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29 March 2024

Four Emirati girls injured in quad bike accident

Picture used for illustrative purposes only. (GETTY IMAGES)

Published
By Muna Ahmed

One Emarati girl was seriously injured and three others suffered from medium to minor injuries when they collided with each other while driving quad bikes in a desert camp in Umm Al Qaiwain, a top official said.

This incident highlights the lack of safety regulations in most of the desert camps which easily offers quad bikes to kids and adults without taking into consideration the age or weight of the driver and the power of the quad bikes.

The girls were on school trip where the teachers allowed them to rent the quad bikes and have fun, a top police official said adding that these girls were aged between 14 to 17 years old.

“It is the fault of the teachers and the people in charge of the camp as well. We find many safety violations in these camps. The people in charge of such camps do not care about the safety of the kids and adults renting the bikes. They just care about the money they get,” he said.

The official pointed out that every year, they record large number of accidents in these camps.

“We have seen so many people suffering from serious injuries, to fractures, to being paralysed because of this activity. Some people even died in such accidents. In one incident, a girl died because she was driving a bike which was too powerful compared to her age, and her parents were not aware of this. They got her the bike she wanted to ride without knowing that they must stick to the age and weight of the person before choosing the bikes. The person in charge of the desert camp did not tell them that too because the rent for the big bikes in higher compared to the small bikes.”

He added that one basic and crucial safety rule is to wear the helmet, and non of the camp on the Emirates Road towards the Northern Emirates in force this rule on the kids or adults. The whole place is in a mess due to the large number of people who take their kids to have fun rides when the weather cool down during winter season.”

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