Secure young children in car seats, Abu Dhabi Police urges
Car seats must also be height and weight-appropriate for each child
Abu Dhabi: Children must be safely secured when travelling in vehicles, and child car seats must be used until they are aged 10 years old, the Abu Dhabi Police is reminding residents.
Children below the age of 10 years are also not allowed to sit in the front passenger seat of a moving vehicle, the Police stressed.
These safety measures are part of the UAE’s Federal Traffic Law, and the Abu Dhabi Police has been working to create widespread awareness of them through its Safe Summer campaign.
Awareness campaign
Brigadier General Muhammad Dhahi Al-Hamiri, director of the Abu Dhabi Police Traffic and Patrols Directorate, explained that the campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of using child car seats, and overall child safety in vehicles.
At a booth in Mushrif Mall, police officers therefore demonstrated the importance of child car seats in preventing major harm. By law, these car seats must be used until children are 145 centimetres tall. Once they reach this height, children must be secured with the vehicle’s installed seat belts.
Individual needs
Parents should not only use car seats for children, but also ensure that the seats are height and weight-appropriate for each individual child, Al Hamiri said.
The official also called upon motorists not to seat children on their laps in the front seat, adding that the practice can threaten children’s safety.
Penalties
There are also penalties that can be imposed for failing to ensure children’s safety in a moving vehicle., In fact, those who fail to correctly secure children in a moving vehicle can be fined Dh400, and be given four traffic black points.