RTA launches road safety film festival with Dh300,000 prizes

Dubai: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched the second edition of its Road Safety Film Festival, offering up to Dh300,000 in cash prizes and recognition awards for creative films that promote safer road behaviour.

The festival builds on the success of its inaugural edition in 2025, which attracted more than 100 entries and demonstrated the potential of short films and digital content to deliver road safety messages to wider sections of the community.

Entries for the 2026 festival will be accepted from August 24 to November 22 through RTA’s dedicated website, with participation open to individuals, university students, government entities, private-sector companies and the wider community.

The competition seeks to encourage creative approaches to road safety awareness while promoting compliance with traffic laws and discouraging dangerous behaviours. Participants are invited to produce short awareness films addressing key road safety issues and communicating their messages in engaging and impactful ways.

Hussain Al Banna, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, said the festival forms part of RTA’s efforts to expand and diversify its traffic awareness tools and reach different segments of society.

He said short films have become an increasingly effective way of communicating awareness messages, particularly with the growing influence of digital platforms and social media.

“The success of the first edition, which attracted more than 100 entries, highlighted the importance of creativity and visual content in supporting road safety awareness,” Al Banna said. “The second edition provides greater opportunities for talent and innovative ideas while encouraging the community to play an active role in promoting a culture of road safety,” he added.

The competition features three main categories.

The Individuals and University Students category includes awards for the Best Road Safety Awareness Film on Safe Driving and the Best Innovative Road Safety Awareness Film Using Modern Technologies. Each subcategory offers Dh30,000 for first place, Dh20,000 for second and AED10,000 for third.

The Government Entities and Private-Sector Companies category recognises efforts by both sectors in promoting road safety. Winners will receive recognition trophies.

The Community category includes the Best Family Road Safety Awareness Film, introduced in line with the Year of Family, as well as a category for the most impactful films featuring the experiences of traffic accident victims. Each offers Dh30,000 for first place, Dh20,000 for second and Dh10,000 for third.

In addition to encouraging creative storytelling, the accident victims category aims to highlight the human consequences of unsafe road behaviour and non-compliance with traffic regulations, while reinforcing individual and collective responsibility among road users.

RTA plans to incorporate the winning films into its traffic awareness programmes, including educational lectures, workshops and road safety campaigns. The films will also be showcased across RTA’s digital platforms to extend their reach and maintain the impact of the messages beyond the festival.

The festival is part of RTA’s broader Traffic Safety and Awareness Strategy, which is guided by the vision of “Zero Fatalities” and seeks to help Dubai and the UAE achieve leading global road safety performance.

The strategy combines awareness and education with safer road design and coordinated efforts among relevant authorities and partners. It includes specialised programmes targeting key road-user groups, including students, truck drivers and delivery riders.

RTA works with Dubai Police, government entities and strategic partners on a range of initiatives, while also focusing on improving safety around residential and school areas through measures such as pedestrian crossings, directional signs and pedestrian bridges.

RTA also runs specialised initiatives for truck drivers and delivery riders, including the “Safe and Healthy Summer” campaign and joint inspection programmes aimed at reducing violations and dangerous road behaviours.

Through the second edition of the Road Safety Film Festival, RTA aims to turn community creativity into practical awareness tools that encourage safer choices and contribute to reducing traffic fatalities and serious injuries.