To improve the safety of passengers and reduce the death rate, Lt. General Sheikh Said bin Zayed Al Nahyan – Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior has made wearing seat belts necessary for all passengers in a vehicle. This regulation will be applicable 3 months from now, and its violation will result in a fine of Dh400 and 4 black points on the driver’s license.
According to authorities, it is the duty of the driver to ensure that all the passengers in the vehicle are wearing seat belts including those sitting at back. They further commented that drivers usually don’t realize the importance of seat belts at the back. What happens when an accident occurs, the passengers are thrown forward and get serious injuries.
Dubai police has appreciated this initiative by the government. Phil Clarke, a road safety consultant at the Transport Research Laboratory in Abu Dhabi said that passengers are unaware of the risks they are taking by not wearing seat belt. When a car stops abruptly, it pushes the passengers forward at the speed it was traveling in and if they are not wearing seat belt, they have a fair chance of being thrown out of the car. People wearing seat belts have 40 – 60% chance of surviving the car crashes.
According to a research, 98% passenger were not wearing seat belts in car accidents. Commuters are either unaware of the importance of seat belts or they simple disregard the law. Some feel uncomfortable buckling up, while others think that in case of an accident, seat belt will slow their escape from the car. But the universal fact is seat belts are for the protection and safety of passengers and they must wear them.
Government is also issuing a fine of Dh200 – Dh3,000 plus 24 black points for transporting passengers without a permit.