{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T15:17:20Z","timestamp":1771946240902,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1771891200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"\n Introduction<\/jats:title>\n 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 \u201cSlow Zones, Safe Zones\u201d (SZSZ) project, a comprehensive, multi-year intervention in Pleiku City designed to reduce road crash injuries and fatalities by making school zones safer.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n The project employed a phased design, beginning with a quasi-experimental pilot study (2018\u20132020) and expanding to a city-wide, pre-post evaluation (2020\u20132022). 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.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n 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\u2019s end. Parental knowledge of correct speed limits increased substantially from 15.6 to 93.2% (\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001). The project also catalyzed a legal decision by city authorities formally adopting a \u201cSafe School Zone definition\u201d.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Discussion<\/jats:title>\n 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.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1721586","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T14:42:20Z","timestamp":1771944140000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["A scalable model for child road safety in low- and middle-income countries: evidence and lessons from the \u2018slow zones, safe zones\u2019 intervention in Vietnam"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Cuong","family":"Pham","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center for Injury Policy and Prevention Research, Hanoi University of Public Health","place":["Hanoi, Vietnam"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Le","family":"Nguyen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AIP Foundation","place":["Hanoi, Vietnam"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hong","family":"Bui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AIP Foundation","place":["Hanoi, Vietnam"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mirjam","family":"Sidik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AIP Foundation","place":["Hanoi, Vietnam"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Phong","family":"Le","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"AIP Foundation","place":["Hanoi, Vietnam"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Atsani","family":"Ariobowo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"FIA Foundation","place":["London, United Kingdom"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","volume-title":"Decade of action for road safety 2021\u20132030: Global plan","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref2","volume-title":"Transforming our world: The 2030 agenda for sustainable development","year":"2015"},{"key":"ref3","volume-title":"Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 (GBD 2019) Cause and Risk Factor Results 1990-2019 [Internet]","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"18757","DOI":"10.3402\/gha.v6i0.18757","article-title":"Road traffic injury among young people in Vietnam: evidence from two rounds of national adolescent health surveys, 2004\u20132009","volume":"6","author":"Le","year":"2013","journal-title":"Glob Health Action"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.2174\/1874447802014010237","article-title":"The effects of picking up primary school pupils on surrounding street\u2019s traffic: a case study in Hanoi","volume":"14","author":"Hiep","year":"2020","journal-title":"Open Transp J"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"012074","DOI":"10.1088\/1755-1315\/143\/1\/012074","article-title":"Analysis of child-related road traffic accidents in Vietnam","volume":"143","author":"Vu","year":"2018","journal-title":"IOP Conf Ser: Earth Environ Sci"},{"key":"ref7","volume-title":"Slow zones, safe zones - phase I: preliminary report","year":"2020"},{"key":"ref8","volume-title":"Low-speed zone guide: Empowering communities and decision makers to plan, design, and implement effective low-speed zones","author":"Adriazola-Steil","year":""},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0301993","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0301993","article-title":"Statistical estimation of fatal and serious injuries saved by iRAP protocols in 74 countries","volume":"19","author":"Li","year":"2024","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"ref10","volume-title":"Traffic safety dimensions and the Power model to describe the effect of speed on safety [Doctoral thesis]","author":"Nilsson","year":"2004"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"854","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aap.2012.07.012","article-title":"A re-parameterisation of the power model of the relationship between the speed of traffic and the number of accidents and accident victims","volume":"50","author":"Elvik","year":"2013","journal-title":"Accid Anal Prev"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aap.2018.11.014","article-title":"Updated estimates of the relationship between speed and road safety at the aggregate and individual levels","volume":"123","author":"Elvik","year":"2019","journal-title":"Accid Anal Prev"},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1604499","DOI":"10.3389\/phrs.2022.1604499","article-title":"Evidence from the decade of action for road safety: a systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions in low and middle-income countries","volume":"43","author":"Tavakkoli","year":"2022","journal-title":"Public Health Rev"},{"key":"ref14","volume-title":"Managing speed [internet]","year":"2022"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1084","DOI":"10.1139\/cjce-2018-0060","article-title":"Are school zones effective in reducing speeds and improving safety?","volume":"45","author":"Sun","year":"2018","journal-title":"Can J Civ Eng"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"414","DOI":"10.1136\/injuryprev-2018-042786","article-title":"School area road safety assessment and improvements (SARSAI) programme reduces road traffic injuries among children in Tanzania","volume":"25","author":"Poswayo","year":"2019","journal-title":"Inj Prev"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"11185","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph182111185","article-title":"Lives saved in low- and middle-income countries by road safety initiatives funded by Bloomberg philanthropies and implemented by their partners between 2007\u20132018","volume":"18","author":"Hendrie","year":"2021","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0318088","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0318088","article-title":"Evaluating the effectiveness of speed humps and rumble strips in improving pedestrian safety in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia","volume":"20","author":"Tulu","year":"2025","journal-title":"PLoS One"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1721586\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]],"date-time":"2026-02-24T14:42:22Z","timestamp":1771944142000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1721586\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]]},"references-count":18,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1721586"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1721586","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,24]]},"article-number":"1721586"}}