Sharjah: Adhering to road rules and regulations has additional rewards apart from safety as in the case of the 10 winners of the Sharjah leg of the Caltex RoadStar safe driving campaign.

The 10 winners were each awarded Dh1,000 on Tuesday.

The bi-annual campaign, now in its 30th edition, rewards safe drivers. It promotes safe driving and rewards those who obey traffic rules. The five-day edition took off in Abu Dhabi and will conclude on October 31 in Dubai.

The campaign recognises drivers who observe basic safety measures including wearing seatbelts, using child safety seats, use of indicators and hands-free mobiles, observe lane discipline and display courtesy, in addition to adhering to speed limit.

The RoadStar campaign made its debut in 1998 with the Emirates Motor Sports Federation (EMSF) and the support of the police departments of the concerned emirates.

In a media statement, EMSF General Secretary, Atiq Hassan Mubarak, said, “The federation has been at the helm of this initiative since its inception and it is true that while it may not necessarily have altered driving habits of a majority of road users, RoadStar has certainly been able to create an awareness of the need to drive safely.”

Speaking to Gulf News, a few of the winners said there is a need for road safety awareness in the UAE.

Nobert Borufka, German, 62, said that road safety awareness needs to be promoted.

“I have been driving for 42 years without any motor accident. There is a difference in road safety attitude with some careless drivers who do not understand the consequence of speed. I believe there is a need for road safety education. I was pleasantly surprised with the recognition,” he said.

Shoby Verghese, a 33-year-old Indian expatriate who has been driving for four years, said, “Being recognised is an encouragement for other drivers. When I was stopped by the Police, I was wondering why as I was driving safely… Then I was surprised to receive the money as a reward.”

According to statistics from the campaign organiser, 98 per cent of children in the UAE are not restrained when they travel in a car and nearly 70 per cent of all childhood deaths are caused by road traffic injuries, making it the leading cause of childhood deaths in the country.