New parents in Abu Dhabi will be given a baby car seat in a bid to cut the number of child traffic deaths, it has been reported.
The plan by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) will see some 4,500 seats given out to parents at maternity wards in the UAE capital for a two month trial period later this year, the National reports on Sunday.
“A cultural change has to happen in this region,” Dr Jens Thomsen, HAAD’s section head of occupational and environmental health, told the paper. “From a public perspective it should not be up to the personal choice of the child if they want to be restrained or not. This is something that the parents have to enforce.”
According to HAAD figures, quoted by the paper, 44 children under 17 died on the roads in Abu Dhabi last year.
“In terms of fatalities, it’s the leading cause of injury-related deaths, and the second leading cause of all deaths,” Thomsen said.
Last week, the Ministry of Interior confirmed plans for a federal bill making it compulsory to strap children in car seats by 2011.
The HAAD scheme will include all Abu Dhabi residents, both UAE nationals and expatriates.
