Dubai: Fujairah Men's College students are attending traffic court hearings as part of a special legal education course tailored to enhance their driving skills, knowledge and behaviour through acquainting them with the UAE's traffic law.
Dubai Public Prosecution and the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) launched this joint initiative, named ‘Legal Driving Course', in 2007 with the purpose of educating students about traffic laws and regulations and helping them develop their road behaviour and attitude in a serious effort to increase traffic awareness amongst youth, especially students.
"This course will educate 950 students. As part of the Legal Driving Course, students have been attending court hearings for suspects involved in traffic case. They also attend sessions along with traffic prosecutors while conducting investigations or taking witnesses' statements," said Senior Chief Traffic Prosecutor Salah Bu Farousha, Head of DubaiTraffic Public Prosecution.
The course is an educational, informative and legal project that is being conducted under the directives of Dubai's Attorney General Essam Eisa Al Humaidan and the acknowledgment of HCT's professors, said Bu Farousha.
"Through such a course, we intend to enlighten students and create more awareness ,especially acquainting them about the traffic law… the course is also meant to develop students' traffic behaviour and skills in an attempt to reduce accidents and road fatalities. HCT students are also constantly being familiarised with recent amendments in traffic laws and regulations. Students are being offered unique opportunities through familiarising them with case studies… in a way that they attend investigations and court hearings to be familiarized with the causes of dangerous accidents and learn how to avoid it," he said.
College students' age group is a ‘very sensitive and dangerous phase' that requires continuous awareness and education in terms of familiarizing them with traffic legal education and laws, he said.
"We exert tremendous efforts to acquaint students to traffic laws as it helps them increase their level of responsibility and attentiveness while driving. Persons tend to become better and safer drivers once they learn more about their obligations and rights of other road users. Hence they become more law-abiding drivers and avoid legal liability," said Bu Farousha.
Nearly 3770 HCT students in Dubai and Fujairah have benefited from the ‘Legal Driving Course' since 2007.
