According to the latest figures, two thirds of motorists who die following a road collision were not wearing seat belts. Since July, the UAE introduced a ‘holistic seat belt law’ to try and clamp down on rogue motorists. Abu Dhabi Police fined 39,956 motorists between January and September for seat belt offences. Failure to fasten seat belt while driving will result in a Dh400 fine for the driver, and the same for failing to fasten seat belts while driving for all passengers. Under the amended road traffic law, a failure to fix child seats for children under 4 years old or younger while they are in the vehicle will also lead to a Dh400 fine. Drivers face an Dh800 fine and four black points for using a phone at the wheel or being distracted, and a Dh400 fine for allowing children under 10 in the front seat, or below 145cm in height. Road Safety UAE research has found 34 per cent of motorists with children do not use proper safety seats or booster cushions. Of those asked, 29 per cent blamed expense, whilst 28 per cent said their children did not like being strapped in. A quarter of those surveyed said they were confused about which safety seat to buy, and 15 per cent said they were a safe driver so didn’t need to use seat belts. Careem has introduced seat belt training within their on-boarding process, and is using the ‘seat belt convincer’ to help illustrate their importance to its drivers. “Motorists should know better by now, there is just absolutely no excuse: everybody in the vehicle has to wear a seat belt, at all times,” said Thomas Edelmann, managing director of Road Safety UAE. “This needs to be educated over and over again.” ___________ <strong>Read more:</strong> ____________
