Standard motorcycle helmet usage and its effect on road traffic safety in the two major cities of vietnam

The number and severity of road 
accidents in Vietnam is at alarming rate. 
From 2003, the Government has tried 
to improve traffic safety, therefore the 
number of accident and traumatic brain 
injury (TBI) and the rate of death reduced 
suddenly. However, from the end of 2008, 
even though accident number decreasing, a 
number of TBI and deaths due to road crash 
are jumping up. This paper aims to analyze 
the reason of heavy injuries, TBI and deaths 
happening increased. The specific surveys 
were taken to motorcyclists, helmet market, 
traffic safety agencies and hospital in Hanoi 
and Ho Chi Minh City. Statistic method, 
integrated comparison, observation, expert 
interview survey and brainstorming method 
have been used in this study to analyze 
the problem. Then road safety situation, 
helmet usage, regulation and enforcement 
were analyzed. Base on these, proposal to 
improve road safety in the two major cities 
in Vietnam is going to be discussed. 
Keyword: road safety, traumatic brain 
injury (TBI), traffic accident, road crash.
I. Fact on Road Traffic Safety in 
vietnam
From 1993, road traffic accidents 
had been increasing and traffic safety 
was a big problem in Vietnam. The 
number of road accidents has been 
increasing at alarming rate up to 2002. 
From 2003, the Government had tried to 
keep enforcement then the number was 
slowing down suddenly. However, traffic 
safety still is the hot problem in Vietnam. 
Even though the number of accidents and 
injuries has been decreasing; the number 
of fatalities is increasing year by year. 
Figure 1 show this data. 
STANdARd mOTORCYCLE hELmET USAgE 
ANd ITS EFFECT ON ROAd TRAFFIC SAFETY 
IN ThE TwO mAJOR CITIES OF vIETNAm
By Trinh Thuy Anh1
Source: National Traffic Safety Committee
Figure 1: Road traffic accident of Vietnam by year
1 Ho Chi Minh City Open University
64 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
Figure 2: Road traffic accident of Hanoi Figure 3: Road traffic accident of HCMC
Most of road accidents were caused 
by motorcycle (70% among the total). It is 
revealed that severity of traffic accidents 
is the problem, especially for motorcycle 
transport mode, 50% among the traffic 
accidents were traumatic brain injury (TBI) 
and the rate of heavy injury and fatal was 
25%. From 2007, the Government forced 
people to wear helmet, then some positive 
signal appeared as a result, however, a small 
change could not convince the improvement 
trend of road traffic. 
For the short time, the number of TBI 
has been reduced 20% - 50% compared to 
that of before; and the rate of death due 
to road crash reduced to 15%. However, 
from the end of year 2008, the number of 
fatalities was increasing; the number of TBI 
was jumping up as before. 
II. helmet Usage of motorcycle 
drivers and passengers
The survey is taken with totally 1038 
samples, 517 samples in Hanoi and 521 
samples in Ho Chi Minh City. Place of 
survey allocated at 15 districts, 9 districts in 
Ho Chi Minh City and 5 districts in Hanoi 
(detail shown in Appendix 1, Table A).
Feature of the interviewees
The survey result shows that 56% 
of interviewees were female; most of 
interviewees were the youth (65% of the total 
were under 35 years old) and well educated 
(60% among the total were educated at the 
university (Appendix 2, Table B).
Asking about their motorcycle, 89% of 
interviewees owned their motorcycle; most of 
those were less than 100cc (76%) compared 
with 23% of them being larger than 100cc 
but less than 500cc. 87% of interviewees 
were drivers and many of them going alone 
(80%); 75% of interviewees were traveling 
to/from work (or to schooling) (see Appendix 
2, Figure A, B, C, D).
Helmet usage of motorcycle drivers 
and passengers
Almost all of the interviewees own 
their helmets (98%) due to the regulation 
from the Government to force people to wear 
helmet when driving on the road. 36% of the 
interviewees bought helmets in the helmet 
shop, while around 24% bought at street 
market, 18% bought from shopping centre, 
shown more detail in figure 4. The number 
of people who were given helmets or bought 
them through suggestion of f, c, a is smaller. 
Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the fact 
of road safety in the two major cities of 
Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The 
number of accidents and injuries is reduced 
up to 2007, and then slightly increased; 
however, the number of fatalities is increased 
by year.
65Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
Figure 4. The place to purchase helmet
35% 
18% 
24% 
9% 
13% 1% HelmetShop 
 Shopping Center 
 Street market 
 Given 
 Found 
 Friend, colleague, acquaintance 
16.28
15.76
16.54
26.49
217.3
7.36
0.17
0.09
0.00 5.00 10.00 15.00 20.00 25.00 30.00
Colour
Price
Style/look
Quality
Standard-helmet
Brand/company name
Other
No relevant
fa
ct
or
s 
percentage
Figure 6. Factors affected purchase decision
Asking the factors that affect to 
people’s decision to buy helmets, Figure 
6 showed that most of people said they 
bought the helmets due to it was certified as 
a ”standard” helmet (28%); while very few 
(7%) bought due to theirs price, style/look or 
quality. Noted that 55% of the interviewees 
said they bought helmets due to all of the 
reasons above.
Asking about the cost of helmets, it is 
found that most of people bought helmets 
with the price from 5 to 10 US$ (37% of 
the interviewees) and between 11 – 20 US$ 
(45% of the interviewee); while very few 
(3%) bought helmets with the price over 20 
US$. Figure 5 shows the result.
Figure 5. The cost of helmets
 13% 
37% 
45% 
3% 2% 
 less than US$ 5 
 US$ 5 - less than $10 
 US$ 10 - less than $20 
 US$ 20 or more 
 Don't know 
Standard motorcycle helmet usage 
For the interviewer’s observation of a 
certification marking/sticker ... im helmets 
could have serious injured in head, eyes, 
scruff and neck when crash happening. For 
non-standard helmets, the sponge could not 
absorb and the cover could not dispose the 
press of crashing then heavy injury could 
be happened. 
Many fashion helmets which are 
under standard are selling in the market. 
Those helmets could not protect people 
when crashing, even causes serious injury 
for them. According to the data from 
Technical Measurement Standard Center 
and Traffic Police Office, there are 17 TBI 
cases due to non-standard usage in only 
half of March 2009.
The form, style and size of helmets 
also have problems. The half-head helmets 
that are using by many motorcyclist are 
appropriate to travel around the inner city 
with a slow speech (around 30 km/h). If crash 
occurred, they would not suffer heavy injury. 
Most of victims of TBI due to road crash 
are wearing half-head helmets when driving 
high speed in highway. The full face helmet 
should be the best choice for people driving 
motorcycle on the highway for their safety. 
The young people like fashion styles which 
look more beautiful and colorful, however, 
those are under standard and could not help 
people avoid TBI from crashing. Many non-
standard ones with un-clear information 
about the name, origin, manufacture, date 
are distributed widely in the market. Those 
helmets could bring many potential dangers 
for people using them.
Motorcyclists wearing helmets in a 
wrong ways such as non fasten, loose fasten, 
helmet size bigger than the head could be 
heavily injured from road crash.
Helmets for the kids
Road accidents of the kids are increased 
during the time. Not wearing helmets 
when the kids going with their parents is 
prevailing. Moreover, in some cases the kids 
wearing non-standard helmets and or in the 
wrong ways could have the same problem 
as analyzed earlier.
Survey that was taken in Kid Hospital 
2 revealed that 60% of the kids coming to 
the hospital were related to TBI due to road 
crashes. From August 2008 to July 2009, 
there were 43 kids under 15 years old with 
TBI and 63% of them due to road crashes.
v. Regulation and Enforcement
There is the legislation in Vietnam 
about the standard of motorcycle helmets. 
By that regulation, the manufacture, the 
import, the sale and the use of non-standard 
69Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
helmets are not allowed. However, financial 
punishment is still lacking. Data of offences 
or convictions for the manufacture and 
the use of non-standard helmets are not 
available while there are some records for 
the import and the sale of non-standard 
helmets in Hanoi.
Therefore, in order to improve road 
safety, the Government to have enforcement 
with punishment solution and to strictly 
deal with the manufacture, the import, the 
distribution and the use of non-standard 
helmets. The Market Management Unit is 
required to enhance inspection and control to 
discover non-standard helmets. Mass media 
have to do campaign and propagation for 
people to use standard helmets and impacts 
of using non-standard helmets. 
