Mother spreads seatbelt awareness in UAE

Dubai: Failure of parents to keep their children safely buckled up in the back seat of cars resulted in several child deaths that could have been prevented, experts on the subject said.

"Although they hear about these accidents, many people decide to ignore the law and safety rules," Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Head of Dubai Police's Traffic Department, said, adding that this happens despite efforts by police to enforce the law and ongoing awareness campaigns to educate people.

According to new law, motorists who fail to use appropriate child car seats for children of up to six years of age will now face charges of endangering a person's life.

"We often see mothers holding their children in the front passenger seat or even on their lap in the driver's seat, and there have been many incidents recently when children died in car accidents because they were not buckled up, which should be a deterrent for parents," he added.

Taking the issue as a personal responsibility, British mother Lesley Cully started a campaign to save children's lives by spreading awareness about the importance of keeping them in an appropriate child seat, buckled up in the back seat of cars.

The campaign, which was started a year ago, depends on volunteers who distribute stickers, balloons and other promotional items in various areas.

According to Cully, what prompted her to start the campaign was finding out that most people had no idea how dangerous it was to keep their children in a car without buckling up.

Awareness

"I believe in telling people the truth about what can happen. Nine out of ten people in a presentation didn't know how dangerous it is, and these people need education, but once they know, it becomes solely their responsibility to protect their children," Cully said.

"I'm angrier about Westerners who fail to do it because they have had the education and that's not the case with everyone else," she added.

As part of her campaign, Cully visits schools to educate children, because she believes they can influence their parents when they insist on doing the right thing.

"Buckle Up in the Back" campaign started in Dubai but now expanded to cover other emirates, and I'm responding to emails from schools in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, with more than one school interested in doing presentations, which we will start from September," Cully said.

Violations

Apart from school presentations for children and parents, Cully roams the streets to check for violations, and does not hesitate in asking motorists to put their children in the back seat and fasten their seat belts.

"I was driving a yellow Mercedes provided by Gargash Enterprises, and which had the campaign's logo on it, and many people assumed that I'm an authority, but I'm not, although the car's design and logo was approved by the Roads and Transport Authority," she said.

"When I spoke to people, they immediately put their child in the back seat and ensured that they had their seat belts on," she said.

As for her target, Cully said she had a free bullet aim. "I would like to see the seat belt law introduced and enforced, and continuous education in schools and nurseries about how important it is."

"It's not a six-month campaign. It's a campaign for life, and as long as I'm in Dubai I'm going to continue to do that," Cully said.

About the recent accidents in which children died, Cully said it can only be described as negligence.

"A moving vehicle can be a lethal weapon. If you don't buckle up your children you're not protecting them. I see people packing their eggs more carefully than they seat their children," she said.

"If you ride a motorcycle or go horse riding you wear necessary gear. Why do you think in a car that's going at 120 kilometres per hour you're safe? You need to have full protection for your child. Only then can you say I've protected my child to the best of my ability," she said.

"People think it can't happen to them until it happens to them. To the best of your ability keep yourself safe so if something happened you know you did your best to stay safe. If you have a collision at 40 kilometres per hour you travel at 60 times your body weight. It only takes a small incident to cause death or severe injuries to a child."

Convincing people

Although very determined to spread awareness about the subject, Cully tries to deliver the information without the shock factor, because "you don't need to show people blood to convince them that something bad will happen. It's enough for them to see a doll fall of someone's hand when the car suddenly stops."

"The cost of a car seat is insignificant compared to protecting a child's life. If the child is injured or killed as a result of not being buckled up in a fitting seat in the back of the car, the cost of the seat will be insignificant compared to the child's life and wellbeing," she added.

Timeline: Fatal accidents

June 3, 2011: A seven-month-old baby girl died following a tragic accident on Jumeirah Palm Island.

May 23, 2011: A father and his two children died in a road accident on Al Ain road due to speeding.

January 8, 2011: Four members of an Emirati family, including an eight-month-old infant, died in a road accident on Emirates Road.

August 7, 2010: A one-year-old baby and her mother died in a road accident in Abu Dhabi.

May 22, 2009: A father, his wife and two daughters died in a road accident in Ras Al Khaimah.