Half of these traffic injuries involve a head injury. Sadly, less than one percent of the motorbike riders or their passengers wear helmets. Besides, they say, helmets areuncomfortable, heavy, and too hot for Vietnam s tropical climate. Some of their criticisms are understandable, but good helmets can be designed and promotion programs can be launched. If Vietnamese motorcyclists wore helmets, the number of head injuries and deaths could be halved.
Helmets are required equipment in neighboring Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
There, even without appropriately designed and comfortable helmets, enforced helmet use has caused head injury rates to decline. The time is ripe to design and promote helmets that would be appropriate for the region and that could be worn by all. Address subscription correspondence to the Center for Injury Control, Rollins School of Public Health. Away We ve recently heard from Dr. Krishnan and his research group at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. Dr. Krishnan reports on activities to promote bicycle helmets in two groups of school-children.