Press Releases
05 Dec 2024
Distributing free child car seats to babies born During Eid Al Etihad
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) marked the 53rd Eid Al Etihad by supporting mothers at Dubai hospitals with free child car seats for babies born during the celebrations. About 450 child car seats were handed over to mothers who gave birth between 1 and 5 December 2024, across 24 hospitals participating in the initiative.
Hussain Al Banna, CEO of RTA’s Traffic and Roads Agency, praised the strategic partners and supporters of the “My Baby’s Gift on Eid Al Etihad” initiative, including Dubai Police, the Dubai Health Authority, and UNICEF. He also acknowledged the sponsors supporting the initiative in its fifth year, namely CellSave Arabia and Elvie, companies specialising in stem cells and maternal care.
“The initiative aims to offer every newborn in Dubai hospitals during Eid Al Etihad celebrations with a free child car seat. Hospitals are supplied with many car seats based on the expected number of births during the celebration period, which takes place annually from 1 to 5 December,” Al Banna explained.
He added, “The initiative is part of the awareness efforts targeting specific community groups under Dubai's Traffic Safety Strategy, which is built on four main pillars: engineering (roads and vehicles), awareness, enforcement, and systems & management. ‘My Baby’s Gift on Eid Al Etihad’ initiative has distributed over 2,000 child car seats to mothers in hospitals during Eid Al Etihad celebrations over the past five years.”
Al Banna stressed the importance of parents ensuring their children are seated in designated car seats while driving. He -added that global studies indicate that properly using child car seats reduces injuries and fatalities among children by 54% and by 71% for newborns. Additionally, child car seats help reduce traffic-related injuries among children aged 4 to 8 years by 45%.
“RTA operates according to well-defined plans regularly updated to address the needs of all target groups within the community. These plans encompass a range of activities and initiatives focused on the safety of newborns to ensuring the safety of children and students and extending to all drivers and road users in Dubai,” he stated.
The CEO of the Traffic and Roads Agency urged parents to adhere to traffic safety rules while driving. He highlighted the importance of using child car seats when travelling with newborns, emphasising that children under 10 or those shorter than 145 cm are not allowed to sit in the front seat. This violation carries a fine of AED 400. Additionally transporting children aged 4 years and under onboard without appropriate child protection seats also results a fine of AED 400.