Story #18 : the helmet vaccine
Motorcycles in South East Asia
Motorcycles crossing the Long Bien bridge, Hanoi
You have to visit South-East Asia to understand the level of motorcycle penetration in cities. In countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and The Philippines, mopeds and motorcycles are the primary modes of transport.
Unfortunately, also one of the most dangerous. Experts label motorcyclists under the category ‘vulnerable road users’. Head injuries can create long-lasting traumas, if not causing the death of bikers when a crash occurs.
Despite that, the helmet use rate is not yet high, particularly for children. Moreover, the presence on the market of cheap, plastic helmets with minimum, if not absent, protection, coupled with the lack of awareness of end user, result in a sort of ‘Russian roulette’: the first mistake can be fatal to any biker or passenger of a motorcycle.
The story I want to share comes from Protec, a social enterprise based in Hanoi, Vietnam, producing ethically-sourced helmets.
Protec
The factory is accessible to disabled people
Established in 2000, a few years ago, right before COVID, Protec opened a second 20,000m2 factory in Vinh Phuc Province, Vietnam, an hour's drive outside Hanoi. The one I had the chance to visit.
Since day one, the mission has been clear and very ambitious: finding and injecting a vaccine in the transport system, the only vaccine possible for motorcycle safety.
Helmets.
It is strange to imagine, but countries where the number of motorcycles is booming are also the countries with the lowest helmet standard. It means that riders buy helmets that do not protect their head, or not as European helmets do.
I had the fortune to visit the plant and see all the production lines: the testing laboratory to measure the effect of a crash on a helmet; the different phases of production, including the mall that can produce helmets based on international standards, the same we use in Europe or in North America; the way automation and human control interact, to achieve a high-quality product.
A bad helmet, failing basic crash test
I wanted to photograph and document the behind the scene and the ‘production’ of this vaccine.
Protec employs 150 workers at its factory, a significant portion of whom are living with disabilities.
At the factory
As all modern factories, there is a component of automated function, with robot programmed to work independently. It is impressive to see how this machine design and forge the shell and the shape of an helmet.
But the human component remains relevant, ensuring a quality control on each individual helmet. Every single piece was manually handled and controlled.
Specific components are handles manually, ensuring high quality control
Motorcycle safety start with good quality helmets
I saw people working with enthusiasm, not only because of the high-quality standard of working conditions but also because my impression was that they feel to be part of a broader effort to contribute to saving lives.
Stock of helmet ready for shipment
The Founder
A chat with Greig Craft,
Founder of Protec
Greig Craft, the founder, was not there during my visit, but I had the chance to discuss with him about all this started. First question was about WHY helmet.
“When I arrived in Vietnam, I was shocked to see most victims were painfully young, most of whom were just graduating from high schools, and would likely become the main supporters in their families in the future. Why could this happen in a country that boasted one of the highest post-natal vaccination rates of the world?”
Setting up a factory is not an easy process, and I wanted to know also HOW if helmet wearing was a cultural issue in Vietnam.
Not only helmets were not mandatory for riding a motorbike, but event standard were lacking.
“We measured 5000 heads to find an appropriate fit for Asians. We created the world’s first ‘tropical’. It met our key criteria to be climate-appropriate, lightweight, and affordable”
The story of Protec wouldn’t be complete with the parallel work that Greig and his team undertook with the AIP Foundation, pushing traffic safety in the national agenda; promoting helmet donation programmes for kids; building alliance to change the culture around helmet safety; bringing in international partner.
One of the key outcomes of this effort was the introduction, in 2007, of the helmet law in Vietnam. Since then, fatalities have dropped by 33.500.
Moreover, it is estimated that in the first ten years of application of the law, 500,000 head injuries and 15,000 fatalities have been prevented due to the increase of helmet use, without considering medical costs and human suffering.
Helmets produced in this social enterprise ensure quality and affordability and have saved many lives. Protec is a place of hope, built to inject a vaccine in a society which suffers from an invisible pandemic.
Helmet safety
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