The emirates announces traffic violations caused by passengers to the driver
Passengers who act inappropriately inside the vehicle while the driver is operating it can cause violations to be recorded against the driver. The driver is the party that is held liable for such infractions under the traffic and traffic law.
Passengers who do not secure their seat belts, permit children under the age of 13 to sit in the front seat, or engage in behaviour that distracts the driver from the road in any way, be it by using a phone or another method, are engaging in inappropriate behaviour.
The director of the traffic and patrol Directorate at the Abu Dhabi Police Department, Brigadier General Mahmoud Yousef Al Balushi, stated in an interview with "Emirates today" that the driver of the vehicle is fully responsible for any violation of the system. He also stated that passengers should implement his directives with all related security and safety measures, comply with the traffic and traffic law, and refrain from being distracted while driving.
Because item (32) of the violations committed inside the vehicle specifies a fine of 800 dirhams when the driver is distracted from the road while driving due to the use of the phone, or in any other way, the driver must also concentrate and pay attention to the road, and he or she must avoid being busy with other people, in order to avoid exposing themselves to potential traffic violations.
Al-Balushi also pointed out how dangerous it is to drive without using a seat belt and emphasised how important it is for everyone in the vehicle, including the driver and passengers, to wear seat belts in order to protect their lives as well as the lives of others. Seat belts help avoid the majority of injuries that occur in traffic accidents, mitigate the complications of collision and rush force, and emphasise the ongoing attention that must be paid to providing the highest possible traffic safety standards and increasing traffic awareness.
According to Clause (51) of the ministerial resolution (178) of 2017 on traffic control rules and procedures, passengers who are not committed to fasten the belt while driving are forced to pay a sum of 400 dirhams as well. Al-Balushi emphasised that the penalty for not wearing a seat belt while driving against the driver is four traffic points, and a fine of 400 dirhams. This is in accordance with the fact that the driver is assessed the penalty for not wearing a seat belt while driving.
According to Clause (49) of the ministerial decision (178) of 2017 on the rules and procedures of traffic control, the penalty for allowing a child from the age of ten and under, or those less than 145 cm tall to sit in the front seat is 400 dirhams. This penalty was tightened in Law No. 5 of 2020 on the reservation of vehicles in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, so that violators are also required to pay 5000 dirhams to the Abu Dhabi Roads and Transport Authority.
Passengers seated in the back
The high rates of injuries and fatalities in traffic accidents caused by not wearing a seat belt during the previous few years prompted the Federal Traffic Council to require rear seat passengers to buckle their seat belts, administer penalties, and register four black penalty points against violators. These measures were taken in response to the large numbers of injuries and deaths that occurred as a result of not wearing a seat belt.
The adoption of the recommendation regarding the seat belt was attributed by the council to the concern raised by the index of deaths and injuries of passengers in traffic accidents. The council was particularly concerned about passengers sitting in the rear seats who did not fasten their seat belts, leaving them susceptible to injury and death while also increasing the risk of death for passengers sitting in the front seats. This led to the adoption of the recommendation regarding the seat belt.
Research based on science
According to the findings of specialised research conducted across the globe, the probability of mortality for a passenger in the front seat who is wearing a seat belt increases when an accident takes place and a passenger in the back seat is not wearing a seat belt at the time of the incident.
Studies conducted by scientists have shown that when an accident takes place, the car comes to an abrupt stop, but the passenger continues to move forward at the same rate as the car. If the car was travelling at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour prior to the accident, the passenger who was not wearing a seat belt will rush with a force ranging between 1000 and 1500 kilometres forward, potentially causing death or injury to himself as well as the other passengers in the car as a result of hitting them, smashing the car glass, or rushing outside of the vehicle.
