Child seat belts to be made mandatory
Hello Qatar!
The UAE needs to tighten up its laws in relation to seat belts, government and business officials said at a road safety press conference in Dubai on Tuesday.
“It is absolutely essential that governments throughout the GCC and throughout the region make it illegal to travel in the back of any car without using the seatbelts provided,” Phil Horton, managing director of BMW Group Middle East told Arabian Business on Tuesday on the sidelines of a press conference to launch BMW’s ‘Stay Alert. Stay Alive’ road safety initiative.
“Also it would be highly advantageous if they would mandate the use of child restraints,” Horton added.
As part of the campaign, 1,000 BMW customers were surveyed and it was found that 66 percent said they did not regularly wear seatbelts in the back seat and 37 percent confessed that their children did not use child seats when travelling with them.
Only 46 percent of countries in the world have laws making it mandatory to use child safety restraints in cars and Saudi Arabia is the only country in the Middle East that has implemented any such legislation.
Dr Jens Thomsen, section head of the occupational and environmental health public health and research department of the Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD), called for the introduction of such laws in the UAE.
“The HAAD would strongly recommend the introduction of a child safety restraint law in this country and the emirate of Abu Dhabi as soon as possible,” Thomsen said at the press conference.
“Infant and child car safety restraints have proven to be highly effective public health interventions. There is scientific evidence that they are 71 percent effective for infants and 54 percent effective for toddlers in preventing childhood fatalities attributable to car crashes,” he added.
While awareness of the effectiveness of child safety restraints is high in the UAE, their usage is very low. A survey carried out by HAAD in December 2008 found that 80 percent of people in Abu Dhabi are fully aware that babies and toddlers should be strapped into child safety seats. However, a 2008 study by the UAE University in Al Ain found that 98 percent of children travelling in a car were not restrained and 23 percent of children were travelling in the front seat, which is illegal in the UAE for children below the age of ten.
The Al Ain study also found that, on average, only 29 percent of drivers were wearing a seat belt and that the seat belt usage rate dropped to 11 percent among Emirati drivers.
As part of the ‘Stay Alert. Stay Alive’ campaign, BMW is planning to have two awareness days in which it will give away 4,000 child safety booster cushions for free. The awareness days will take place on Friday April 2 at the Abu Dhabi Corniche, and Friday April 9 at the Dubai Creekside Park.
Article Source: http://www.arabianbusiness.com/584374-calls-for-child-seat-belts-to-be-m...
I think laws do need to be put in place for things like this. I can remember 30 years ago or so in the UK, people used to drive around without seatbelts, children weren't strapped in, people had more children in the car than the number of seats (you could see this just by looking at the number of passengers in cars at that time). It was only after laws were made that people really took notice and started putting seat belts on. I was around 10 - 13 at the time, so when I started driving at 18, I didn't know know any difference and have always used a seat belt. I have always belted my children in because this was the norm for me and have never not done it. I would not even think of not putting a seatbelt on. Hopefully, given time things will be like that over here, people will automatically use seatbelts.
Common sense is very uncommon, isnt it...:)
And not everyone may be as aware of the hazards of certain acts as you are ...drunk driving can be another example.....but welfare and well being of the people is the responsibilty of the govt... and if it feels that it needs to intervene in the larger interest of the people it does that by making laws and implementing them. At the end its in our interest.
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One life to live, live it to the fullest.
well i dont need a law to tell me that not buckling up the kids in their child restraint seats is foolish and irresponsible. Theres no laws here forcing me to make my kids travel in their child seats and thats the first thing i bought when i arrived here. Common sense really.
We know that or we are supposed to know that driving beyond a particular speed or driving a two wheeler without a helmet can be hazardous but still laws are made and fines imposed on people violating such laws.
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One life to live, live it to the fullest.
Its a shame that people need a law to realise childrens safety is important when travelling in a car.
The message also depends on the receiver. Is it all what you can get from it?
BMW conducted a survey on its customers as the reckless government and law enforcement is what you see... maybe, I don't know ;)
So this is an ad for the BMW?