As per the Abu Dhabi department of transport, the UAE still has one of the world’s highest rates of road death – an average incidence of 19.9 deaths per 100,000 population. According to a study released by the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport in April 201, the total cost caused by road traffic crashes and injuries in the UAE was estimated to account for around AED 3.5 billion annually.
Unfortunately, the number of children deaths in road accidents is around 3 times higher than the global average. According to statistics from the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, child death rates accounted for 11% of total road traffic injury deaths in the last 3 years.
Safety in UAE broken down into percentages
“11% total deaths on the UAE roads are children”
“60% of total child mortality is due to road accidents”
“47% of children under 4 in the UAE have no car restraint systems”
The UAE government is investing a wide number of resources to address this concern. From further development of roads, to new regulations on the usage of child restraint systems on children under the age of 4. Thanks to the new child car seat law in the UAE, the law states:
- Children up to four years of age must be provided with a child safety car seat. Violators will be fined AED 400 and slapped with four black points.
- The front seat passenger should also be at least 145 cm tall and not younger than 10 years old.”
However, there is still a long way to go to reach child mortality rates of the western world, and this will only be addressed by educating existing parents and parents-to be in the UAE.
Safety On Board Middle East is a child car seat specialist which focusing on spreading awareness about the benefits of rear facing and Swedish Plus Test certified car seats. We aim to provide parents with the right knowledge and information to help them select the safest car seats for their little ones.
It will be more effective if the necessary changes happens from within; coming from the parents, educators and media. We hope that today’s children will be so used to car restraint systems, that the future generation will see it as normal to be rear-facing as long as possbile.
To wrap it up: The safety of our children is our top priority! If you would like to help us, please share our content with your family and friends and join us on our awareness journey in the middle east and support us to achieve our #Goal0 children mortality on the UAE roads.
