Abu Dhabi Parents with toddlers say they avoid cabs due to lack of child safety seats.
Noor Al Danya, a Lebanese-American who recently moved to Abu Dhabi said she does not feel comfortable travelling in a cab with her two-year-old.
“I am new to the city and do not have a licence. But using cabs is not an option as there are no safety seats,” said Al Danya. “I would think that it is the basic safety measure you expect in public transport. We are used to having the service in the US.”
Another young mom, Alison Lee, said she was surprised to see parents gleefully let their toddlers jump around in cabs. “It is shockingly callous,” said the expat from the UK who has been living in Abu Dhabi for almost a year. “I see it often - fathers driving with their toddlers on their laps. Or mothers letting their kids toss and turn without a child restraint.”
Lee said since cabs don’t have child restraint, it has become their priority to buy a car.
The same sentiment was echoed by a British father. Dorn Martin with two sons younger than six said: “I will not imagine driving a car without buckling them up. But that does not seem to be the general attitude. There is a need to educate parents.”
Road safety experts and law enforcement authorities have been pressing for a Federal law to make child safety car seats or child restraints compulsory.
As part of the efforts to step up road safety in the UAE, and raise awareness among parents, transport authorities have been initiating various campaigns to bring home the point.
Currently, government maternity hospitals provide free child car seats to all young mothers. The idea is to change the perception that it is inconvenient for kids to be buckled up.
At the government level, TransAd, the centre for regulation of transport in Abu Dhabi announced introduction of free car seats in taxis by the end of this year. Al Gazal Taxi, Arabia Taxi, Cars Taxi, Emirates Taxi, National Taxi, and Tawasul are taxi companies expected to offer the service.
