ABU DHABI // Two in five drivers, and even more front-seat passengers, flout the law by refusing to wear a seat belt.
Few drivers take the penalty for not buckling up – a Dh400 fine and four black points – seriously but nearly 80 per cent would do so if it was harsher, a survey has found.
The study found only 61 per cent of drivers and 43.4 per cent of front-seat passengers wore seat belts.
Dr Salaheddin Bendak, an author of the study, said efforts to lift rates must be continued and a law requiring rear-seat passengers to wear them should also be introduced.
But Dr Bendak, an associate professor at the department of industrial engineering at the University of Sharjah, said the rates were encouraging when compared with other countries in the region.
The seat-belt wearing rate in Kuwait is 57.5 per cent for drivers; in Saudi Arabia 27.8 per cent for drivers and 14.7 per cent for front-seat passengers; and in Lebanon 12 per cent for drivers and 7 per cent for front-seat passengers.
“However, more efforts are needed in this area to try to raise seat-belt wearing rates to more than 90 per cent within a few years’ time for drivers and front-seat passengers,” Dr Bendak said.
“Authorities are also encouraged to consider introducing a seat-belt law for rear-seat passengers.”
The highest seat-belt wearing rates were recorded in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. They were 77.3 per cent for drivers and 60.7 per cent for passengers in Abu Dhabi, and 80.9 per cent for drivers and 57.3 per cent for passengers in Dubai.
The lowest wearing rates were in the smallest emirate, Umm Al Quwain: 36.7 per cent for drivers and 24.2 for front-seat passengers.
“If we had a 100 per cent wearing rate, it would be the largest contributor to the downward trend in injuries and fatalities in the UAE,” said Craig Sherrin, chief executive of Emirates Driving Company.
“At EDC, our theoretical and practical training strongly emphasises the wearing of seat belts and the consequences when you’re not wearing one. Even a low-speed crash incurs significant injuries.”
Would-be drivers are also taught the advantages of providing child-safety seats and keeping children fastened safely in the back seat, Mr Sherrin said.
Dr Bendak, who specialises in road and occupational safety, said public awareness campaigns were more evident and police presence and enforcement of traffic laws were more intensive in larger emirates.
“There’s also the psychological aspect,” he said. “In a small town, one would probably say ‘I don’t need to wear a seat belt as there aren’t many cars around me and the probability of having a traffic accident is lower than crowded streets’.”
His study, carried out between February and April 2011, looked at 5,600 cars across the country.
It investigated perceptions and behaviour of drivers, and the human factors that affect the wearing rate, through a randomly distributed questionnaire to 600 respondents aged 18 to 67. It looked at how people responded to law enforcement.
“Enforcement and awareness are the keys to success to any road safety campaign,” said Dr Bendak.
The questionnaire found 78 per cent feared being penalised for not wearing belts, while 25.5 per cent reported not having enough knowledge of their importance.
Seatbelt Utilisation and Awareness in the UAE, has been accepted for publication in the International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion, and is available online.
rruiz@thenational.ae
Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
Skeleton Coast Safaris’ four-day adventure involves joining a very small group in a private plane, flying to some of the remotest areas in the world, with each night spent at a different camp. It costs from US$8,335.30 (Dh30,611); www.skeletoncoastsafaris.com
Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
INVESTMENT PLEDGES
Cartlow: $13.4m
Rabbitmart: $14m
Smileneo: $5.8m
Soum: $4m
imVentures: $100m
Plug and Play: $25m
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The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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A timeline of the Historical Dictionary of the Arabic Language
- 2018: Formal work begins
- November 2021: First 17 volumes launched
- November 2022: Additional 19 volumes released
- October 2023: Another 31 volumes released
- November 2024: All 127 volumes completed
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Pakistanis%20at%20the%20ILT20%20
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