DUBAI, 12 July 2006 — The Dubai Police Club unveiled yesterday its safety awareness campaign and its new logo.
“The vehicle has become a matter of fear. This is not because of the vehicle but because of its drivers,” said Brig. Mohammed Al-Mari, deputy director general of community services for the Dubai police department, at a press conference held at Dubai Police Officers’ Club.
The campaign’s new slogan, “It’s Cool to be Safe”, is an appeal aimed at younger drivers who statistically account for the highest percentage of deaths and serious injuries on roads.
Al-Mari said that young drivers between 18 and 30 accounted for a disproportionately high number of fatalities.
Statistics reveal that the UAE has among the highest number of road fatalities in the world in proportion to the population, 17 per month in 2004 and 20 per month last year. In the first five months of this year the number of deaths on the road had increased to an average of 26 per month.
“Young drivers are more likely than any other category to be involved in high speed accidents where the chance of being killed is highest,” said Al-Mari.
“Some young drivers think it is cool to drive fast. But it is certainly not very cool to risk killing one of your own family or friends. We hope that when people see this sticker in someone else’s car it will remind them that when we are on the roads we are all brothers, because we all depend on other motorists driving safely for our very lives,” said professional racecar driver Mohammed ibn Sulayem, showing off the campaign’s window stickers.
The campaign is part of a nine-month Road Peace traffic safety initiative conceived by the International Association for Human Values with the support of Gargash Enterprises. The police, the Roads and Transport Authority, the municipality and the organizers of the Dubai Shopping Festival have all endorsed the campaign, along with Ibn Sulayem, president of the Automobile and Touring Club.
