Dubai Police are handing out free car seats to parents as part of a campaign to promote child safety.
It comes after two children died this year and 45 others were seriously injured, in 47 traffic accidents.
Child Seat, Safety and Serenity, which launched on Tuesday, will include a series of initiatives to educate parents and caregivers about the correct use of car seats.
We urge parents to respect the law and prioritize the use of car seats to protect them
Major General Saif Al Mazroui, director of traffic department, Dubai Police
Dubai Police has teamed up with Audi Auto, Noon and other partners to provide education on how to use child safety seats, how to choose the best seat based on the age and weight of the child, and how to install them correctly.
Major General Saif Al Mazroui, director of Dubai Police’s traffic department, said the force will distribute free child seats and other gifts to parents in the emirate during the campaign.
“Child car seats are a crucial part of ensuring their safety during a car trip. We urge parents to respect the law and prioritize the use of child seats to protect them,” said Major General Al Mazroui.
Recent police figures show two children were killed and 45 seriously injured in 45 road accidents in the first 10 months of this year.
The force said they were caused by a lack of care around child safety seats and parents allowing children to sit on their laps.
Allowing children under the age of 10, or those shorter than 145cm, to sit in the front seat is illegal, added Major General Al Mazroui.
“Parents should provide suitable child seats in the rear. Putting the child on the parents’ lap is risky behavior and endangers the lives of children,” she stated.
Child seats reduce the risk by 54 percent for children and 71 percent for infants, he added.
“If there was an emergency stop or an accident, the child’s body would hit the interior parts of the vehicle or be thrown out of the vehicle.”
According to the UAE Federal Traffic Law, everyone in a vehicle must wear a seat belt at all times, regardless of their age.
A child under four years of age must travel in a car seat.
Drivers who allow children to sit in the front seats of vehicles face fines of Dh400.
A growing problem
Thomas Edelmann, director general of Road Safety in the United Arab Emirates, said three waves of investigations were carried out with YouGov between 2017 and 2021 with more than 1,000 people.
“It was a surprising result, since about a third of parents do not have the necessary child seats for the car for different reasons, such as they do not know which seat to buy, or their children do not like to be buckled in, or The “Child seats are too expensive,” said Mr. Edelmann. The National.
“Two-thirds of parents who have appropriate child seats do not always ask their children to fasten their seat belts. Is incredible.”
Welcomes Dubai Police’s new campaign to raise awareness among parents as they are the main stakeholders and influencers.
“We need to strengthen the element of control, for example, in schools and kindergartens. We need a mandatory hospital discharge policy for newborns, as a federal law,” she said.
The responsibility falls on parents, Edelmann added, as they must establish proper safety habits from birth.
“It is important for parents to ensure that the seat belts do not go over the child’s neck, as a collision and forward forces could strangle the child,” he said.
Updated: November 7, 2023, 15:52
