Dubai: More than half of university students in the UAE do not wear a seat belt at all times, despite knowing that they should be doing so, according to a recent survey conducted by BMW Group Middle East.
Over 325 students aged between 18 and 23 years took part in the survey.
The findings were shared with Dubai Women's College students yesterday as part of the BMW Group Middle East road safety campaign, and they included chilling messages.
"Adam, 23 years. He was about to graduate. His seat belt was not fastened," reads one message.
Captain Hamdan Al Muhairi of Dubai Police presented a video of horrific crashes and called on students to abide by traffic regulations at all times. He also stressed the importance of wearing seat belts.
The survey also found 92 per cent of university students know someone who has been in a traffic accident and 58 per cent of them feel it is not their responsibility to ensure passengers wear a seat belt.
"The UAE is the third worst in the world in terms of traffic fatalities and by urging the public, especially the youngsters, to buckle up we hope to help change this statistic," Leanne Blanckenberg, Corporate Communications manager of BMW Middle East, said.
"The survey results are not surprising, since we just need to look around us to spot people talking on the phone while driving, messaging, reading e-mails, children seated without seatbelts and booster seats and so on," she said.
The students experienced the need for seat belts by riding in the simulator provided by Emirates Driving Institute.
Emirati hip-hop duo Desert Heat performed a road safety song.
