Major General Mohammed Saif Al-Zafin, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police for Operations Affairs, Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council, said that circular will be passed to all Transport departments in the country and Road and Transport Authority (RTA) addressing them to provide two children’s seats in taxis. These child seats need to be placed in the trunk of the car so that it can be used at the time of need.
He further said that the coming times will witness a follow-up to take preventive measures and spread awareness about the most irregularities that people aren’t aware of. He pointed out that violators who do not provide children with seats in their vehicles in all Emirates will be stopped and advised to be careful about the safety of their children.
Parents allowing their small children on the front seats are risking their lives, he stressed. Making your children sit on the rear seat provides the highest safety. A study has shown that placing children in the back seats on dedicated car seats or wearing them a seat belt reduces their risk of accidental deaths by 70 per cent and reduces serious injuries by 50 percent.
Major General Al-Zafin expressed his astonishment at the insistence of some mothers wanting to hold their children in front seats without any means of protection, He urged the mothers to sit in the back seat along with their child to preserve their lives. This is especially important for children from Asian and Arab nationalities as these children are not used to sitting in child seats. This might not be a problem for European nationalities because they are accustomed in their countries to the same
He said that also the driver will not focus on the road if the child is not placed on a safe child seat reserved for them. Not placing them in the child seat may leave them injured if the driver suddenly stops the car. Children carrying games with them and dropping them on the ground also constitutes a threat to the child and the driver.
He said the traffic authorities were concerned about “Child Safety” awareness to educate parents about the traffic amendments including requiring the driver to place a child under the age of 4 in the car seat of the vehicle. Safety can be followed by not allowing children under the age of ten or under the age of (145 cm) to sit in the front seat of the vehicle.
Offenders not following the child seat rule will be fined 400 dirhams with 4 black points. Experts said that the use of children’s seats can be more useful in family taxis not in regular taxis and the number of family taxis can be increased according to the need.
It is worthy to mention that Abu Dhabi has provided 150 family cars which constitute 5 per cent of total taxis in Abu Dhabi.
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