Sunday 21 November 2010:
Building Future Education in Middle East and North Africa Exhibition and conference
Major General (S) Obeid Al Hiri Al Kitbi, Deputy Commander-in-chief of Abu Dhabi Police and Major general Mohammad bin Al Awadhi, Director General of ADP Policing Operations, opened the traffic learning and awareness wing, on Sunday. The wing was set up by ADP at the Building Future Education in the Middle East and North Africa Exhibition and Conference, which its activities kicked off at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center, in the presence of Colonel (Engineer) Hussain Ahmed Al Harthi, Director of ADP Directorate of Traffic and patrols.
Al Kitbi and Al Awadhi viewed the Traffic Awareness City and the programmes delivered by Abu Dhabi Traffic in traffic learning and awareness, to provide best safety standards, through implementation of latest global smart systems.
Colonel Al Harthi affirmed the great attention that the Directorate of Traffic and Patrols pays to enhance traffic learning and awareness horizons, through partnerships with Educational Institutions, especially Abu Dhabi Educational Council, in order to create generations well aware of traffic issues.
Then Colonel Al Harthi talked about future vision of learning and traffic awareness by a number of initiatives launched by the Traffic Directorate: Setting up a traffic city with global specifications, which is the first of its type in the region. Schools without accidents campaign included two themes, the first was direct awareness and the second was awareness competitions. Schools without accidents initiative included advanced methods of awareness, such as mock traffic accident involving all relevant authorities such as ambulances, rescue teams, civil defence and traffic patrols.
We activated communication methods between students and traffic police through direct video conferences and SMS to answer students' enquiries.
The aim of the Traffic city, a maquette is showcased in he Exhibition, is to spread traffic awareness and to increase awareness among children. The city is designed to global specifications, including roads, buildings, pavements, traffic signals, bridges, police stations, school buses, recreational areas. Supervisors from police educate children how to operate the small cars.
The city also pays attention to weather changes; where there are places simulate rains and fog to teach children how to deal with such weather conditions. There is also a F1 circuit and educational lessons for children and parents. It also teaches children how to get in and get out of buses.
The city includes hills like those in the UAE desert, where the country youth like to drive their motorcycles on top of them and the necessary safety measures required in such cases, such as wearing head helmets for safe practice of this hobby.