| Dubai, United Arab Emirates -Monday, April 24th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]
Poor behavior of adults translates into poor habits to protect our children
High knowledge level about the protective powers of children restraint systems
1/3 of needing motorists do not have proper child seats or booster cushions
Reasons for ‘non-ownership’ are identified and need to be tackled
Existing restraint systems are only used to 70%
Reasons for ‘non-use’ are identified and need to be addressed
Young motorists and Emiratis need to be educated and engaged
Road Safety UAE and QIC Insured publish the 2nd part of the UAE’s most holistic seat belt survey. The focus is on children’s seat belt use. The survey was conducted in February 2017 and is based on a representative sample of more than 1,000 UAE residents.
Part 1 of the survey already showed, that UAE’s motorists display a limited understanding and low usage of back-seat belts and also, that only a small percentage of motorists ‘always’ prompt all passengers, including children, to wear their seat belts.
Thomas Edelmann, Founder and Managing Director of Road Safety UAE: “The poor behavior of adults translates into poor habits to protect our children. We see 1/3 of motorists failing to provide proper restraint systems for their kids and the identified reasons need to be addressed. The main message is a very simple one: ‘IF YOU LOVE YOUR KIDS, BUCKLE THEM UP, ON ALL TRIPS!’. It is of key importance to educate parents about the undebatable benefits of proper children restraint systems.”
Frederik Bisbjerg, QIC Insured Executive Vice President, MENA Retail states: “The implementation of the holistic UAE seat belt law as of July 1, 2017 is a big step towards more road safety for children, as proper child restraint systems will become mandatory. Besides parents, also kids must be educated from a very early age about the protective powers of child seats, seat belts and booster cushion. The concerned stakeholders in the public and private segments, and especially the education sector, are challenged to step up to the challenge to protect our children and to educate them about safe conduct in vehicles.”
A) BACKGROUND: POOR BEHAVIOR OF ADULTS WITH REGARDS TO BACK-SEAT SEAT BELT USE:
Only 56% of drivers ‘always’ ask everyone in their vehicle to buckle up
Only 11% of all respondents (adults) ’always’ buckle up themselves on the back-seat
55% of those not buckling up in the back-seats claim ‘When I sit on the back seat, I feel safe enough without seat belt’.
Adults behave poorly with regards to the use of back-seat belts and this translates into poor habits of making sure our children travel safely in our vehicles.
B) KNOWLEDGE OF CHILD RESTRAINT SYSTEMS
The knowledge level is high, with 93% of respondents stating ‘I think kids are better protected with child seats and seat belts in case of accidents’, with the highest score of 97% for females and older motorists 35+ years old, and the lowest one of 87% for the age group 25-29.
Do you think, kids are better protected with child seats and seat belts in case of accidents?
Total
What is your gender?
Age Group
Male
Female
18 to 24
25 to 29
30 to 34
35 to 39
40+
Yes
93%
91%
97%
94%
87%
91%
97%
96%
C) AVAILABILITY OF CHILD SEATS / BOOSTER CUSHIONS
Of those motorists with children, who need proper child seats or booster cushions, an alarming number of 34% do not have those! The numbers are even more alarming for Emiratis – a staggering 47% do not have proper child seats/booster cushions and 42% of the young parents in the age group of 18-29 years!
Do you have proper child seats or booster cushions for your children?
Total
Age Group
UAE Nationality
18 to 24
25 to 29
30 to 34
35 to 39
40+
Emirati
Arab Expat
Asian
Westerner
Other
No
34%
42%
42%
30%
28%
32%
47%
27%
33%
14%
34%
D) REASONS FOR NOT HAVING PROPER CHILD SEATS / BOOSTER CUSHIONS
Motorists who fail to provide proper child seats or booster cushions to their children, claim cost reasons (29%),’ kids don’t like to be strapped in’ (28%), lack of understanding which restraint system to buy (25%), ‘passenger holding kids is as safe’ (15%) and their safe driving abilities (15%) as the top 5 reasons.
The highest – and very alarming - values we see for: ‘too expensive’ with the older motorists 35+ years (36%!); ‘kids don’t like to be strapped in with the 30-39 years old (39%!); lack of knowledge which restraint system to buy with very young parents 18-24 years (36%!); ‘passenger holding kids is as safe’ with very young parents (22%!), and their perceived safe driving abilities also with very young parents (35%!!).
Why don't you have proper child seats or booster cushions for your children?
