A scalable model for child road safety in low- and middle-income countries: evidence and lessons from the ‘slow zones, safe zones’ intervention in Vietnam

TL;DR

This paper presents a successful road safety intervention in Vietnam that significantly reduced child road injuries using a comprehensive approach, offering a scalable model for low- and middle-income countries.

Contribution

The paper introduces a scalable, evidence-based model for improving child road safety in low- and middle-income countries through a multi-pronged intervention.

Findings

School zone iRAP Star Ratings improved from 1-star to 4- and 5-star post-intervention.

Mean vehicle speeds decreased by up to 28.9% in treated zones.

Student crashes within school zones dropped from 35.6% to 2.9%.

Abstract

Road traffic injuries are a leading cause of child mortality in Vietnam, where rapid motorization and the absence of standardized safe school zones create high-risk environments for students. This paper evaluates the “Slow Zones, Safe Zones” (SZSZ) project, a comprehensive, multi-year intervention in Pleiku City designed to reduce road crash injuries and fatalities by making school zones safer.

The project employed a phased design, beginning with a quasi-experimental pilot study (2018–2020) and expanding to a city-wide, pre-post evaluation (2020–2022). The multi-pronged strategy combined infrastructure upgrades, education and public awareness campaigns, speed limit establishment and enforcement, and policy development. Project effectiveness was evaluated using evidence-based tools, including iRAP Star Rating for Schools (SR4S) assessments, vehicle speed surveys, and student crash and community KAP (Knowledge, Attitude, Practice) surveys.

The intervention yielded statistically significant improvements across all key indicators. iRAP Star Ratings for school zones dramatically improved from as low as 1-star to 4- and 5-star ratings post-intervention. Mean vehicle speeds were reduced by up to 28.9%. The proportion of student crashes occurring within school zones plummeted from 35.6% at baseline to 2.9% at the project’s end. Parental knowledge of correct speed limits increased substantially from 15.6 to 93.2% (p < 0.001). The project also catalyzed a legal decision by city authorities formally adopting a “Safe School Zone definition”.

The SZSZ project was highly effective, demonstrating that a comprehensive, evidence-based approach can significantly mitigate road risks for children in an LMIC context. Its success in translating local data into official policy provides a powerful, scalable framework for national reform. This model holds significant potential for replication in other low- and middle-income countries, offering a clear pathway to improve child road safety and help achieve the global targets of SDG 3.6.

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