Vietnam Helmets - Law forces motorcyclists to wear helmets
NAME: VIE HELMETS 20071215I
TAPE: EF07/1494
IN_TIME: 10:48:49:01
DURATION: 00:01:57:17
SOURCES: AP TELEVISION
DATELINE: Hanoi, 13 Nov/15 Dec 2007
RESTRICTIONS:
SHOTLIST:
13 November 2007
1. Wide of Hanoi traffic
2. Various of people riding motorbikes, most of them without helmets
3. Pan of motorcyclists stopping for traffic
15 December 2007
4. Wide of traffic, helmets hanging on pole for sale
5. Tilt down from poster promoting the wearing of helmets to helmets for sale
6. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) Ho Nghia Dung, Vietnamese Minister of transportation:
"It is important to make wearing helmets (while riding motorbikes) mandatory because it helps reduce fatality rates caused by cranial trauma due to traffic accidents."
7. Wide of shops selling helmets
8. Various of people choosing helmets
9. Helmets on shelves
10. Woman adjusting helmet buckle for her child
11. Nguyen Thi Kim Hai putting helmet into motorbike storage area
12. SOUNDBITE: (Vietnamese) Nguyen Thi Kim Hai, motorbike rider:
"Having a helmet around is not very comfortable because it is rather bulky and it can be stolen if I have to park the bike somewhere. But I will bring it along and wear it while riding my motorbike because it may save my life."
13. Wide of traffic passing policeman
14. Various of people riding motorbikes with helmets
15. People stopping for traffic
16. Tracking shot from motorbike
STORYLINE:
Vietnamese police began enforcing a dreaded helmet law on Saturday and nearly all motorcyclists complied by donning the shiny new so-called "rice cookers" to avoid hefty fines in the government's campaign to save lives.
In the capital, Hanoi, the streets underwent a transformation overnight.
Just a day earlier, only a handful of riders were seen wearing helmets, but police were out in force on nearly every street corner on Saturday to ensure the law was strictly enforced.
A police officer said only two motorcyclists were fined in the morning.
He added most Vietnamese would rather abide than pay the steep 150,000 dong (9.40 US dollar) fine.
Nearly 13,000 people were killed on Vietnam's roads last year - one of the world's highest rates.
Most accidents involved the ubiquitous motorbike, the country's main form of transportation. A similar helmet law was imposed in 2001, but failed to stick when angry drivers protested.
And enforcement of the current law did not come without grumbling. Many argued the bulky helmets, jokingly called "rice cookers," would be too hot, unfashionable and hard to carry.
For months, Vietnamese have been bombarded by public awareness campaigns to explain the need for the law.
One television commercial showed grainy black-and-white footage of patients hospitalised with head injuries, some drooling in a vegetative state and others paralyzed or unable to feed themselves.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has worked closely with the government to promote helmets and stiffer enforcement of all traffic laws.
Cars and motorbikes nationwide commonly dart in and out of lanes, drive the wrong way on one-way streets and pull into traffic without ever looking. Speeding, drinking and underage driving are also major problems.
Vietnam's traffic fatality rate is about 27 per 100,000 - nearly double that in the United States - and is among the highest globally, according to the WHO.
"It is important to make wearing helmets (while riding motorbikes) mandatory because it helps reduce fatality rates caused by cranial trauma due to traffic accidents," said Ho Nghia Dung, Vietnamese Minister of transportation.
More than 20 million motorbikes cram Vietnam's busy streets daily as the country continues to grow in size and wealth. Every year, about two (m) million new bikes enter the road, along with a growing number.
"Having a helmet around is not very comfortable because it is rather bulky and it can be stolen if I have to park the bike somewhere," said Nguyen Thi Kim Hai, a motorbike rider.
"But I will bring it along and wear it while riding my motorbike because it may save my life," she added.