Thursday 19 / September / 2024
Muscat: Avoidable deaths are taking place on Oman roads because of poor awareness about the benefits of proper restraints, road safety campaigners say.
The pilot phase of a nationwide programme, #saveyourchild was recently unveiled by the Oman Road Safety Association (ORSA) at the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah.
The campaign distributes car seats for young children and infants, and raises awareness on important road safety issues, including using seat belts properly and child restraints in all vehicles to safeguard passengers.
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ORSA’s #saveyourchild campaign is expected to be launched in October this year.
Speaking about the importance of safeguarding vehicle passengers, Amor bin Nasser Al Matani, chairman of the Oman Road Safety Association, said, “The idea is to ensure that every family that gets the child safety seat benefits from it and actually uses it.”
“ORSA is working in close partnership with Petroleum Development Oman (PDO), the Al Khonji Group, ‘Volunteering Pioneers’ Group, the Air Force Army Academy, Oman Oilfields Supply Centre (OOSC), Special Technical Service (STS) Oman, Shell Oman Marketing, and the Ministry of Health to roll out this campaign in October,” he added.
The official nationwide launch will be held during the Road Safety Exhibition and the distribution of child restraints around Oman will begin after the launch, Al Matani stated.
“Our trained ORSA volunteers will visit hospitals and install the child safety seat in the parents’ car, giving instructions on how to use it,” Al Matani explained.
Volunteers will distribute leaflets and information on the importance of child restraints up to 11 years old, depending on the age, weight and height of their child.
Three main messages
Three main messages will be promoted through the campaign, through talks, educational videos and demonstrations of correct practices in road safety talks, educational videos and demonstrations of correct practices in road safety, according to Al Matani.
Team members of the campaign include five officials from among ORSA’s board members, 20 volunteers from a ‘Pioneers of Volunteering’ group, two health educators from the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah and the logistics for the campaign will be handled by the Air Force Academy in Ghala.
“The #saveyourchild campaign will make a positive change in parents’ attitudes towards the use of seat belts and child safety,” Yahya Al Shidiis, an OSRA board member, stressed.
Joint efforts needed
“Joint efforts from government, non-governmental and private sector organisations will make road safety, especially the safety of children in vehicles, a priority for those responsible for this aspect of the strategy,” Al Shidiis noted.
“Studies show that most drivers and passengers killed in crashes are unrestrained. Seat belts and child restraints dramatically reduce the risk of death and serious injury. If all drivers and passengers had worn seat belts (and child restraints for kids) last year, more people would be alive today,” Mohammed Al Hamili, another board member of OSRA said.
“In Oman, people still don’t follow the culture of fastening seat belts when sitting in the back seat. Also, many parents don’t have the right understanding of the importance of seat belts and child restraints and therefore, don’t enforce using it for their own children,” he added.
Ameena Said Ahmed Ateeq, a member of the ‘Pioneers of Volunteering’ group, who helped in distributing child safety seats at the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah, highlighted how effective the awareness campaign is for parents of newborns.
“When we started educating parents, we were faced with the challenge of them not accepting the idea in principle, but our discussions with them on the importance of the use of child car seats in a scientific manner and using scientific facts to explain the impact of traffic crashes and displaying awareness videos, helped convince them,” she pointed out.
“I was delighted when parents started using child safety seats that were installed by our team,” she added.
“The volunteers at our centre have been trained intensively to be fully prepared to engage with members of the community through the campaign or outside to spread awareness,” Said Al Harthy, head of the ‘Pioneers of Volunteering’ group, stated.
