Cào's blog

Catopus is a space for kids, built with a view to keep kids safe from the traffic after school. Placed in the intersection, Catopus helps children cross the road safely and easily.

Catopus is a space for kids, built with a view to keep kids safe from the traffic after school. Placed in the intersection, Catopus helps children cross the road safely and easily.

Inspired by the 2 animals: Cat and Octopus, Catopus owns a cute and friendly look that attracts children, therefore promotes its functionality and encourages children practice road safety. Catopus has 4 legs for 4 “stairs” that go in 4 directions at the intersection. There will be chairs and matts inside its body so children can play inside. Catopus’s shell is made from purple tinted glass to tone down the sun.

Catopus is environmentally friendly, economical, inclusive and
multifunctional. Aside from being an overhead footbridge, it’s also a safe playground for children while waiting for their parents to come pick them up. Unlike the regular overhead footbridge that uses walking stairs, Catopus uses escalators,
climbers and slide to create a fun and inclusive version of such boring task as going up and down. The escalators are designed to be wheel chair friendly. To save energy and prevent accidents, the escalators only runs when the red button  on the side is pushed.

 

The exportation changed the colors.

Political 

The Vietnamese government has done quite a few measures in order to keep children safe when crossing the road. According to Vietnamese Pedestrian Law, protocol 171/2013/NĐ-CP, no child under the age of 7 shall cross the busy roads without an adult and it’s every adult’s duty to help children under 7 cross the road. In areas outside schools, kindergartens and kids clubs where children often gather, Kids Playing Safety signs are planted to encourage drivers to be extra careful (Pedestrian Law 2011, p. 15). However, the Vietnamese law enforcement seem to fail to discipline transportation users. As if the laws don’t exist, people don’t yield to pedestrians, run red lights, walk on the road, cross the road without signal lights and crosswalks and so on.

Economical 

Children in the low socio-economic groups are found to be 4 times more likely to be killed as pedestrians than those in the highest groups. A study in the US shows that there are many families living below the poverty level in areas where a high number of child pedestrian accidents is reported (Petch & Henson 2000). It can be observed on the streets of Vietnam that there’s a large number of underprivileged kids, either sitting on the pavement or walking on the road asking for money. These children are often seen without parental supervision and breaking the pedestrian law, posing a high risk for road injuries.

Emotional

The death and injuries of children involved in road accidents have several emotional effects on themselves as well as their families. A study in England indicated that up to 35% of the children involved in road accidents exhibit symptoms for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The disorder seems to affect more female patients, regardless of the type, nature and severity of the accidents. 24% of the families with child death was reported to separate. Stress within the family is reported to go on for years after the incident. As a result, parents drink more, have trouble sleeping and experience worse anxiety (Stallard 1998).

Industry/ Technological

In the automotive industry, pedestrian safety is quite a crucial criterion in the design process. The more aerodynamic new cars, with the front shapes that allow smoother air flow, are proven to reduce injuries risks in the upper leg and pelvic areas. The collision avoidance system has also been improved with the same view. The system recognizes impending collisions and sends warnings to the driver using cameras, radar and sometimes laser.  Another advancement of the industry is automatic braking system technology. The technology focuses mostly on preventing high-speed collisions. With a sensory input, the automation detects and determines the object and its speed in order to activate the brakes (Kallina 2002). The newly introduced self-driving car is also promised to reduce accidents by as much as 50%. 

       The mobile apps industry has introduced a few apps that help children learn more about road safety. Take the Arility app funded by the Australian government for example. The app was created to raise students’ awareness and knowledge of road safety as pedestrians. Through an augmented reality, six different scenarios are presented for users to experience the risk of the activities (Australian Road Safety Commision 2019). 

Functional/ Social 

Even though there has been a lot of new implementations that help pedestrians cross the road more safely, the majority of Vietnamese still stick to their risky habit of crossing the road. It’s easy to understand why: old habits die hard. For example, the government has built a large amount of overhead footbridges in recent years that ended up being ignored. Even though it’s a much safer option that does not require some law breaking, hardly anyone uses it simply because it takes a lot of effort to go up and down the stairs (Trade Union of Hanoi 2018).  Another aspect that’s worth considering is that the bridge remains optional while no one is stopping them from breaking the law. As a nature of a society, the actions and attitude are contagious, especially to the learning minds of children.

Environmental

Compared to car drivers, pedestrians are exposed to twice as much traffic related pollution. (Wijnen, Verhoeff, Jans and Bruggen 1995). In the busy streets of Vietnam, pedestrians are slowed down and in direct contact with the smoke produced by cars and motorbikes. This is quite unfair, as pedestrians hardly do anything to affect the air yet are the most affected. 

With a view to minimize the exposure and also to improve road safety for pedestrians, a pedestrian tunnel was built in Hanoi. The tunnel provides a safe space with fresh air for road crossing or everyday activities (Minh 2017). 

Cultural

Vietnamese people have a fairly dangerous habit when it comes to crossing the road. Signal lights and marked crossings are mainly in the intersections so in other places, people cross the road by carefully heading across the road in a slow and steady pace. The vehicles anticipate the crossing pedestrians’ next move and go around them like flowing water. Due to scooters being Vietnamese most common mode of transportation, it works perfectly despite the risks. This method is seen by locals as something so regular it’s only ever brought up by foreign tourists (Heidi 2015).

