RoadStar puts seven motorists in top gear with safety prize

Abu Dhabi:  When Kawkab Abdullah saw the convoy of traffic police and unmarked cars following her past the traffic light, she assumed she must have made an inadvertent mistake while driving on the capital's roads.

The smile on the 58-year-old homemaker's face was therefore unmistakable when Major Awad Al Beloushi, head of public relations at the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Department, informed her that she had been selected as a Caltex RoadStar.

"I am always careful when driving, and even in Iraq during the Iraq invasion in 2003, I had no traffic violations.

Rewards

"But it made me nervous to see the line of cars following me, and I am delighted that it was only because of my careful driving," Kawkab told Gulf News. Kawkab, a mother of five from Iraq, was the first woman winner of the second Caltex RoadStar Contest, which aims to reward drivers for following traffic regulations and driving safely.

Winners are presented with a Dh750 cash prize and a certificate for following basic safety regulations such as wearing a seat belt, using indicators and stopping at traffic signals.

The week-long contest, organised by Ciel Marketing and Events in association with Emirates Motor Sports Federation and the traffic police, will tomorrow target safe drivers in Sharjah before moving to Dubai later in the week.

It is sponsored by Caltex, AXA Insurance and AGMC-BMW. Roshanara Sait, director of Ciel Marketing and Events, said the campaign was a way of enforcing the law in a positive manner.

Encouragement

"Drivers are overwhelmed when they receive the award, and the whole initiative encourages safe driving," Sait explained. Seven drivers were awarded on the second day of the campaign on Monday.

Choudhry Mohammad Ayub, a 59-year-old agriculture supervisor from Pakistan, was another of the drivers selected on Monday. "I have never been involved in an accident, and I plan to keep it that way.

"And when my sons grow up, I will personally make sure they too are safe drivers like me," Ayub told Gulf News.

Winners of Day 2