Hanoi pushes safer school gates amid mounting traffic pressure

THE HANOI TIMES — Hanoi is stepping up efforts to ensure safer school gates as traffic pressure around campuses continues to mount, calling on students and parents to strictly comply with traffic regulations to protect themselves and others on the road.

The message was delivered by Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, Chief of the Office of the Hanoi Traffic Safety Committee, at the seminar “Hanoi School Traffic: Safe Today – Safe Future” held on December 25, affirming that over the past two years, traffic safety for students has been implemented seriously and comprehensively, with the involvement of authorities at all levels and sectors across the capital.

“The Hanoi Traffic Safety Committee has disseminated traffic safety laws at 14 primary schools, 62 secondary and high schools and two education centers, as well as in 26 wards and communes, where local authorities have collaborated with schools to maintain the Safe School Gates model, contributing to ensuring traffic order and safety,” Thuy shared.

She noted that many countries worldwide treat traffic safety as a top priority. At the global level, the United Nations has designated the 2020-2030 period as the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety, with student safety identified as a key objective.

Given the circumstances, Thuy said Hanoi’s Safe School Gate solutions draw on international experience while being adapted to local conditions. Since their rollout, the measures have helped ease congestion and improve order around school entrances.

She stressed that a school gate must be a secure and well-organized space. With the presence of police, security forces and community safety teams, teachers, students and parents feel significantly safer. On that basis, Hanoi aims for 100% of schools across the city to implement the Safe School Gates model by 2030.

Echoing Thuy, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyen Tai Nghia of the Hanoi Traffic Police Department said traffic safety education is consistently integrated into patrols and inspections to help students recognize and avoid potential risks.

As a result, in 2025, traffic accidents involving students fell across all three indicators, including the number of cases, fatalities and injuries. In December alone, the number of cases of student traffic violations dropped 33% on month to more than 2,100 cases.

Nghia said that traveling slower gives drivers more time to observe and react. Indeed, lower speeds reduce impact force, which decreases the risk of severe injury to students.

He noted that the human body can only tolerate collisions with vehicles traveling at around 30 km/h. At higher speeds, the risk of death rises sharply and at 50 km/h, the fatality rate reaches up to 80%.

According to Dinh Ngoc Lan, Deputy Principal of Nguyen Du Primary School, the ‘Safe School Gates’ model has been implemented since 2022. After more than three years, the school has recorded many positive results.

"Traffic participants proactively reduce their speed when approaching the school gate area, thereby significantly reducing collisions and preventing traffic accidents," said Lan.

Regarding solutions for the time ahead, experts suggest that it is necessary to constantly innovate the methods of communication and education, linking them with vivid and memorable messages.

In addition, the Hanoi Traffic Safety Committee should clearly define what constitutes an electric bicycle or motorbike so that parents can make appropriate choices when purchasing vehicles for their children, contributing to ensuring traffic safety.

The application of science and technology needs to be promoted to clearly identify violations and offenders, and the Safe School Gate model requires cooperation from all sides.