Educational/Awareness

The rush hours in Vietnam are also the hours after school for many students. Students are much more likely to get into or cause road accidents as a large number commutes on their own or hangs out after school in the busy traffic. For a long time, Vietnamese schools, from primary schools to high schools, have been holding campaigns, programs and competitions to raise students’ awareness of road safety. Due to the playful and creative nature of children, students are educated through interactive games, drawing competitions, playwriting competitions, festivals, talkshow and many more (Vietnam Department of Transportation 2018).

Ethical

Regarding the matter of ethicality, there’s a terrifying unwritten rule amongst truck drivers in Vietnam. Since truck and bus drivers are low-income workers, they’re asked by their employers to go over and make sure they kill the pedestrian if they were to hit any. The reasoning behind this bizarre rule is that the money spent on a funeral and compensation for the dead victim’s family is much less than the life-long medical expenses of a heavily injured person. Many truck drivers got buried in debts and unemployment because the victim got in a vegetative state. Truck drivers are put in a dilemma where they have to choose between themselves and their family, and their morality (Nhat 2017).

REF

The Government of Vietnam 2011, ‘Vietnamese Pedestrian Law’, viewed on 5 July 2019, http://www.hongha.vn/news/pdf/luat-giao-thong-duong-bo-1312.pdf

Petch, RO & Henson, RR 2000, ‘Journal of Transport Geography’, Elsevier, vol. 8, no. 3, pp. 197-211.

Nguyen, C 2018 ‘Tai dien nan tre xin an khap pho’, viewed on 5 July 2019, 

https://thanhnien.vn/thoi-su/tai-dien-nan-tre-xin-an-khap-pho-972423.html

Staller, P, Velleman, R & Balwin, S 1998, ‘Prospective study of post-traumatic stress disorder in children involved in road traffic accidents’, BMJ.

Kallina, I 2002, ‘Pedestrian protection:​ looking for potentials’, Proceedings of the International IRCOBI Conference on the Biomechanics of Impact, Germany 

Australian Road Safety Commision 2019, ‘Child Road Safety Programs’, viewed on 5 July 2019, https://www.rsc.wa.gov.au/Your-Safety/People/Children/Child-Road-Safety-Programs

Trade Union of Hanoi 2018, ‘Nguoi dan chua man ma voi cau vuot ham di bo’,  viewed on 5 July 2019, http://laodongthudo.vn/nguoi-dan-chua-man-ma-voi-cau-vuot-ham-di-bo-80725.html

Wiljen, JH, Verhoeff, A & Jans, HWA 1995, ‘The exposure of cyclists, car drivers and pedestrians to traffic-related air pollutants’, Int. Arch Occup Environ Heath, vol. 67, no. 3, pp. 187–193.

Nhan, M 2017, ‘Chùm ảnh: Một nhịp sống Hà Nội thật khác ở “phố đi bộ” 12 cửa dưới lòng đất trong 10 năm qua’, viewed on 5 July 2019, http://kenh14.vn/chum-anh-mot-nhip-song-ha-noi-that-khac-o-pho-di-bo-12-cua-duoi-long-dat-trong-10-nam-qua-2017102612394893.chn 

Heidi 2015, ‘How to cross the road in Vietnam’, viewed on 5 July 2019, https://wagonersabroad.com/how-to-cross-the-street-in-vietnam/

Vietnam Department of Transportation 2019, ‘Tuyên truyền an toàn giao thông cho học sinh: Nhiều chương trình thiết thực’, viewed on 5 July 2019, http://mt.gov.vn/vn/tin-tuc/58461/tuyen-truyen-an-toan-giao-thong-cho-hoc-sinh–nhieu-chuong-trinh-thiet-thuc.aspx

Nhat, L 2017, ‘Luật ngầm khiến nhiều tài xế quyết tâm cán nạn nhân tai nạn đến chết’, Vietnam Television News, viewed on 5 July 2019, https://vov.vn/tin-24h/luat-ngam-khien-nhieu-tai-xe-quyet-tam-can-nan-nhan-tai-nan-den-chet-689031.vov

Regarding the matter of safe road crossing for children, the 3 most relevant stakeholders are the child, its family and the environment. It is evident that the child itself is the most important factor, as their attitude and behaviors directly affect their life and well-being. There are quite a few natural factors that could influence how the kid acts: gender, age, residential area, disabilities, just to name a few. For example, girls are often more careful and receptive than boys. They might remember what they’re been taught better and run around less, which makes them less susceptible to pedestrian accidents. The parental figures also play an important role. Kids imitate what their parents do and are more aware of the things their parents have warned them about. If the parental figures abide by the laws and cross the road carefully, their children is highly likely to do the same. On the other hand, kids run a higher risk of being killed or injured on the road if the parents neglect and fail to teach them road safety. The last stakeholder mentioned is the environment. The environment includes the society, the ecosystem and the infrastructure around them. An organized and civilized environment reduces the risk of accidents.

As a toddler, Stakeholder Map was small, simple but quite cute. She liked braiding her own hair into two little pig tails.

She looked awkward as an adolescent but she was full of ideas and personality. She cut her hair short like a boy as a way to rebel.

Time flies like an arrow (Fruit flies like a banana)

Stakeholder Map has now grown into a beautiful and desirable Stakeholder Tree. She is confident and knowledgable. She grew out her curly hair and dyed it green.

1. Little boy crossing the road with his grandma

https://gfycat.com/fondslushyemperorshrimp

2. Korean girl crossing the road with her mama (clip is short I’m sorry)

https://gfycat.com/graveunsungiberianmole

3. A group of teenagers run across the street

https://gfycat.com/oldfashionedunkemptbarnacle

That’s all, I’ll update when I get more footages