Ahead of the start of new school term, authorities have finalized their traffic management plans to ensure the safety of children and to handle the influx of heavy traffic efficiently. The new school term begins on Sunday, September 2, 2018 and Dubai Police has launched a campaign titled “A Day without Accidents” to eliminate the risk of road deaths involving children on the first day of the new school term. According to government statistics, road injuries are the most prevalent cause of road deaths amongst children in the country and with the new campaign, authorities will look to set a new precedent for child safety in vehicles and on the roads.
On road child safety has been a subject of serious discussion amongst all stakeholders in the UAE and many notable initiatives have been taken by authorities to eliminate the risk of road deaths involving children.
Details of the New Campaign Launched by Dubai Police
The new traffic campaign “A Day without Accidents” has been launched by Dubai Police to promote awareness amongst all the stakeholders about safety of children. The new campaign will aim at urging drivers to refrain from their egocentric behavior and contribute towards making Dubai roads safer for children. The campaign will also promote awareness about safe driving practices amongst school bus drivers.
How can Motorists Participate in the New Campaign?
Motorists have been encouraged to register for the new campaign on Dubai Police website and pledge to follow traffic rules, allow pedestrians the right of way and respect speed limits. Those motorists who register and take part in making the new campaign by Dubai Police successful will be awarded with gifts and prizes.
The safety of children on roads and in vehicles can only be ensured if motorists don’t commit dangerous traffic violations. Motorists should stop when the stop sign of a school bus is activated on a road, a violation of which can levy a hefty fine of AED 1,000 and 10 black points can be issued against the offender’s driving license. As part of the awareness campaign, authorities will also provide information to motorists on where they should safely park their vehicles near school areas and how they should use designated crossings to cross roads with children.
ساهم معنا في إنجاح حملة ” #يوم_بلا_حوادث “، عبر التسجيل في “وثيقة التعهد”، واستفد من الخصومات المرورية المذهلة، وكن من الملتزمين بقوانين السير والمرور، لتكن شوارع دبي أكثر أمانا.
https://t.co/hXndGS5oWk
#شرطة_دبي#أمنكم_سعادتنا#نتواصل_ونحمي_نبتكر_ونبني pic.twitter.com/dQXx8f6umf— Dubai Policeشرطة دبي (@DubaiPoliceHQ) August 24, 2018
Also read: Motorists to be fined for ignoring the Stop Sign on School Buses
Authorities to Promote Awareness amongst School Bus Drivers
Authorities will also promote awareness amongst the school bus drivers to urge them to follow child safety protocols, especially when they pick or drop children. The drivers and conductors of school buses obtain training from the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai where they learn safety procedures that are required to be followed to ensure safety of children and other commuters. Bus drivers are advised to activate the stop sign whenever they stop to pick or drop children, a violation of which can levy a hefty fine of AED 500 and six black points. It is important to remember that drivers of both light and heavy vehicles can face the suspension of their driving license if the black points against their license amount to 24.
Efforts Made by Authorities to Improve the Safety of Child Passengers
Traffic authorities have taken some notable initiatives in the recent past to improve the safety of child passengers in a vehicle. Authorities have outlined protocols that need to be followed by owners of private vehicles and bus drivers to ensure that the risk of road deaths involving child passengers can be completely eliminated. In 2017, the traffic law was amended in the UAE to improve the road safety situation in the country. Many new violations were introduced in the new traffic law while the fines for dangerous traffic violations were increased significantly.
A new seatbelt policy and standardization of child safety restraints in vehicles were also major developments that followed the implementation of the amended traffic law. Both of these developments were directly linked to child safety in vehicles. The new seatbelt policy introduced many new rules and regulations to improve the safety of children in vehicles.
To know more about the new seatbelt policy, read our blog titled, The UAE Cabinet Approves Policy on Car Safety Seats for Children.
The rules for standardization of child safety seats were introduced in March this year. The standardization of child safety seats aimed at introducing new benchmarks for ensuring quality in child safety restraints for vehicles sold in the market. It was made compulsory for all vendors to meet particular standards to sell their child safety restraints in the UAE market.
To know which standards were set for improving the quality of child safety in vehicles, read our blog titled, New Rules for Standardizing Child Car Safety Seats Implemented in the UAE.
The summer vacation is coming to an end next week as the back-to-school season kicks off! If you live by or pass through school zones, leave your house a little earlier& use the #RTASmartDrive app to get to your destination on time. Download it now: https://t.co/O25Yworh2a pic.twitter.com/4Ig21iCKzX
— RTA (@RTA_Dubai) August 29, 2018
Making the Coming Sunday Accident-free
Traffic authorities will aim at making the coming Sunday accident-free to ensure the safety of children at the start of new school term. Authorities have announced that if the campaign achieves its objective and no accidents are reported in the emirate, the authorities will consider making it an annual event. Motorists should now play their part and participate in the new campaign to help authorities in achieving their goal of ensuring an accident-free Sunday on September 2, 2018.
Our streets are much safer when we commit and obey traffic laws and regulations. Join the “ #ADayWithoutAccidents ” Campaign, register and take the Pledge to ensure the beginning of new academic year ,2/9 , is a traffic accidents-free day.https://t.co/hXndGS5oWk pic.twitter.com/soBmi9rNMs
— Dubai Policeشرطة دبي (@DubaiPoliceHQ) August 28, 2018
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