I love this story about one man's quest to get safe helmets on all motorcycle and scooter riders in Vietnam. Back in 2012, I wrote about the vibrant scooter culture in Vietnam and the fact that it was one of the first countries in the region to make helmets mandatory. There were some problems, of course. Riders often wore the cheapest - and least effective - helmets they could get. And the law did not cover children. So it was common to see families of five on one scooter with two parents in ill-fitting helmets and the children squeezed in between them without any kind of helmets. I still remember the babies hanging from mothers' arms, dangerously in range of passing vehicles.
So this story by Christopher Johnson provides a good update on what's been happening since, as well as background on Grieg Craft, president of the Asia Prevention Foundation. Johnson reports that the American-born Craft not only pushed for the law but came up with an effective, cheap helmet that is lightweight and well-ventilated, making it suitable for the hot Asian climate.
Last summer, according to the article, the government starting cracking down on ineffective helmets. Sadly, it seems that not much progress has been made in getting helmets on children.
http://www.takepart.com/article/2014/11/29/protec-motorcycle-helmets-hanoi
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