Source: www.rta.ae
“Your Distance is Your Safety” Quiz targets 12k varsity students
The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has kick-started its awareness plan for 2011 through launching two traffic awareness quizzes; the first targets about 12,282 college students and the second targets the students of all public & private schools in Dubai.
According to engineer Maitha bin Udai, CEO of RTA Traffic & Roads Agency; the Agency would adopt during the current year new techniques in communicating with the categories targeted by the traffic awareness programs, particularly the youth in universities and students at various schools. She pointed out that prizes had been allocated to motivate and boost communication with the targeted audience.
“Through these quizzes we are focusing on specific topics guided by the statistics and data of traffic accidents as well as the findings of studies focusing on the underlying factors of accidents. The traffic studies revealed that the first and foremost factor responsible for traffic accidents in the first 10 months of the preceding year 2010 was the lack of leaving a sufficient distances between vehicles,” she commented.
Maitha continued: “The lack of leaving a sufficient safety distance has caused during that period of last year about 373 accidents resulting in 14 fatalities, 19 serious injuries and 303 moderate and light injuries. Statistics also showed that drivers in the age bracket (18-25 years) have triggered 465 traffic accidents in the first 10 months of last year; 19 per cent of which were attributed to the lack of leaving a sufficient safety distance.
“The Traffic & Roads Agency has set up a quiz for college students entitled: “Your Distance is Your Safety” to stress to the young drivers and alert them on the risks of failing to leave a sufficient safety distance. The Quiz calls for producing a film not exceeding 5 minutes about the safe driving distance between vehicles and its impact on the traffic safety, and the RTA will be offering valuable prizes for winners sponsored by Sharaf DG.
“The launch of this Quiz in the first week of January 2011 was preceded by a series of preparatory procedures taken since last October by the Traffic Awareness Team overseeing the Quiz, which visited several colleges under the “Traffic Awareness Ambassadors” carried out by the Traffic Awareness Section at the Agency where the objectives, systems and procedures of participation in the Quiz was explained to university students in Dubai.
“The Section has also been cooperating with 3M Company in the production of brochures, posters and stickers highlighting the safe distance between vehicles and how to measure it, along with the gravity of ignoring it. These printed materials have been distributed in seven varsities/colleges in Dubai namely; Colleges of Higher Technologies for Girls, Colleges of Higher Technologies for Boys in Dubai, Zayed University, Canadian University, Dubai University, Hamdan Bin Mohamed e-University, and the American University in Dubai. The Section has also been engaged in interaction with the social network “Tedry” to promote the Quiz among students and has set 27 February 2011 as a deadline for receiving submissions of “Your Distance is Your Safety” film such that the winners will be announced in the Unified Gulf Traffic Week in March 2011,” added the CEO of RTA Traffic & Roads Agency.
Engineer Maitha also announced the launch of a new Quiz through Salama Magazine published monthly by the Traffic Awareness Section, Traffic Dep’t at Traffic & Roads Agency entitled “Spread the Awareness, Win a Prize”. The Quiz, which targets the students of public and private schools in Dubai, is sponsored by Al Ittihad Cooperative Society and has a prize of 2000 dirham to be distributed among 4 winners in the form of purchasing vouchers of 500 dirham per winner.
The Quiz comprises a short traffic story to be narrated by the participant to six relatives and friends whose names have to be stated in the coupon provided, which has to be sent to the Traffic Dep’t either through e-mail or post office in order to qualify for the monthly draw. The overall concept of the Quiz is to educate the students and capitalize on their efforts in transmitting the awareness messages across a wide range of associates of the participant in the Quiz which will run through the mid of this year. The number of awareness messages to be delivered is expected to be in the order of 6000 individuals every month.
