21-05-2006
Seal belt campaign pays off
The traffic safety campaign organized by the Abu Dhabi Police traffic department to create awareness about the use of seat belts for assuring safety has paid of well according to the recent survey carried out by the Abu Dhabi traffic Police and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
The survey has noticed that the use of seat belts by the motorists has increased from 35.4 per cent to 51.5 percent. How ever the findingings of the first phase of the campaign, which began in March, will continue till mid July. The survey has also shown that the usage of seat belts among nationals have decreased as compared to expatriates. Barely 5.8 percent of the national use seat belts while driving as noticed by the beginning of the campaign and this figure rose to about 14.5 percent. Similarly 54 percent of the expatriates used seat belts before the campaign began and as many as 70 percent of started using it after the first phase of the campaign.
Colonel Ghaith Hassan Al Za’abi, director of the traffic and patrol department, emphasized the importance of such kind of studies for taking appropriate traffic safety measures. The study was conducted by Dr.Yousef Al Hawsany, a researcher and specialist in preventive medicine and traffic safety at Zayed Military Hospital.
He added that the Abu Dhabi traffic Police is doing their best to minimize road accidents through such public awareness campaigns and other measures.
