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Road safety drive for kids

The campaign, which will run over a four-week period, was launched at the Royal Dubai School with the participation of 65 children displaying incredible knowledge of road signs and traffic rules for their tender age.

In order to create the right ambiance, the EMSF had set up a road network in the school’s multi-purpose hall complete with road signs, zebra crossings and traffic signals thereby giving the children a feel of what to expect when driving. With the support of Porsche, each child drove a 911 Porsche pedal car through the network adhering to all the basic road safety rules during their time at the wheel.

A qualified instructor briefed the children at the start the session where every child received an easy-to-understand booklet on road safety rules, and on completion of the session were given a ‘licence’ endorsed by Dubai Police stating ‘My First Licence — I Know My Road Rules’. The plastic licence cards carry all details of the child such as name, age and photograph, and though it does not permit the children to drive, it indicates that the card holder has participated in a road safety campaign.

An added bonus for the children was an impromptu offer by a police officer to give them a first-hand feel of a police car. The officer invited the children to sit in the police car and even permitted them use of the car's loudspeaker.

While the campaign is being conducted in 15 schools currently, the EMSF aims to extend this road safety awareness drive to more schools in the near future given the tremendous response from educational institutions to this unique initiative.

According to statistics, there is an accident every three minutes on Dubai roads with a fatality average of one every two days. Since the beginning of the year approximately 89 deaths have been recorded due to road accidents.

• UAE