Campaign to bring home dangers of not wearing a seat belt
▶ The ‘seat belt convincer’ will let the brave and curious experience what a low-speed vehicle collision feels like
Ride-hailing company Careem has launched its own road safety drive to jolt passengers into thinking twice before failing to buckle up.
It will take a spring-loaded sled around the country to show test subjects just how hard they would be shaken if they crashed at just 8kph.
Subjects are strapped into a chair and slid down a ramp before the brakes are hit.
Hitting a steering wheel or seat in front at that speed is enough to cause serious injuries, particularly to the face.
“When driving around Dubai, it is clear to see not everyone is wearing a seat belt. It’s quite disheartening,” said David Devine of Al Ghandi Auto, which teamed up with Careem and Road Safety UAE for the campaign.
“It is slowly changing, but not enough has been done up to now to enforce that change.”
Gems schools will be the first, with pupils and teachers offered the chance to experience what it feels like to be involved in a low-speed car crash.
The mandatory use of seat belts in the back seat was introduced on July 1 but a change in culture has not happened overnight. Thousands have been caught and fined since then.
Road Safety UAE research has found 34 per cent of motorists with children do not use proper safety seats or booster cushions. Of those questioned, 29 per cent blamed expense, while 28 per cent said their children did not like being strapped in.
A quarter of those surveyed said they were confused about which safety seat to buy and 15 per cent said they were safe drivers so did not need to use seat belts.
“This morning I witnessed a serious crash between two cars,” said Careem driver Parvaiz Akhtar, who has worked on the roads for 31 years. “Both vehicles were seriously damaged and one car had to be cut open. When my passengers don’t want to wear a seat belt I explain to them it is safety for them, their family and for me.”
Passengers will be shocked into action as part of a campaign to encourage more people to buckle up on the roads.
Careem, the chauffeur car service, has teamed up with Al Ghandi Auto and Road Safety UAE to deliver a message to schools and businesses on the importance of wearing seat belts.
Al Ghandi Auto has invested US$20,000 (Dh73,400) in the “seat belt convincer”, a spring-loaded sled that simulates a low-speed collision.
Campaigners will use the device at open days around the country.
“When driving around Dubai, it is clear to see not everyone is wearing a seat belt. It’s quite disheartening,” said David Devine of Al Ghandi Auto.
“It is slowly changing, but not enough has been done up to now to enforce that change.
“You can see taxi drivers, van drivers and businessmen on the roads using their mobile phones. There is clearly room for improvement.”
The seat belt convincer will tour schools, universities, carnivals and businesses.
Gems schools will be the first, with pupils and teachers offered the chance to experience what it feels like to be involved in a low-speed car crash.
Careem will help to promote seat-belt use to all of its passengers and drivers.
Parvaiz Akhtar, a Pakistani driver who has been on the country’s roads for 31 years, said some road users were clearly flouting the law.
“When you know it is a test like this it is not a problem,” Mr Akhtar said.
“But when you are not expecting it, a collision like this is a big problem and quite frightening. I’ve had no big accident in my time here, thanks to God, but I have seen many.”
Mr Akhtar was a private driver with a fleet of vehicles for 25 years before taking a job with Careem.
“Even this morning I witnessed a serious crash between two cars,” he said.
“Both vehicles were seriously damaged and one car had to be cut open. It was shocking to see. When my passengers don’t want to wear a seat belt I explain to them it is safety for them, their family and for me.
“I also explain that there is a rule now that means I will be fined. Most passengers listen and fasten up.”
Ahmed Nawaz, 29, from Pakistan, has been driving limousines for three years in Dubai.
“I had a big accident four years ago when I was driving a van,” he said. It made me realise how important a seat belt is.” Mr Nawaz was driving on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road at about 140kph when one of his tyres blew out.
He was forced into the middle lane after clipping the central reservation.
Luckily there were no other cars beside him, and he was wearing a seat belt, so he escaped with only minor injuries.
“It was very scary. I now wear a seat belt all the time, even when I’m driving at just 1kph.
“I tell my passengers to buckle up and about the new fines that are in place.”
A research project carried out by Road Safety UAE this year showed that only 11 per cent of back-seat passengers said they always wore seat belts.
Only 51 per cent of Emiratis who were questioned said they wore seat belts, and only 52 per cent of young people aged between 18 and 24 buckled up when they were passengers in vehicles.
The survey also found that almost a quarter of all passengers questioned never wore a seat belt, and one in three did not put their children in safety seats.
It will go on a tour of schools, universities, carnivals and businesses to help raise road safety awareness