(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) It's a sight that leaves many people uneasy. A child, unharnessed in the back of a moving vehicle peeking from its sunroof. But despite increased media awareness and official calls for improved child safety in cars, it's a sight that is all too common in Dubai.
The UAE's rapid expansion and planned diversification away from oil has seen the likes of Dubai catapult to many of the world's top ten lists, but compared to the Western world, it is still playing catch up when it comes to safety on the roads.
Parents and guardians are continuingly failing to keep their children buckled up while on the road, and after almost 10 years of awareness campaigns, the need for a law making it mandatory to wear backseat seat belts is immediate.
Speaking to Khaleej Times on Sunday after being shown a photograph of a young boy of barely seven or eight sticking out from the roof of a moving car, Founder and Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE, Thomas Edelmann, made his feelings clear from the get go.
"Shocking, shocking, shocking."
A father of one himself, Edelmann said child safety in cars "was and still is" non-negotiable for him.
"No belt, no start. It's simple. I do love my son, and hence I do everything I can to protect him. Parents who do not buckle up their kids, make a clear and very sad statement about how much they care about their kids," he said.
While general awareness is gradually increasing, the dire situation on the roads of Dubai hasn't changed - and both parents and law enforcers need to do something about it.
Now, with its vision for zero road fatalities by 2020, and the backing of an official from the World Health Organisation (WHO) saying the UAE has the potential to be one of the best countries in the world for road safety, focus is key.
Who is responsible?
Buckle up at the back
In 2010, Lesley Culley who lives in Dubai launched the non-profit safety awareness campaign 'Buckle Up in the Back'.
A campaign which is still going strong five years on, the mother-of-two says she witnessed "too many children travelling without proper safety restraint", and sought to publicly address the issue.
The campaign relies on social media support and word of mouth, and Culley believes there should be a three-way approach to making a change:
> Have the seat belt law introduced for anyone travelling in the back of a vehicle
> Proper enforcement
of the law
> Continued educational awareness in schools and nurseries to explain the reasoning behind Buckle Up.
Travelling around to different educational and organisational facilities in Dubai to conduct presentations on road safety for people of different age groups varying from three to 103, Culley and her team are doing their bit to tackle this ongoing issue.
To find out more, visit www.buckleupintheback.com
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
For Edelmann, the issue of child safety in cars needs to be tackled by a number of stakeholders.
"Schools, nurseries and the education sector. Prominent and consistent road safety education (needs to become) part of the curricula and road safety should be a vital part of a 'lifestyle' class, educating 'the next generation' on improving on the hot topics of the UAE society, like road safety."
He said the need to focus on the educational sector is three-fold as it helps "protect kids now"; encourages children to become "influencers" by inspiring them to become road safety ambassadors; and thirdly, helps nurture the "next generation" of responsible road traffic participants.
Unfortunately, it has become the norm to see moving vehicles carrying children jumping over each other in back seats, sticking out of sunroofs, and toddlers on the laps of their mothers. But despite public outrage from safety-conscious onlookers, a law on backseat buckling-up remains non-existent here. However, moves are being made to tackle the issue, according to Edelmann.
"Currently, there is no law in place for mandatory use of seat belts in the backseat, but our understanding is that the authorities are working on implementing a law on federal level," he told Khaleej Times.
In 2013, a study conducted by AC Nielsen showed that despite road accidents being the number one cause of child deaths in the UAE - at 60 per cent - almost two-thirds of parents (65 per cent) did not consider traffic accidents a potential hazard for their children.
The study, which surveyed 380 parents, also showed nearly half of the respondents - 43 per cent - did not use child car seats.
In truth, fewer than half the countries of the world require child safety restraints, with Saudi Arabia being the only country in the Middle East to do so.
Though efforts are under way to ensure the UAE becomes the second nation in the region to adopt such laws, lets hope the wait isn't too long - or at the cost of more children's lives.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com
VOX POP
Prakash Hariharan,
India, Dubai resident
I feel really sad and disheartened to see parents allowing their children to hang out of the sunroof. I've even seen some children actually hanging out of the windows. That's ridiculous! I would totally back a law making it mandatory to have children wearing seatbelts in the back seat. I've got a four-month-old son so I take child safety in cars very seriously. Back in India this is not a sight you see, but here it's far too common. I think it might be a cultural thing. I often honk at parents if I see kids unstrapped in the back but I rarely get a reaction from them.
Jessica Massolin,
France, Dubai resident
I have a 2-year-old daughter and one on the way so car safety precautions are a must for me. Even if my daughter screams her heart out, she's going in that child seat. It's not worth the risk and there are no negotiations. Many parents unbuckle their kids to stop them crying but I think that is wrong. A child running around in the back seat is a common sight in Dubai. I've been here nine years and I see it a lot. Parents need to be stricter and I think there is a real need for a federal law on seatbelt wearing like we have back home in France.
Rebecca Read,
UK, Tourist
Seeing a child unstrapped in a car would anger me beyond belief. I am the mother of a two-year-old beautiful little girl and her safety is my top priority. I wouldn't dream of letting her run free in the car while I'm driving. I remember my friend was baby sitting her once and needed to get a taxi somewhere but there was no child seat in the taxi. I outright refused to let her travel like that. It's really not worth the risk, whether it's a one minute or one hour journey. I'm just in Dubai on holiday so I haven't seen any incidences of this but if I did I would take a picture of the car and report them to the police. I find it quite unusual that there is no such law on back seat seat belt wearing here but it's a law that needs to be passed sooner rather than later.
Siti Syebanun,
Singapore, Tourist
My family and I are visiting from Singapore but it's not our first time here so seeing children running around on the back seat of a moving car is a sight we've witnessed many times here. I think safety is key, especially with children in the car. If there was a petition to bring in such a law I would definitely sign it. I think parents who allow their children to travel unstrapped in a car think as long as they drive safely nothing will happen but they shouldn't be taking that risk.
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