Protect Cambodian Children from Brain Injury

United Nations Global Road Safety Week is an international initiative that features hundreds of events hosted by governments, international agencies, civil society organizations, and private companies to raise awareness of road safety. This year’s UN Global Road Safety Week took place from May 4^th to 10^th and was titled #SaveKidsLives, themed around “Children and Road Safety." #SaveKidsLives seeks to highlight the plight of children on the world’s roads, calls on leaders to take action, and advocates for the inclusion of road safety in the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

AIP Foundation conducted a wide range of activities across Cambodia in celebration of UN Global Road Safety Week.

96 newly enrolled students received free helmets and road safety education on May 7^th. The event took place at Sampov Meas Primary School and focused on raising students’ awareness of safe road behaviors while calling on authorities to commit to safer roads for children. 

Cambodian students also signed the Child Declaration for Road Safety, a declaration that calls on decision-makers to commit to improving road safety for children. On May 7^th, the Child Declaration was presented to the Secretary General of the National Road Safety Committee and Deputy Director of Central Department of Public Order from the National Police in Phnom Penh. 

Lastly, AIP Foundation conducted street-based activities in six target districts under the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project and in support of UN Global Road Safety Week. We engaged police and Commune Road Safety Committee members in each district to implement activities. Police stopped motorcyclists with un-helmeted passengers, and committee members educated passengers on the importance of helmet use and provided them with educational flyers. The project also provides subsidized helmets to motorcycle passengers who reside in target communes.

Road safety education and awareness raising is crucial for the protection of children and their families on the roads. With your support, we hope to create a generation of smart and safe road users in Cambodia. Let's work together to #SaveKidsLives.

New Road Traffic Law Passes in Cambodia

The Cambodian National Assembly has approved the new Road Traffic Law, in which motorcycle passengers—including children—are required to wear helmets. This is a milestone event after 8 years of collective efforts by many organizations, including AIP Foundation. When the draft law was about to ‘leave our children behind’ in 2011, we led an initiative that resulted in the inclusion of children in the draft passenger helmet mandate. 

In response to research findings that 98% of the public was in support of a passenger helmet law, we then submitted a Joint Statement to the Minister of Transport in 2013 appealing for the law to be passed. In May 2014, we presented a study to the Government demonstrating that 561 lives could be saved, 10,572 head injuries prevented, and USD 98,618,422 could be saved by 2020, if the law was passed in 2014.

On January 9, 2015, Cambodia’s King Norodom Sihamoni signed off on a more robust traffic law, completing the final step for legislation. Passengers who are older than 3 years and riding on a motorcycle will now have to wear a helmet. The law also limits the number of people on a motorcycle to one driver, one adult passenger, and one child, and allows for fines of up to $1,000 for drink drivers.

Helmets Reach Thousands of Children in Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Kampong Speu Provinces

In December 2014, thousands of helmets were donated to primary students in support of passenger helmet use. Three large helmet handover ceremonies and 15 smaller handover events were organized at schools in Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Kampong Speu Provinces. The helmet handovers included information on proper helmet wearing and the importance of helmet use. The students were enthusiastic and pledged to wear helmets as part of their school uniform, regardless the time and the distance. 

We organized a helmet donation of 6,652 helmets to students and teachers of six schools in Phnom Penh, with the support of USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (USAID-DIV) as part of the “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project. Michelle Yeoh, celebrity road safety ambassador, and Cambodian Government officials came together to support the donation.

In addition to Phnom Penh, helmet safety programs were expanded to six schools in Kandal Province and six schools in Kampong Speu Province, totaling 16,022 high-quality helmets donated across the three target provinces.

Thank you for your support in protecting Cambodian children from brain injury. Without your contributions, these recent achievements would not have been possible!