Car Safety

Due to the number of children killed and injured in traffic accidents, in the UAE, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) in Dubai has been going into schools and universities to educate children on traffic safety. Here is a list of precautions that the RTA is suggesting:

• Take ten steps away from the bus after getting down
• Wait until the bus leaves, then cross the road safely
• Go straight home
• Do not allow children to put their heads and hands outside the car windows
• Children below 10 years should sit in the back seat.
• Always fasten seat belts even if it is for a short drive
• Educate children about rash driving
• Educate children how to cross the road from dedicated spots
• Explain to them how dangerous it is to run on the roads

(source RTA)

While I applaud the effort, some of the ideas seem a bit elementary. The fourth one jumps out at me as a fairly obvious one, though I've seen some kids hanging out of sunroofs, so maybe it's not obvious to everyone. The seventh one raises questions as to why children are driving in the first place. I suppose that the RTA has to start somewhere and the point that they can make a difference is at an early age. The unfortunate thing is that these kids are going to learn negative behavior from their parents and undoing it through a campaign in schools is an uphill battle. Basically, these points can be summarized as, use common sense and don't drive like a jerk.