ABU DHABI // Police announced yesterday that the second wave of their national road safety campaign had begun.
The Salama Road Safety Public Awareness campaign, launched to coincide with Ramadan, will focus on the dangers of reckless driving, particularly among young Emiratis, officials said.
But Col Hamad al Shamsi, the head of the traffic and patrols department in Abu Dhabi, said the entire population would benefit.
"An accident would only take few seconds to occur and could very well lead to death.
"No one would want to feel guilty towards his or her beloved ones because of unnecessary behaviour," he said. A representative from Salama said the campaign was being targeted at Emiratis because they "are 25 per cent of the casualties we are losing on the roads".
"It is our role to develop their knowledge but also to safeguard their life in one way or another," she said.
The effort is run by the Ministry of Interior and the Emirates Foundation along with a number of private companies, non-governmental organisations and other government departments.
The first wave began in November; the second, which is planned for television, cinemas and radio, will describe or show accidents and detail the mistakes that caused them.
The first wave of the campaign included Basil Shaaban, a professional racing driver, who spoke to college students about traffic dangers.
He told the students that every 35 hours, a member of an Emirati family lost their life in a traffic accident. Road deaths, he said, could be cut by 50 per cent if drivers wore seat belts and obeyed speed limits.
A police official also yesterday dismissed claims made in widely circulated text messages that the maximum speed on local highways had been secretly changed.
Col Hussein al Harethi of the Abu Dhabi Police said limits on some roads and highways might be changed in the future.
hhassan@thenational.ae
* Additional reporting by Haneen Dajani
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
The Porpoise
By Mark Haddon
(Penguin Random House)
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS
Light Flyweight (48kg): Alua Balkibekova (KAZ) beat Gulasal Sultonalieva (UZB) by points 4-1.
Flyweight (51kg): Nazym Kyzaibay (KAZ) beat Mary Kom (IND) 3-2.
Bantamweight (54kg): Dina Zholaman (KAZ) beat Sitora Shogdarova (UZB) 3-2.
Featherweight (57kg): Sitora Turdibekova (UZB) beat Vladislava Kukhta (KAZ) 5-0.
Lightweight (60kg): Rimma Volossenko (KAZ) beat Huswatun Hasanah (INA) KO round-1.
Light Welterweight (64kg): Milana Safronova (KAZ) beat Lalbuatsaihi (IND) 3-2.
Welterweight (69kg): Valentina Khalzova (KAZ) beat Navbakhor Khamidova (UZB) 5-0
Middleweight (75kg): Pooja Rani (IND) beat Mavluda Movlonova (UZB) 5-0.
Light Heavyweight (81kg): Farida Sholtay (KAZ) beat Ruzmetova Sokhiba (UZB) 5-0.
Heavyweight (81 kg): Lazzat Kungeibayeva (KAZ) beat Anupama (IND) 3-2.
The five pillars of Islam
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
