Vietnam requires children to wear helmets

Hanoi: Vietnam has closed a legal loophole that exempts children from wearing motorcycle helmets when they ride with their parents, state media reported on Saturday.

Under a revised Transport Law that will take effect July 1, adults transporting children under age of 16 without a helmet will be fined up to $11, the Thanh Nien newspaper reported.

Currently, children under 16 or the adults responsible for them cannot be penalised if youngsters riding as passengers do not wear a helmet.

The World Health Organization has urged the Vietnamese government to amend the law to include penalties.

Vietnam recorded 13,000 road deaths last year, one of the world's highest rates per 100,000 with the majority of accidents involving motorbikes.