Child sitting in the front seat kills mother
This happened in Abu Dhabi but Qatar is also at big risk:
"The death of a female motorist who was apparently distracted by a child sitting in the front seat of her car should serve as a wake-up call for parents who fail to properly restrain young passengers, safety advocates said yesterday.
“Driving is something that requires 100 per cent attention,” said Bernadette Bhacker, who runs a road safety awareness campaign in Oman called Salim and Salimah (Safe and Sound).
“It is not something we can multitask on and it could have in a way been the same if she had been distracted by any other factor, like using a GSM or trying to drink coffee.”
The UAE does not yet have a law requiring parents to strap in their young ones, but police have said one is expected to be in place by next year.
“The recent case emphasises the need for introducing the regulation and also enforcing it,” said Dr Mohammed el Sadig, an expert in safety promotion and accident prevention at UAE University in Al Ain.
Eighty-three per cent of children who wear seat belts or sit in safety seats are not hurt in crashes, according to the European Transport Safety Council.
The mother died on a highway outside Abu Dhabi on Tuesday afternoon when her car slammed into a roadside barrier and caught fire. The child was injured.
Lt Col Mohammad Ahmad al Mazroui, the head of Abu Dhabi Police’s highways section, said a preliminary investigation indicated that the Pakistani woman had been distracted by her child, who was riding in the front seat.
Allowing a child under the age of 10 to travel in the front of the vehicle is illegal under the black points system. The penalty is a Dh400 fine and four black points.
Following the crash, Abu Dhabi Police warned parents not to allow children under the age of 10 to sit in the front seat of a vehicle and stressed the need for children to be properly restrained."
read more here: http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100311/NATIONAL/7...
Even if will be reinforced by the police most people is not educated about the safety inside the veicle!
When I take / collect my son from school, I come across other people here (don't mean Qataris only) having few kids in the car with them jumping around, moving around between front and back seats etc etc.....
I have also seen some having their baby between themselves and the steering wheel!!!
The big problem here is that, the law is not reinforced by the police!!!.....
It's really sad. I do wonder if it's just lack of education on safety. In the UK, they constantly show advertisements on the dangers of not wearing seatbelts, drink driving, speeding etc. The adverts are harsh, but they definitely have an impact.
*****If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all*****
snessy, sometimes they do buckle up, but that doesn't include the child sitting on the lap, so they end up as airbags for the parent.. :(
Why would the children buckle up when their parents don't either, children learn from the parents but unfortunately they are setting a bad example.
*****If you haven't got anything nice to say, don't say anything at all*****
The babies on the mother's laps is all part of the "use your child as an airbag" policy. You see it's harder to find a new wife than it is to have another kid. After all you can only have 4 wives, you can have countless kids.
literal people are scary, man, literal people scare me
out there trying to rid the world of its poetry while getting it wrong fundamentally down at the church of "look,it sez right here, see!" Ani Difranco
they will never learn until they're the next victim
agree, children under 10 should not be put on the front seat as the impact of the airbag could seriously injure them in an accident..
it's sad to see here almost everyday to see even little babies sitting on the front seat with the mother, and sometimes even sitting on the lap of the driver of the car... so stupid and irresponsible..
My friends sister had her 6 year old in the front seat. WITH the seatbelt on. Had an accident. Air bag deployed and decapitated the 6 year old. Children under 10 should NOT be in the front seat EVER! My friends sister has been in therapy ever since this happened (probably 10 years ago) and will never get over it.
mjamille28 you are so right. I am amazed how so many children dont wear seat belts here. If anything happened to these children as a parent you would never forgive yourself especially if it could have been prevented just by making them use a seat belt.
some people need to learn the importance to buckle up, use child seats for children and not put them on the front seat...
Straight Arrow,
Sure it may happen in any country where the parents behave the way they do, put their kids and their lives' at risk.
The problem here, besides the common practice, the police does not enforce the law and I don’t even know if it’s a law because it sure doesn’t look like when you observe how the majority of local drivers, drive with their kids.
Drmana,
I can't correct the main post, editing is not accessible to the users.
However it was written on purpose to recall attention. Awareness is what the message's title, seeks here!
Its journalistic language and should be read as following:
"The fact that a child was put on the front seat while the mother was driving killed the mother".
A young Qatari 25 who was happily married was putting his two year old son infront of him when he was driving, the son hit the driving wheel and the land cruiser turned many turns the father and the son died and the mother had many bones broken and probably still at hospital.
This can happen in any country when people do not take safety rules in consideration.
some people must learn from mistakes.
Sad news indeed but could you please rephrase the heading...It sounded as if it was child's fault that the Mother is dead.
"It is better to be hated for what you are than being loved for what you are not."
...Life would become Dull if there were no such Difficulties...
What amazes me - I know its better late than never - but why on earth Abu Dhabi Police needs to wait for fatal accidents to happen, to warned parents!?
These are rich countries, can't they just adopt what the "civilized world" have already concluded decades ago?
How much would cost to adapt existent safety rules, introduce them in the nation, enforce them and police their adherence? Can’t these countries afford this or are they lacking something?
Safety rules are in place not to annoy citizens, when will they get this and put in practice in their countries what is already common sense elsewhere?
bad luck ... usually people underestimate the risk involve in sitting kids in front seats in cars..
who do the same here in qatar..
"The more I see of the world the more am I dissatisfied with it." Jane Austen.