“If you love your kids, buckle them up!” …it’s so easy! And use the proper child seats!

Studies show, that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death or serious injuries by 40-65% on the front seats, but for children, properly buckled up in child seats, this figure goes up to 80%!

There is NO excuse for not buckling up your child! 

Parents and adults, be role models for your children and lead by example! #teachchildrenroadsafety … You parents are the heroes of your children – they listen to you! Hence, engage with them and share what the road thought you!

The UAE introduced the ‘holistic seat belt law’ – including all back-seat passengers and children – as per 1st July 2017! One person – one seat belt! The law demands proper child restraint system: rear facing child seats, front-facing child seats, booster cushions – details see below.

“Ministerial Resolution No. 178 of 2017 regarding traffic control rules: The resolution covers many safety and control aspects. Some of them are:

 Mandatory seat belts for all:

• All passengers in a car are required to wear seat belts including those sitting in the rear seat, failing which the driver of the vehicle will be fined AED 400 and slapped with four black points.
• Children up to four years of age must be provided with a child safety seat. Violators will be fined AED 400 and slapped with four black points.
• The front seat passenger should also be at least 145 cm tall and not younger than 10 years old.”

The Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology (ESMA) has enforced: Stabilized child restraint products in vehicles will not be allowed to be sold in the UAE markets unless there is a matching certificate stating that the seat complies with UAE standards, which are in line with international best practices and experiences in this regard.

One Journey at a time

We are all responsible for the health, safety and wellbeing of our children. Creating awareness to ensure that babies and infants only travel by car when restrained in a car seat is the obvious way forward. From their first journey home from hospital and onwards as they grow its vital to ensure they are safe.

Why child seats?

An infant car seat is designed to protect your child in the event of a crash by forming a protective cocoon. New born seats are placed facing rearward so that a child will be pushed in to the seat on front-impact and the shell and inlay protect the spine and vital parts of the child. The higher sides next the the child’s head form a ‘side impact protection system’ in the event of a side collision and avoid the child’s head to move too much. The seats belts retain the child during your trip and avoid that they get out. They also strap the child into the safest position and holds it there in the event of a rear or side impact, just like the seat belts for adults.

What are the rules? 

The UAE Traffic Law (1-July-2017) prohibits children under the age of 10 (and below 145 centimeters) to sit in the front seat and it mandates child seats for children up to the age of four years. The new regulations require car seats sold in the UAE to pass crash tests as well as have proper labeling and classifications for different age groups and weight categories. The new regulations also require manufacturers to supply handbooks along with the seats that will provide clear instructions on the installation of the seat. Retailers are required to demonstrate the installation procedure to their customers.

In the UAE, “…When it came to preventable child deaths, road traffic accidents were revealed to be the main cause of fatal injuries among children between 2008 and 2015, comprising 64 per cent of all deaths…” 15-Feb-2018 https://www.thenational.ae/uae/more-than-three-quarters-of-all-child-injuries-in-abu-dhabi-occur-at-home-1.705033

UAE Statistics (RoadSafetyUAE and Volkswagen commissioned a YouGov on-line survey in March 2021; n<1000 UAE representative sample) – example of the press coverage in The National Newspaper

* only 34% of parents who legally should have a child car seat, actually own one
* only 31% of those who do own a car seat ‘always’ ask their children to buckle up

Top 3 reasons for not buckling up children:
* 40% state ‘My kids do not like to be strapped in’
* 29% state ‘I am a safe driver and will not be involved in accidents’
* 24% state ‘It’s not needed on short trips’

The top 3 reasons for non-ownership are: (results are from an earlier YouGov study from 2017, commissioned by RSU and QIC Insured):
29% Too expensive
28% My kids don’t like to be strapped in child seats or booster cushions
25% I don’t know which child seat or booster cushion to buy for my kid

How to do it right:

Weight-based car seats

Your baby will need to be in a rear-facing car seat until he weighs more than 9kg. However, there’s no need to move him to a new seat as soon as he reaches this weight. In fact, it’s safest for him to stay rear-facing for as long as possible. You only need a new seat when the top of your baby’s head is level with the top of the seat, this is a big change, since before this new regulation babies were turned front facing from 9 months onwards.

When your baby reaches 15kg to 25kg, he can use a child booster seat instead of a baby seat. And once he’s over 22kg, he can use a booster cushion.

Height-based car seats

These new seats are known as i-Size seats, and can only be used in cars with Isofix points (Check your car manufacturer, if the Isofix is installed). If you choose this type of seat, your baby will need to be rear-facing until he’s over 15 months. After that, you can use any i-Size seat that’s appropriate for his height.

Whichever type you choose, never put a rear-facing seat in the front of your car if it has an active airbag. Even for forward-facing seats, check that it’s safe to use them with your car’s airbag before putting them up front.

Find out from your car’s handbook, or the manufacturer, how far the bag inflates, and make sure the car’s seat is as far back from the dashboard as possible. Only put your child in the front if you have no other choice.

Car Seat Groups

There are different categories of car seats suitable for different age ranges. Those that meet European safety regulations will have an E and 44.03/44.04 or .03/.04 on the label, meaning they meet European safety regulations. They’ll also show the group number, or weight range of child, for which it is designed. The new i-Size seats are slightly different, as explained below.

Weight ranges may vary from one manufacturer to another, but they tend to follow these guidelines:

• Group 0 and Group 0+: rear-facing infant carriers for children up to 10kg and up to 13kg respectively (from birth to nine or 12 months).
• Group 1: child seats for children 9kg to 18kg (about nine months to four years).
• Group 2 and 3: Full booster seats and cushions for children from 15kg to 25kg (about three and half years to six years) and from 22kg and up to 36kg (about six years to 12 years). Many models in these groups can be modified to accommodate your child as he grows.

What’s wrong with children using adult seat belts?

If your child uses an adult seatbelt before he is tall enough, the lap part of the belt sits too high on his stomach. In a crash this could damage his internal organs. There is also a risk of him slipping under the belt.

sources:

Ministerial Resolution No. 178 of 2017; https://government.ae/en/information-and-services/justice-safety-and-the-law/road-safety; https://www.khaleejtimes.com/news//transport/child-car-seats-standards-rule-comes-into-effect-in-uae

very good and informative sites: 

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/on-the-go/Pages/Car-Safety-Seats-Information-for-Families.aspx; https://www.parents.com/baby/safety/car/car-seat-safety-check-8-common-mistakes-you-must-avoid/