At Lê Quý Đôn GIfted High School, the road from the school gate slopes fairly steeply, so students make a conscious effort to look carefully before merging into traffic. Small habits like these are helping students develop respect for traffic laws and take greater responsibility for their own safety on the road.

As the 2026-2027 academic year began, Lê Quý Đôn Gifted High School worked with the Traffic Police Division of the provincial Police to organize a traffic-safety education and safe-riding skills program for all teachers, staff and students. For high school students, the use of motorcycles and electric motorcycles to travel to school has become a particular concern.

According to Senior Captain Trần Thanh Tùng of the Traffic Police Division, many high school students ride motorcycles or electric motorcycles to school, and a lack of knowledge or riding skills, combined with complacency, can significantly increase the risk of accidents. Traffic-safety education therefore needs to focus on situations students commonly encounter, teaching them how to observe their surroundings, maintain a safe distance, slow down and respond proactively to unexpected situations. This helps students identify risks and develop safe road-use habits.

To build a safer school environment, Mường Tùng commune has put in place a model known as “Safe and secure school gates.” The commune has four schools with nearly 3,120 students. Every day, large numbers of students, parents, teachers and staff travel along relatively busy roads, particularly at the start and end of the school day.

In response, Mường Tùng commune Police proactively advised the Party Committee and local authorities on implementing the “Safe and secure school gates” model. The initiative aims to strengthen patrols, promptly detect and handle violations, and step up traffic-law communication and education for students, parents, teachers and staff around school gates.

Trần Mạnh Năm, Vice Chairman of the Mường Tùng commune People’s Committee, said the model has strengthened the role of commune police in advising local authorities on maintaining public order and safety at the grassroots level. More importantly, it has encouraged coordination among schools, families and relevant forces in creating a safer school environment. During drop-off and pick-up times in particular, directing traffic and reminding parents to stop and park in designated areas helps prevent disorderly congestion around school gates.

In the 2026-2027 academic year, alongside the implementation of a new organizational model following the restructuring of the local school network, educational institutions across Điện Biên continue to regard traffic safety for students as an ongoing priority, closely linked to moral education, life skills and the development of a safe and healthy school environment. Following the restructuring, the number of public education service units has fallen to just over 190, while the number of schools, school sites and satellite campuses remains substantial, particularly in mountainous areas.

This situation calls for new approaches to traffic-law communication, student management and education that are suited to the circumstances of each locality. From the beginning of the academic year, the Department of Education and Training has instructed educational institutions to step up communication on traffic safety and public-order regulations through various formats, incorporating traffic-safety content into classroom lessons, extracurricular activities, flag-raising ceremonies and class meetings.

The education sector is also continuing to work with the police to implement a program providing students with guidance on safe motorcycle riding skills. One key requirement is for 100% of students and their parents to sign commitments to comply with traffic-safety regulations at the beginning of the academic year. Parents are instructed not to allow students who are underage or do not have the required driving license to use motorcycles or mopeds. This is intended to strengthen families’ responsibility for managing vehicles while ensuring closer coordination between families and schools in educating students about compliance with the law.

According to Trần Đăng Ninh, Deputy Director of the Department of Education and Training, ensuring traffic safety for students is an ongoing priority linked to moral education, life skills and the development of a safe educational environment. In addition to communication and education, schools need to strengthen checks on compliance with helmet requirements when students travel by motorcycle, moped, electric motorcycle, or electric bicycle, and incorporate compliance with traffic-safety regulations into assessments of students’ conduct.

When schools are notified by the police that a student has violated traffic-safety regulations, they conduct reviews and educational sessions and work with the student’s parents to provide closer supervision and help prevent repeat violations. In this way, disciplinary action goes beyond simply issuing reminders and instead aims to change students’ awareness and behavior.

For a culture of traffic safety to truly take root in schools, every teacher, staff member, parent and student needs to serve as an ambassador through their own actions. Voluntarily following the rules, from wearing helmets properly and staying in the correct lane to obeying traffic signals and not using vehicles without meeting the legal requirements, can help establish positive habits and set an example for students. In this way, traffic-safety culture can extend beyond school-based communication and gradually spread into the wider community, helping build safer and more civilized school environments.