A new group of number plates for private vehicles will soon be introduced by the Ras Al Khaimah Traffic and Licensing Department, according to a spokesman of the department.

The spokesman said the new five-digit plates will have a different design to distinguish them from the existing plates.

Brig. Gen. Sheikh Talib bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ras Al Khaimah Police Chief, said the plates come in two different sizes.

Each plate will carry the UAE map, in the colours of the national flag. The numbers, too, written only in English, will be bigger so that they can be easily seen.

This initiative has been timed to be a part of the 18th GCC Traffic Week, held under the slogan 'Give the Road Due Respect'.

Brig. Gen. Sheikh Talib underlined the importance of raising traffic awareness of the public so that life could be preserved.

Sheikh Talib was speaking yesterday at Al Manar Mall when he received members of the Higher Committee for the Traffic Week and delegations from the GCC countries.

Brig. Gen. Hassan Ahmed Al Hawsani, Head of Abu Dhabi Traffic and Licensing Department and Head of the Higher Commi-ttee for the Traffic Week, said every effort had been made to ensure the roads in the country were safe, well lit and paved, and that there were an adequate number of traffic patrols.

Ras Al Khaimah Traffic and Licensing Department has been involved in a campaign to raise public awareness. It got schoolchildren involved in many of these activities, so that the younger generations are made aware early of traffic needs.

Maj. Raed bin Abdullah Al Ajaji was at the head of the delegation from Saudi Arabia, Maj. Salem Saleh Al Anzi headed Kuwait delegation, Maj. Ali Mohammed Al Nuaimi headed Qatari delegation, First Lt Mal Allah bin Saleh Al Sadri headed Omani delegation and the Lt Mondher Mukhtar Al Sabah headed Bahraini delegation.

The Ras Al Khaimah Traffic and Licensing Department held a function that included programmes staged by schoolchildren to mark the visit of the delegations.

At the function a pupil introduced a national who was involved in a devastating car accident on Shaam road.

The national explained how he had been driving wrecklessly at 200kmph with three other friends before losing control and crashing into a wall after hitting a lamp post. He said he was still undergoing treatment and urged people to drive carefully.

Brig. Gen. Sheikh Talib promised to employ the national at the Ras Al Khaimah Police Department in a bid to turn him into 'a new individual'.