28 يناير January 28, 2017 Traffic is the number one reason for deaths of children in the UAE. However, the correct use of car seats and seat belt can reduce the likelihood of deaths by 70 per cent in infants, and by 54 to 80 per cent among young children, according to WHO. As a vehicle testing and registration centre we feel responsible for road safety of the UAE motorists but our corporate social responsibility goes beyond that. We have partnered with JustKidding® and prepared a fun and educational campaign called “Be A Road Safety Star” about the correct behaviour on the road and in the car for early grade school children in the scope of our CSR activities. The effort of the campaign is not only to raise the levels of road safety awareness among children to a global standard and protect them but also to empower the young children to become the ambassadors of safety and tolerance on the roads of our future generation. The main aim is to make the seatbelt more attractive to children and to indirectly make parents aware that they are responsible for the safety of children that they are transporting. The campaign is targeting children aged 5 to 7 years of age to adopt exemplary practices of safe behaviour in traffic. The programme is rolled-out through the Dubai schools and is delivering one hour of activities to children. It actively stimulates children to sit in the child seat or booster and buckle up correctly, enhances the children’s skills of recognizing the sounds of traffic, informs children about the meaning and importance of the traffic lights and encourages children to share the knowledge with peers and parents. To make the campaign really efficient we want the children to remember and buckle up every time they travel in the car. We provide each child with an activity book which includes a progress chart so children can create a habit of buckling up in the car on every journey. Collateral for parents introduces key messages about the dangers for children on the UAE roads and how they can be mitigated, as well as the information on how to best protect children while travelling in the car. Parents also receive a voucher for free preventive inspection of vehicle brakes at Quick Registration. . “Be A Road Safety Star” campaign was lauched at Oaktree Primary School on 4th January 2017. Children learned why it is important to buckle in for every ride, what the function of a child safety seat or a booster is, why they should sit in the back of the car and what the correct way of buckling up is. Each of 50 children participating in the workshop had a chance to sit in a demo car seat and buckle up correctly as they all had learned previously. We assisted and gave advice to each child individually to make sure they fully understand key steps of buckling up. Our plan is to continue delivering knowledge about one of the most important aspects of their life – their own safety – to the children at other Dubai schools as well. We hope that they will embrace safe road practices and if only one life is saved thanks to our campaign we did our job well.
