the risks that children face when walking to and from

school every day.

Quick Facts

15 Printed news

31 Online news

8 Television news

18

a. Conclusion

The Safe Kids Walk This Way project activities were created to improve children‟s pedestrian safety knowledge,

to design and engineer safer environments around children‟s schools, to increase awareness of road safety, and to

ultimately save lives. This project has developed a successful steady partnership in the field of traffic safety, with

three main social sectors in Vietnam: state agencies (Ministry of Education and Training, Local Departments of

Education and Training, National Traffic Safety Committee, Local Traffic Safety Committees, etc.), private

sector (FedEx APAC as the sponsor) and the local community. The fourth year of the Safe Kids Walk This Way

project in Vietnam was a great success.

Dong Nai Province:

Model School Zone environmental interventions addressed challenges the children face during their

travel due to a lack of safe sidewalks and crosswalks and an exposed drainage channel that forced them to

walk along a road with high traffic volume. These interventions included one set of warning traffic lights,

four rumble strips, three zebra crossings, four school zone signs, four speed limit signs, coverage of 248

meters of drainage tunnel, and reconstruction of 384 square meters of sidewalk.

Model School Zone post-assessment found that the number of parents reporting to feel comfortable

allowing their child walk to school doubled. Observations showed the percentage of students using the

crosswalk increase by 40 percentage points and those using the sidewalk by 75 percentage points.

Traffic safety park observations indicated a 17 percent reduction in mistakes made by students from their

first to their second practice session.

From 2012 to 2013, Trang Bom traffic police reported a district-wide decrease in crash cases of 84

percent and in road deaths of 67 percent. Non-fatal injuries were reduced to zero.

Binh Dinh Province:

On December 12 and 13, FedEx Express and Safe Kids Vietnam launched the Walk This Way program at

six primary and secondary schools in Binh Dinh Province, where 3,472 students received reflective

jackets and helmets. This activity is part of the expansion of Walk this Way to central Vietnam,

particularly to schools located along National Highway 1A, where many students must cross high-volume

traffic to reach school. Walk this Way also introduced a number of infrastructure and signage

improvements, including warning traffic lights and zebra crossings in front of the six target schools.

16,000 pedestrian and cyclist safety booklets were distributed to 32 primary and secondary schools

throughout Binh Dinh Province.

IV. Conclusion and recommendations

19

Post-assessment in May 2013, including knowledge and behavior assessments and observations, found:

Motorcycle helmet use rates at six target schools increased from approximately 26 to 90 percent

Bicycle helmet use rates at six target schools increased from approximately 0.4 to 80 percent

Students wearing reflective jackets when travelling on the road increased from 0 to 69 percent

According to school reports, there were 15 students involved in road traffic crashes at the six target

schools in the school year 2010-2011 and 19 in school year 2011-2012. In school year 2012-2013, no

students were reported to be involved in road crashes.

Ho Chi Minh City:

The Chief Secretariat of Vietnam's National Traffic Safety Committee and the Deputy Director of the

Ministry of Security joined Safe Kids Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City authorities for a public event on

the morning of May 11 to raise awareness of the need for improved pedestrian safety, the theme of the

United Nations' second Global Road Safety Week from May 6-12, 2013.

The “Safe Walking” campaign which piloted a pedestrian photography contest for secondary school

students in Ho Chi Minh City, beginning in February. In addition to winning valuable prizes, the 60

photos that received the most Facebook "likes" were displayed at the Youth Cultural House from May

11-16, 2013. The campaign culminated with the exhibition opening and award ceremony at May 11th

event, attended by more than 1,000 people.

Over two months, pedestrian photo contest website attracted 16,461 page views, 2,343 registered

accounts, 542 comments; 311 students completed the pedestrian quiz, and contestants reporting knowing

how to walk safely increased from 0.7 to 98 percent.

From May 11-16, around 20,000 people visited the photo exhibition displayed at the Youth Culture

House.

b. Challenges

The road infrastructure does not provide comprehensive protection for pedestrians in Vietnam and would

require a significant investment for the necessary environmental interventions.

Motorists‟ awareness is insufficient, and most of them do not obey school zone‟s signals when passing by.

Even though traffic police enhanced their patrol and local public security officers provided assistance to

students crossing the street at drop-off and pick-up times, they could not maintain these activities due to a

lack of human resources.

The government partners were very supportive, but they do not have budget to maintain the program‟s

activities.

c. Lesson learned

Traffic safety activities to raise public awareness should be increased to keep school pedestrians safer.

Parents, as major players in educating the children on road safety, should be increasingly engaged.

Government partners should be more involved to keep program more effective and sustainable.

d. Recommendations

During the implementation of the program, Safe Kids Vietnam effectively partnered with Government agencies,

sponsors, and schools to achieve the program‟s objectives. However, the sustainable road safety environment will

require continuous engagements with regard to behavioral and situational awareness among children.

Importantly, the percentage of Vietnamese schools with high rates of children walking to school, who lack

sufficient pedestrian safety knowledge and education know-how, is still high. With the long-term commitment

from FedEx Express through Safe Kids Worldwide, there are more and more lives will be saved, day by day.

Thank you for your generous support to bring pedestrian safety to youth in Vietnam.