Many moons ago, when I was a wee lad growing up in the northern part of Canada, my brothers and I would sometimes get rides into town in the back of my dad's pickup truck. Oh, how we loved the air rushing past us as we picked up speed on the road. What freedom!
These days, that scene would be unfathomable there. It's not only incredibly dangerous, but it's become socially unacceptable to put your children in such a potential dangerous situation.
Not so much here, I'm afraid. People's attitudes towards safety on the roads are lax, at best, and potentially fatal, at worst. But that may be changing; slowly, yes, but the change is happening. And it couldn't happen soon enough.
This past week was Gulf Traffic Week, a safety campaign to highlight the dangers we face on our roads here and people's attitudes on safety. And through a series of campaigns and initiatives, the government seems to be focusing on the people that will possibly make the biggest change of all: our children.
Let's face it; adults who don't wear seat belts or properly secure their children in cars have already got their attitudes set. Less than half the drivers on our roads wear a belt: they don't need to, they're good drivers and can avoid an accident, they won't look "cool"; I've heard all the excuses. I'm sure you have, too.
But that's the problem; there are too many people who feel that way here for change to come quickly. The mob mentality makes changing individual people's attitudes all that much more difficult.
And this is where the children come in.
These little cherubs, these rambunctious ragamuffins; all with their minds not yet tainted by behaviour patterns or social stigmas. They are the ones that we can mould into safe drivers; they are the ones that, in a generation, can make the UAE one of the safest places to drive a car in the world.
But it takes education, and it looks like the government here is starting to get serious. Just this past week, plans were announced for traffic safety courses to be included in school curriculums; there was a traffic city at Abu Dhabi's corniche where children could ride their bicycles around; Dubai is planning road safety television ads directed at children; and the RTA in Dubai hosted an open house with university students on road safety.
Well, it's a start, and good on the authorities for the investment of time and resources; it's an investment in the future of the country. It's also a proven method that has worked around the world.
If you have children, you can make a difference in the safety and future of the UAE, too. No matter how you feel about seat belts, strap your kids in when they're in the car. Make it the normal thing anytime you drive, so when they finally reach the age to drive themselves, seat belt use will be automatic. And, finally, cool.
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
The bio:
Favourite film:
Declan: It was The Commitments but now it’s Bohemian Rhapsody.
Heidi: The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Favourite holiday destination:
Declan: Las Vegas but I also love getting home to Ireland and seeing everyone back home.
Heidi: Australia but my dream destination would be to go to Cuba.
Favourite pastime:
Declan: I love brunching and socializing. Just basically having the craic.
Heidi: Paddleboarding and swimming.
Personal motto:
Declan: Take chances.
Heidi: Live, love, laugh and have no regrets.
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
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