Dubai schools getting ready for RTA's 'must' bus seat-belt rule

Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced its decision to make seatbelts mandatory in all school buses in Dubai.

This was officially confirmed to Emirates24|7.

Colonel Mohanlal Augustine, who heads the School Transport Services LLC (STS), which is responsible for transporting nearly 60,000 students in Dubai, welcomed the initiative.

He clarified that no timeline has been set, but he’s working towards ensuring that the 1,600 buses in the STS fleet are all equipped with seatbelts in every seat by the end of the year. “By December all the STS buses will be fully equipped with seatbelts.

The smaller STS buses have seatbelts, but the bigger buses don’t all have seatbelts. “We are working towards changing that. We have already placed orders to procure seatbelts from abroad.”

The STS chief stated that the use of seatbelts is not mandatory globally. While some countries have banned lap belts, many others have endorsed it. “Seatbelts are made mandatory mostly in those countries that have tough terrains. In the UAE, however, the roads are good and the buses do not go above 80km/h, so even if the child is not belted the impact can be limited.”

Augustine pointed out that biggest challenge is to ensure that the children belt themselves in. “We are trying to spread awareness through schools, and by encouraging parents to teach their children the importance of being belted in.”

Lesley Cully, who started the Buckle Up In The Back campaign in May 2010, applauded the initiative as a “positive step forward” and hoped the decision would be taken soon.

“I understand that it’s still in discussions, but any discussion in the right direction is good. It’s also a step towards formulating the seatbelt law for cars in the UAE.”

Lesley, who has been campaigning for seatbelt safety in the UAE, insisted that making seatbelts mandatory in all school buses will only make “Dubai and the UAE a safer place”.

As per the guidelines currently issued in RTA’s Dubai School Transport Manual, the seatbelts are restricted to the front row seats and the middle seat in the back row.

“The bus must have 2-buckle safety belts fitted to all front-open passenger seats such as front seats, and middle seat in the last row. The driver’s seat must be fitted with a 3-point safety belt,” the official document read.

This, Lesley explained is because those are the areas that are most exposed during collision, propelling the passengers forward.

For the younger passengers, RTA has issued seatbelts for all seats. “All seats of nursery buses must be fitted with triple buckles safety belts,” the guideline read.

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