Another issue with helmets that I did not mention before is that helmets, otherwise known as "rice cookers", can be associated as a fashion faux-pas. Because Vietnam is a developing country, their interest in fashion is developing as well. Many people tend to wear these helmets that look like baseball caps with cool designs on them. They are more protective than no helmet at all, but not nearly as much as a normal helmet.
In this picture, you can see that the ones on the right are the fashionable lower quality ones, and the ones on the right, although not very protective either, are thicker and more protective than the other ones.
Also, because Vietnam's motorbike riding population is growing all the time, helmets are in very high demand, and the good quality ones are getting more and more expensive. That is why people have been selling cheap helmets, about 5 times less than the standard helmets, and these helmets are not very good quality (1) . One seller in Ho Chi Minh City said he sold his helmets for 2,000VND (equivalent to approximately 0.1USD), and his helmets were made from waste plastic! (2)
According to the Vietnam Consumer Safety Association, 80% of all helmets sold did not pass certain safety tests (3). They have not been very useful in protecting the heads of the Vietnamese during road crashes and accidents. Substandard helmets are the cause of 15.9% of all head injuries in Vietnam (2).
The reason the authorities cannot stop these people from selling these substandard helmets is because the sellers argue that there is no evidence showing that these helmets are for motorbike riders, and could be for bicycle riders or pedestrians (2). Some even have ruses on them, putting logos of people walking, bicycling, and golfing, and these activities do not have a set standard for their helmets (4). However, because these are so cheap, people buy them.
Because I ride my bike a lot here, I knew I needed a helmet. When I went to go buy one, I had a huge selection to choose from, between good helmets and the cool, fashionable ones. I tried them both on, and the fashionable ones were much more comfortable, that’s for sure. It felt like wearing any old baseball cap, it was much lighter, less hot, and I knew it didn’t look as silly as the good quality helmets. In the end, I thought about my safety and chose the helmet that would protect me more.
However, the difference between bike riding in countries such as America and here is that in those countries, you wear helmets to protect your head when you fall over. Here, your head will be protected by a helmet, but what is protecting you from the motorbikes running you over?
Works Cited
1.Diperbaharui, Terakhir. Asia Calling. N.p., 12 July 2009. Web. 24 Oct. 2011.
2."Manufacturers of substandard helmets ‘difficult to punish' ." Vietnam Society.
DZtimes, 18 Dec. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://vietnamsociety.dztimes.net/2010/12/ manufacturers-of-substandard-helmets.html>.
3."VIETNAM: Helmet habit is saving lives ." IRINews. N.p., 16 Dec. 2008. Web. 25
4.Your Vietnam Expert. "Vietnam - Substandard crash helmets remain rife in city ."
Your Vietnam Expert. Blogger, 28 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://yourviet.blogspot.com/2011/09/ vietnam-substandard-crash-helmets.html>.
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