Appendix 6 showed the specific 
documents relating to regulation and 
enforcement of using standard helmet in 
Vietnam
vI. Conclusion
In this paper, five specific surveys 
were taken to reveal the problem. The first 
survey was taken to 1038 motorcycle users 
to identify the use of helmets including 
type, price, place to buy, people’s features 
and reason of using standard or non-
standard helmets including five factors 
price, type, color and form, brand, quality. 
Therefore it was reaved that most of people 
use non-standard helmets even those have 
certification stamp. The second survey was 
taken at the helmet market and then revealed 
that many helmets sold in the market were 
non-standard. The third survey toward 
5 hospitals in the two cities and revealed 
that the number of traffic accident into the 
hospital occupied ½ of total cases there. 
Among traffic accident cases, a half among 
the total were physical break injuries and a 
half were traumatic brain injuries in which 
½ of those were non-helmet using cases and 
the left ½ were non-standard helmets using 
or wearing on the wrong ways. Data show 
in many cases, motorcycle drivers wear 
non-standard helmet and or in wrong ways, 
then the accidents would be heavy and 
the victims would suffer TBI. The fourth 
survey was taken to analyze the problem 
of helmet for kids. The fifth survey 9 traffic 
safety agencies. 
Based on the road traffic safety in the 
major two cities of Vietnam, enforcement 
and education are very important to improve 
the situation. To improve road traffic safety 
in Vietnam, changing people’s attitude and 
awareness is very important and needs to be 
dealt firstly. 
vII. References
Data from Protect Helmet Enterprise, 
Traffic Police Team of Hadong, 
Hanoi City, National Traffic 
Safety Committee, Directorate for 
Standards and Quality, Ministry of 
Science and Technology, Traffic 
Police Office of Ho Chi Minh City, 
Market Management Unit of Ho Chi 
Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City Custom 
Department, Department of Science 
and Technology, Ho Chi Minh City.
The “National technical regulation on 
protective helmets for motorcycle 
and moped users” (QCVN 2: 2008/
BKHCN).
Using Helmet: Road Traffic Safety Manual for 
Planning and Implementation. WHO. 
2006
Helmet use saves lives. WHO. 2009
Prevalence of Helmet use Among Motorcycle 
Riders in Vietnam. D V Hung, M R 
Stevenson, R Q Ivers. 2006 
vIII. Appendix 
70 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
Appendix 2
Table B. percentage of people who own motorcycles.
Own motorcycle Frequency Valid Percent
Yes 474 88.60
No 61 11.40
Total 535 100.00
23%
76%
1%
Less than 100cc
100cc but less than
500cc
500cc or more
Figure A. motorcycle size of the respondents
place Frequency valid percent
Petrol station in Tran Hung Dao road, Dist. 1, HCMC 25 4.65
Petrol station in Cach Mang Thang Tam road, Dist. 3, HCMC 25 4.65
Petrol station in Ben Van Don street, Dist. 4, HCMC 51 9.48
Petrol station in Nguyen Trai road, Dist. 5, HCMC 50 9.29
Petrol station in Le Van Viet road, Dist.9, HCMC 44 8.18
Petrol station in Vo Van Ngan road, Dist.Thuduc, HCMC 6 1.12
Petrol station in Hoang Van Thu road, Dist.Tanbinh, HCMC 47 8.74
Petrol station in An Suong Bus Station, Dist.Hocmon, HCMC 16 2.97
Petrol station in Tan Ky Tan Quy road, Dist. Tanphu, HCMC 6 1.12
Petrol station in Hoang Quoc Viet road, Dist. Tayho, HN 50 9.29
