Source: Â www.ameinfo.com
Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has launched an awareness campaign among workers at Sinabor, Dubai to educate them on the safe road crossing to avoid traffic accidents, especially run-over accidents.
Engineer Maitha bin Udai, CEO of RTA Traffic & Roads Agency, said that the awareness campaign was a part of the Gulf Traffic Week 2011 Program, which spanned various age groups and occupational categories with a host of traffic awareness programs.
She said: “The awareness campaign, which started last Friday at Sinabor and is set to continue for one month, targets workers accommodated at Al Quoz and Jebel Ali areas by sending invitations and distributing ads at their residential complexes communicating to them the venue of the event a few days in advance. Participants have shown positive indicators depicting the success of the campaign.”
“Attended by more than 2000 workers, the campaign comprised awareness lectures on pedestrians’ safe & proper road crossing, and the distribution of awareness leaflets written in four languages namely: Arabic, English, Urdu, and Hindi of which 25,000 copies were printed. The events program included distributing reflective stickers to cyclists, staging contests about pedestrian crossings, and presenting gifts to winners in a bid to reward their participation and commitment to the awareness messages of the contest. Furthermore, a civil defense team carried out a mock drill to rescue workers whose bus sustained a crash,” said Maitha.
“To ensure the success of the traffic awareness campaign, the Traffic & Roads Agency has coordinated the campaign with many RTA’s partners such as the Dubai Police, Dubai Civil Defense Department, Center of Ambulance Services, Dubai Electricity & Water Authority, Al Ahli Driving Institute, and 3M Company,” she continued.
“Pedestrians’ safety indicators in Dubai illustrate the significant advancements made in the Agency’s Pedestrians’ Safety Plan with a view to reducing run-over accidents in Dubai. The past few years witnessed many field procedures and joint awareness efforts to control pedestrian accidents, which are considered among the gravest challenges facing traffic safety specialists. Traffic awareness efforts have reduced the ratio of run-over traffic accidents fatalities to 43 deaths last year (2010) compared to 78 cases in 2009, and 116 in 2008,” continued Maitha.
“The Agency’s pedestrian crossing plans are set to continue with the aim of reducing the annual pedestrians mortality, and we hope that this campaign will significantly help in curtailing the run-over accidents, since the figures and statistics of the Agency confirm that a big chunk of pedestrians accidents are attributed to workers category, who are liable to traffic accidents in the vicinity of their residence, the very areas targeted by the campaign.
