(New York, USA) – City leaders in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, today launched a new campaign to reduce speeding. The campaign was announced by the Standing Deputy of the Traffic Safety Committee (TSC) Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Tuong at a press conference at the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Cultural Palace. This is the city’s second campaign within the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety (BIGRS).
Speeding is the main risk factor leading to the over 1.25 million deaths on the world’s roads each year, and is the leading cause of death globally for those 15-29 years of age. Low- and middle-income countries disproportionately bear this burden, accounting for 90 percent of road traffic deaths, despite contributing only 54 percent of the world’s registered vehicles.
The campaign will take place in the lead up to the Tet holiday season, when risky road behaviors rise. The campaign includes a public service announcement (PSA), that and will run on television and social media for approximately four weeks. The PSA highlights the deadly consequences of speeding among young male drivers in Ho Chi Minh City, emphasizing the physical toll a crash takes on the body.
“Road safety continues to be a challenge worldwide as cities continue to grow at a rapid pace,” said José Luis Castro, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vital Strategies. “Cities must urgently take action to ensure safe roads for all users and reverse the rising trend of traffic fatalities. Hard-hitting campaigns paired with strong enforcement can change the behavior of speeding road users. We applaud the Ho Chi Minh City TSC for launching this much-needed campaign to combat speeding ahead of the busy holiday season.”
Heightened police enforcement activities will take place throughout the campaign to further deter violators and aid in behavior change.
Ho Chi Minh City’s first BIGRS campaign focused on drink driving, and ran from October 2016 to March 2017.
Vital Strategies is an implementing partner of BIGRS’ global program to reduce road crashes and deaths in major cities around the world.
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Vital Strategies is a global health organization that believes every person should be protected by a strong public health system. Our team combines evidence-based strategies with innovation to help develop and implement sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change. To find out more, please visit vstrategystage.wpengine.com or Twitter @VitalStrat.
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