Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Interior has urged parents to use child seats in cars following an accident on Thursday evening in which three Emirati children were injured and their 29 year-old mother was killed.
Parents have to use child seats for children to prevent fatal injuries during accidents, according to a ministry statement on Saturday.
Under current laws, children 10 years of age are not allowed to travel in the front passenger seat.
New laws, meanwhile, are being prepared to make child seats in rear seats mandatory for all children.
The ministry also urged cars to avoid truck roads.
The accident occurred when the car the family was travelling in crashed with a truck on Al Faya truck road, the same road which claimed the lives of at least 24 workers earlier this week.
The late woman’s husband, 34-year-old Emirati F.A.A., who was driving the car, and their three children, aged between 18 months and 11 years, and a 27-year-old Ethiopian woman in the vehicle were injured in the accident. The Asian truck driver was also hurt.
The ministry is providing social and psychological support to the children who have been traumatised after the accident.
The ministry also urged women not to keep small children in their lap while travelling in the car.
Ambulances from the Emergency and Safety Department at Abu Dhabi’s General Directorate of Central Operations provided first aid treatment to three of the injured and transported them to Al Rahba Hospital.
The Emirati woman’s body was moved to Shaikh Khalifa Medical City in Abu Dhabi. Ambulances from Dubai Police transported the other two injured individuals to Al Mafraq Hospital.
Investigations are currently under way to determine the cause of the accident. Major General Nasser Lakhreibani Al Nuaimi, Secretary General of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Children Safety Committee at the Ministry of Interior, expressed his condolences to the family of the Emirati woman who died in the crash.
Brigadier Hussain Al Harithi, Director of the Traffic and Patrol Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, also urged the drivers of the cars not to use truck roads. He said the police will organize awareness campaigns to educate the people in this regard.
