Organized by the Ministry of Interior in Al Ain

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Saturday, January 24th 2015 [ME NewsWire]

During the council hosted by Bakhit Suwaidan Al Nuaimi on Friday in Al Ain, participants stressed the need to better engage families in inculcating the culture of civilized driving in children, and promoting awareness of young people about road ethics and rules. Participants called upon the Ministry of Interior and competent entities to further boost the role of the media, and continue to broadcast purposeful educational programs designed to enhance traffic awareness.

The participants hailed the efforts exerted by the Law Respect Culture Bureau at the Ministry of Interior, and its leading role in promoting the law respect culture in all aspects of life, and among various community segments, in a bid to address various social issues within the an integrated family environment.

The council, which comes as a part of the year-long awareness councils organized by the Law Respect Culture Bureau at the Ministry of Interior, discusses the “Culture of Civilized Driving”. Participants at the council reiterated the importance of inculcating the culture of road respect in the youth, noting that this culture begins at home, as the family unit forms the cornerstone of any healthy society.

Bakhit Suwaidan Al Nuaimi, host of the council, noted that the number of vehicles presently on roads in the UAE is higher than ever before. “People used to help each other out to run errands. However, with progress and development, the UAE has evolved as an economic, technological, technical and scientific hub. To cope with these developments, life requirements have changed and evolved, especially cars, which have become the most important part for the human life in today’s world,” he noted.

Adding further, Al Nuaimi said: “Young people represent the largest proportion of drivers, and most of them lack road courtesy and general driving skills and fail to take road conditions into account in order to preserve their lives and the lives of other road users. Some of them also fail to inspect their vehicles and ensure they are compliant with the safety requirements.” Moreover, Al Nuaimi highlighted the paramount role of the family in promoting the culture of road respect and compliance with traffic laws.

For his part, Colonel Jamal Al Ameri, Chief of the Public Relations Section at the Traffic and Patrols Directorate at Abu Dhabi Police, shed light on the various traffic awareness efforts, as well as roads and engineering projects carried out by the Abu Dhabi Government, with a view of constructing and developing an advanced road transportation infrastructure, in accordance with the highest international standards. This initiative aims at preserving lives and property and achieving zero traffic fatalities.

The “Culture of Civilized Driving” council, moderated by media figure Rashid Al Kharji (from Dubai Media Incorporated), tackled a number of topics. It stressed the need to reinforce awareness efforts, promote the culture of road respect, and curb the human and material losses caused by traffic accidents.

On the same note, Abdullah Bakhit Suwaidan (Consultant at ADNOC) said: “It is unfortunate to see families or parents allowing under age children to drive without a license, and putting them in a position where they could hurt themselves and others. “This is an unacceptable behavior and one of the main causes of traffic accidents,” he noted.

Khamis Suwaidan Al Nuaimi (Employee at Al Ain municipality) indicated that one of the main causes of traffic accidents is lack of attention and poor concentration of drivers, who are preoccupied checking their social media notifications on their mobile phones while driving.

Sultan Abdullah Al Nuaimi (UAE University student), noted that waking  up early to go to work or to complete transactions, helps reaching the desired destination safely, without haste and traffic accidents. “During peak hours, roads witness heavy traffic congestion and violations committed by motorists who are in a hurry to get to work,” he said.

Furthermore, participants at the council tackled the role of the different media outlets and communication channels. In this regard, media figure Rashid Al Kharji said: “The Ministry of Interior, represented by the Security Media Department, seeks collaboration with the various police departments and concerned authorities, to organize year-long awareness campaigns that target the various sectors of society and diverse nationalities in several languages, in a bid to reduce traffic accidents rates,” he said.

Juma’a Hudaiba Al Nuaimi stressed the role of the media in boosting public awareness about the dangers of traffic accidents and their psychological consequences and economic impacts on society. He also called upon the media to prepare a variety of traffic awareness programs in cooperation with Government and private institutions, especially educational institutions.

Towards the end of the council, Lieutenant Colonel Dr. Hmoud Saeed Al Afari, Deputy Director of the Law Respect Culture Bureau at the Ministry of Interior; honored the host of the council, Bakhit Suwaidan Al Nuaimi, and awarded him a certificate of appreciation and a commemorative shield.

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The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.

Contacts

The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department

Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com

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