Please select all that apply.
Total
Too expensive
29%
My kids don't like to be strapped in child seats or booster cushions
28%
I don't know which child seat or booster cushion to buy for my kid
25%
Passengers holding kids is as safe as child seats or booster cushions
15%
I am a safe driver and I will not be involved in an accident, hence I don't need seat belts
15%
Child seats or booster cushions do not protect kids in the case of an accident
11%
Religious reasons
7%
It is not part of our culture
5%
E) USAGE OF EXISTING CHILD SEATS / BOOSTER CUSHIONS
Of those who do have proper child seats/booster cushions (66%), only 70% always prompt their kids to use them and to buckle up! This drops to hard-to-understand numbers of 42% for very young parents (18-24 years) and 59% for Emiratis.
How often do ask your children to use their child seats or booster cushions and to use their seat belt?
Total
Age Group
UAE Nationality
18 to 24
25 to 29
30 to 34
35 to 39
40+
Emirati
Arab Expat
Asian
Westerner
Other
Always
70%
42%
66%
75%
80%
76%
59%
69%
73%
100%
33%
F) REASONS FOR NON-USE OF EXISTING CHILD SEATS & BOOSTER CUSHIONS
The three main reasons for not prompting the use of existing child seat or booster cushions are the wrong believe that they are not needed for short trips (37%), kids don’t like to be strapped in (32%) and that perceived safe driving does not require kids to be buckled up (26%).
Why do your kids not always wear their seat belt in their child seat or booster cushion? Please select all that apply.
On short trips, it is not needed to wear seat belts
37%
My kids don't like to be strapped in their child seats or their booster cushion
32%
I am a safe driver and I will not be involved in an accident, hence I don't need seat belts
26%
Child seats or booster cushions do not protect kids in the case of an accident
18%
It is not part of our culture
17%
Religious reasons
9%
Details of the ‘UAE’s FIRST HOLISTIC SEAT BELT SURVEY – part 1 & 2’, commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE and QIC Insured and conducted by YouGov, can be found in the ‘featured’ section on: http://www.roadsafetyuae.com/statistics/.
About RoadSafetyUAE:
RoadSafetyUAE’s vision is to contribute to reducing the number of road traffic fatalities, injuries and accidents in the UAE. RoadSafetyUAE’s mission is to raise the awareness for proper conduct on our roads, in an engaging manner and on a broadly communicated and permanent basis. RoadSafetyUAE’s award-winning platform engages with the stakeholders traffic participants, governmental entities, the media, and more than 30 corporate social responsibility (CSR) minded partners. ‘Tips & Tricks’ are the content backbone, provided for more than 60 topics of road safety, all specifically relevant to the UAE. More information can be found on www.RoadSafetyUAE.com
In addition to QIC Insured, RoadSafetyUAE partners with RTA, Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai Health Authority, BMW, Michelin, Audi, Nissan, Infiniti, Al-Futtaim Honda, Volvo, Al-Futtaim Volvo, Galadari Brothers - Mazda, MAN Trucks, STS, Gargash Insurance Brokers, PepsiCo, Johnson&Johnson, MMI, Pernod Ricard, Serco, MiXTelematics, JustKidding, Osram, AMEC Foster Wheeler, OMD, NSG and VOX Cinemas.
About QIC Insured (Qatar Insurance Company)
Qatar Insurance Company (QIC) is a publicly listed composite insurer with a consistent performance history of over 50 years and a global underwriting footprint. Founded in 1964, QIC was the first domestic insurance company in the State of Qatar. Today, QIC is the market leader in Qatar and a dominant insurer in the GCC and MENA region. QIC is one of the highest rated insurers in the Gulf region with a rating of A/Stable from Standard & Poor’s and A(Excellent) from A.M. Best. In terms of profitability and market capitalization, QIC is also the largest insurance company in the MENA region. It is listed on the Qatar Exchange and has a market capitalization of over USD 4 billion.
QIC Insured is the retail brand of QIC’s personal insurances and can be experienced at
www.qic-insured.com
Contacts
Thomas Edelmann,
Founder and Managing Director,
RoadSafetyUAE
Thomas@RoadSafetyUAE.com,
Mob: +971 50 55 19 216
Frederik Bisbjerg
Executive Vice President, MENA Retail
www.qic-insured.com
frederik.bisbjerg@qicmena.com.qa
Tel.: +974 4496 2360
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