SMALL COFFINS ARE THE HEAVIEST TO CARRY

Protect your most precious with the

road crash in Al Wusta was recorded in the statistics. Had they been strapped in properly, they may have survived.

All involved in the crash were Emirati, with four members of a family — including two children — being killed. Their father and grandmother also died in the accident. The other two individuals who were seriously injured were also from the United Arab Emirates.

Today, the Times of Oman launches ‘STRAP ‘EM IN’ - a campaign to raise awareness and give away vouchers for car seats. Our campaign has been welcomed by road safety chiefs.

“We would never harm a child on purpose, so why do we put them in danger on the road?” asked Ali Al Barwani, the man in charge of the national road safety campaign.

“Our children are the most precious thing to us in the world, and all of us are building a good life for them. It’s not the money that is important, but our children. There is nothing more awful for a parent than losing their child. members of an Emirati family— including two children — died in a car accident in Al Wusta on Saturday

“If you are in an accident with them, then your happiness will turn to sadness in just a few seconds,” he added.

“Once your son or daughter is gone, what then? How will you get them back? Once a life is gone, you can never get it back. Also, if you are in an accident, then you are also putting other people in danger. They are mothers and fathers and sons and daughters who have families of their own, and when they leave home in the morning, their families are waiting for them to return home.

“We had more than 600 people dead on Oman’s roads last year, and the education needs to change - this has to start from the very beginning, from birth,” he added.

Royal Oman Police has made it an offence to carry any child under four years of age without a proper car safety seat, and the new rule is being followed - but not by all.

Al Barwani launched the country’s national campaign to raise awareness about the importance and safety of child car seats in the southern city of Salalah.