Petrol station in Tay Son road (Nam Dong station), Dist. Dongda, HN 50 9.29
Petrol station in Bach Mai road, Dist. Haibatrung, HN 53 9.85
Petrol station in Nguyen Trai road, Dist. Thanhxuan, HN 50 9.29
Petrol station in Hadong Bus Station, Dist. Hadong, HN 50 9.29
Petrol station in Tran Hung Dao road, Dist. Hoankiem, HN 15 2.79
Total 538 100.00
Table A: place of survey
Appendix 1
71Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
87%
13%
Driver
Passengers
Figure B. Status of motorcyclist
56%
42%
2% One person
Two people
More than two
persons
Figure C. Number of person of the motorcycle
Appendix 3
Table C. Observation of helmet sticker Table d. Observation of real sticker
Observation of 
helmet sticker Frequency
Valid 
Percent
Yes 475 88.29
No 62 11.52
Missing 1 0.19
Total 538 100.00
Observation of real 
sticker Frequency
Valid 
Percent
Yes 435 90.44
No 46 9.56
Total 481 100.00
74.91
5.76 10.22 7.06 2.04
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
Travelling
to/from work
(or to
schooling)
Travelling
to/from
leisure
activities
Riding for
pleasure
Commercial
activities
Other
trip aim
pe
rc
en
ta
ge
Figure d. The purpose of the trip
72 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
City
Factors affect people’s decision to buy helmet (%)
Total
Color Price
Style/
look
Quality
Standard-
helmet
Brand/ 
company 
name
Other
No 
relevant
Hanoi 22.39 8.26 6.96 10.22 5.22 0.00 0.00 0.00 53.04
TpHCM 18.48 8.48 1.96 11.96 5.22 0.43 0.22 0.22 46.96
Total 40.87 16.74 8.91 22.17 10.43 0.43 0.22 0.22 100.00
Table g. Factors that affect people to buy helmet (analyzing by survey area)
Table h. The relationship between the age of respondent and the price of helmet
Age
Price of helmet (%)
Totalless than 
US$ 5
US$ 5 - less 
than $10
US$ 10 - 
less than 
$20
US$ 20 or 
more Don’t know
18-23year-old 15.12 34.88 43.02 4.65 2.33 100.00
24-35year-old 10.75 41.59 43.93 2.34 1.40 100.00
Over 36year-old 14.19 32.90 48.39 2.58 1.94 100.00
Appendix 4
Table E. place to buy helmet (analyzing by survey area)
The survey 
area 
The place to buy Helmet (%)
Total
Helmet 
Shop
Shopping 
Center
Street 
market
Friend, 
colleague, 
acquaintance
Bought 
from Other Given
Hanoi 11.45 11.07 16.41 7.25 4.77 0.19 51.15
HCMC 24.81 6.49 7.63 1.34 7.82 0.76 48.85
Total 36.26 17.56 24.05 8.59 12.60 0.95 100.00
Table F. price to buy helmet (analyzing by survey area)
 City
Price of helmet (%)
Totalless than 
US$ 5
US$ 5 - less 
than $10
US$ 10 - less 
than $20
US$ 20 or 
more Don’t know
Hanoi 5.25 16.63 29.98 1.53 0.00 53.39
HCMC 7.44 20.57 15.54 1.31 1.75 46.61
Total 12.69 37.20 45.51 2.84 1.75 100.00
73Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
Table I: Relationship between the price of helmet 
and factor affected people to purchase helmet
Price of helmet
Factor (%)
TotalColor Price
Style/ 
look
Quality
Standard 
-helmet
Brand/ 
company 
name
Other
No 
relevant
less than US$ 5 5.04 4.39 1.32 1.54 0.44 0.00 0.00 0.00 12.72
US$ 5 - less than $10 15.57 6.14 3.29 8.11 3.95 0.22 0.00 0.00 37.28
US$10 - less than $20 19.08 6.36 3.95 10.75 5.48 0.00 0.00 0.00 45.61
US$ 20 or more 1.10 0.00 0.44 0.66 0.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.85
Don’t know 0.44 0.00 0.00 0.66 0.00 0.00 0.22 0.22 1.54
Total 41.23 16.89 8.99 21.71 10.53 0.22 0.22 0.22 100.00
Table J. The relationship between the age of respondent 
and the usage of standard helmet
Age
Standard Helmet (number)
Total
Yes No
18-23year-old 78 31 109
24-35year-old 192 48 240
