Dear RoadSafetyUAE,
I would like to suggest conducting a UAE based study and assessment about the risks of not wearing a seat-belt in the backseat. These results can be used a platform to introduce a legislation whereby passengers sitting in the backseat are required by law to wear seat-belts in the backseat as well.
Currently there are various studies that are gaining traction to disprove the common misconception that the “back seat is safer”.
Most studies say that the likelihood of an individual being seriously injured might be lower than someone in the front seat (depending on variables such as age). However in the event of a major accident the severity of a passenger suffering from a life-altering or life threatening injury is high. Therefore the Risk Evaluation (likelihood x severity) still remains considerably high.
Introducing a legislation would be a good control measure to mitigate this risk.
Thank you for the opportunity to suggest an idea as a concerned UAE resident.
Kind regards
Mehdi Ratani
Dear Mehdi,
We cannot agree more! It is a ‘no-brainer’ to introduce the holistic seat belt law in the UAE – and to strictly enforce it – as soon as possible. Road traffic accidents happen all over the world and the single most important solution to avoid accidents and fatalities is the use of seat belts by EVERYONE in the vehicle.
We view this as the most low-hanging fruit to achieve the UAE government’s ambitious targets of the ‘Vision 2021′ = lowering the fatalities from 6/100,000 inhabitants (2015) to 3/100,000 by 2021.
The proposed research is another puzzle piece in the decision making process. Never the less, we push and lobby for an instant introduction of the law!
Kind regards,
The RoadSafetyUAE Team