Close to four in 10 residents think it is okay for children to travel on drivers’ laps – and a quarter are satisfied for them to travel with their heads out of a car sun roof, a survey reveals.
Only 15 per cent of passengers always wear seat belts when travelling in the back seat, while 73 per cent of front-seat passengers will strap up. Fewer than 80 per cent of drivers always buckle up.
These figures showed in a survey by some local media, shocked police and campaigners, who say such behavior has brought many deaths into being.
Of the 1,400 people participated, 17 per cent felt children did not always need to wear seat belts, such as when the child made a fuss (20 per cent), if it was a short journey (26 per cent), if the child was uncomfortable (13 per cent) or if the child got bored (19 per cent).
Only 62 per cent of those polled felt it was never acceptable for children to travel on drivers’ laps – 30 per cent thought it was fine if there was no other option and 9 per cent thought it was fine “whenever”.
But doing so is “a big mistake” and “very dangerous”, said Lt Omran Al Hammadi of Dubai Traffic Police. He recalled a case in which a father was driving and his wife had their three-year-old daughter on her lap in the front without a seat belt.
“The car crashed and the little girl died. The parents were not injured,” he said.
Respondents felt there were valid excuses for adults not to buckle up, including if they forgot (39 per cent), if it was a short journey (23 per cent) and if they were uncomfortable (21 per cent).
Four per cent said seat belts did not improve safety and 3 per cent said they refused to wear them because they “don’t like the way they look”.
Lt Al Hammadi said such thinking was wrong.
“Wearing the seat belt doesn’t stop an accident but it can protect people from injuries,” he said. “Where some people without a seat belt might die, someone wearing one might not. Or instead of being seriously injured, they might only be mildly injured.”
In the first seven months of this year, Dubai Traffic Police fined almost 31,000 drivers for not wearing a seat belt. Seventy-five were fined for allowing children under 10 to travel in the front seat. In both cases the fine was Dh400 and four black points.
Three quarters of those surveyed said it was never acceptable for a child to put their head out of the sunroof of a moving vehicle, the rest said there were times when it was OK.
Four per cent said if was fine because it was “fun for them”, while 5 per cent said it was acceptable only when it was hot. Fifteen per cent said it was OK “but not on main roads”.
Ms Cully said such reasoning was misguided.
“People tell their children it is OK if they are in Arabian Ranches, they are almost home. But what they are actually telling their child is that it is OK to not wear their seat belt or put their head out the roof.
“As far as a child is concerned, there’s not a difference between an Arabian Ranches road and Sheikh Zayed Road.”
Fines for not fastening a seat belt apply only to those travelling prior to a vehicle.