Over 36year-old 141 40 181
Total 411 119 530
Table K. The relationship between sex of respondent 
and their usage of standard helmet
Sex
Standard Helmet (number)
Total
Yes No
Male 232 63 295
Female 172 54 226
Don’t know 10 3 13
Total 414 120 534
 58% 
42% 
Hanoi HCMC 
Appendix 5
Figure E. The surveyed cities
74 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
Table m. The cheapest cost for standard helmet
Price (USD)
City
Total
HCMC Hanoi
Standard Helmet
6 14.3% 28.6% 42.9%
7 0% 28.6% 28.6%
12 0% 14.3% 14.3%
26 14.3% 0% 14.3%
Total 28.6% 71.4% 100.0%
Non-standard
2 0% 20.0% 20.0%
3 0% 20.0% 20.0%
5 60.0% 0% 60.0%
Total 60.0% 40.0% 100.0%
Table N. The most expensive cost for standard helmet
Price (USD) Frequency Percent (%)
5 – 10 2 17
11 – 20 3 25
21-40 5 42
> 40 2 17
Total 12 100.0
Table L. Location of retail outle
Location of retail outlet Percentage
Chua Boc, Dong Da, HN 8.3
CMT8, Dis10, HCMC 25.0
Ha Dong,HN 33.3
Nguyen Trai, Ha Dong, HN 8.3
PhamHongThai, Dis1, HCMC 16.7
Truong Chinh, Dong Da, HN 8.3
Total 100.0
Figure F. Type of retail outlet
 42% 
25% 
8% 
17% 8% 
General shop or supermarket also selling helmets 
Informal road vendors or little roadside shops selling helmets 
Other: selling helmet "Protect" only 
Other: selling helmet only 
Shop selling only automobile or motorcycle and related products 
75Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011
Table O. The most common cost for standard and non-standard helmet
Price (USD)
City
Total
HCMC Hanoi
Standard Helmet
7 10.0% .0% 10.0%
8 10.0% 10.0% 20.0%
9 20.0% 10.0% 30.0%
11 .0% 20.0% 20.0%
13 .0% 10.0% 10.0%
14 .0% 10.0% 10.0%
Total 40.0% 60.0% 100.0%
Non-standard Helmet
5 100.0% 100.0%
Total 100.0% 100.0%
Appendix 6
Data from Protect Helmet Enterprise, 1. 
Traffic Police Team of Hadong, Hanoi 
City, National Traffic Safety Committee, 
Directorate for Standards and Quality, 
Ministry of Science and Technology, 
Traffic Police Office of Hochiminh City, 
Market Management Unit of Hochiminh 
City, Hochiminh City Custom 
Department, Department of Science and 
Technology, Hochiminh City.
Regulation No.04/2008/QD-BKHCN 2. 
dated 28 April 2008 of the Ministry of 
Science and Technology.
The “National Technical Regulation 3. 
on Protective Helmets for Motorcycle 
and Moped users” (QCVN 2: 2008/
BKHCN).
Product and Goods Quality Law No. 4. 
05/2007/QH12 dated 21 November 
2007
Criterion and Technical Standard Law 5. 
No.68/2006/QH11 dated 29 June 2006 
Decree No.126/2005/ND-CP dated 6. 
10 October 2005: Regulation on 
Administrative Punishment of Products 
and Goods Quality and Assessment 
Decree No.06/2008/ND-CP dated 7. 
16 January 2008: Administrative 
Punishment of the Sale of Non-standard 
Products and Goods 
Decree No.95/2007/ND-CP dated 4 June 8. 
2007: Amendment and Supplementation 
for the No.126.
Decree No.179/2004/ND-CP dated 21 9. 
October 2004: Regulation of Quality 
Management of Products and Goods.
Decree No.50/2006/QĐ – TTg dated 07 10. 
March 2006: List of Products and Goods 
to Quality Testing
Decree No.32/2007/NQ-CP dated 29 June 11. 
2007 by the Prime Minister: Emergency 
Solutions to Deal with Traffic Accident 
and Congestion 
Decree No.146/2007/NQ-CP dated 14 12. 
September 2007 by the Prime Minister: 
Administrative Punishment in Road 
Transportation.
TCVN 6979: 2001 Standard of 13. 
Motorcycle Helmets for Children.
Traffic Law dated 29 June 2001.14. 
76 Ho Chi Minh City Open University Journal of science- No. 1(1) 2011