New rules to make kids safer on Oman roads

Energy Monday 29/January/2018 22:34 PM
By: Times News Service
New rules to make kids safer on Oman roads

Muscat: Citizens and Residents in Oman have praised the new Royal Oman Police (ROP) law, which makes it compulsory for children under the age of four to be safely secured in car seats while travelling in vehicles.
Read here: Car seats for kids to become law in Oman
“It will be very helpful,” said Ibrahim Al Balushi. “The child must sit at the back and he must wear seatbelts. This is good for the safety of the family. I hope everybody follows this rule. I have been driving a car for 25 years, and I have seen a lot of accidents on the road, so there needs to be some safety for us.”
**media[815726]**
Musabah Al Kaabi said: “This will save the life of children and will avoid making problems in the car. It is very important to save the life of children, because sometimes maybe the children will move and make the driver uncomfortable, so I think this law is very important to save the lives of all in the car.”
Abdul Jaleel has been living in Oman for nearly 40 years now. “In my view, this is good, because you won’t lose your concentration while driving, and if you keep your children in a seat belt, this will help you drive in a proper way,” he said.
“Follow the rules of Oman, because then you can avoid lot of accidents, because sometimes, even if you take care, the other man may make a mistake and cause you trouble.
Ashrafuddin, who’d come to Oman 35 years ago, added: “I have seen many dangerous and serious accidents on the rides. This new law is needed, because any safety measure is very good for the people, especially in the case of families and those who have their children and their families here.
“Nowadays, using your mobile phone is very dangerous, because when people are driving, they are focused on using the mobile phone, on talking and on using WhatsApp at the same time,” he said. “Keep full concentration on driving, because driving can be quite congested at times in Oman. If you lose concentration for even one second, you can suffer a very big loss.”
Ikram Al Toubi also asked parents to ensure their little ones are taken care of. “When you come to drive, think of how to keep the children safe and keep their lives safe,” he revealed.
“Whoever is driving the car should first check it, and before starting, check that all the passengers are wearing seatbelts. When you are driving, make sure you don’t use your mobile phone and focus on the road only, and you should always only think about the road and not anything else.”
“Of course this will safeguard kids, because many parents – mostly women – take their children without safety belts and this causes accidents to the kids and this is not safe for them,” added Veena, who came to Oman in 1998.
Khalid Malik, who touched down in Oman 18 years ago, said: “This is very good, and it should have been implemented long back because this is good for the safety of the child. Whenever parents drive with kids, always try to give them seat belts or safety chairs because that is very good for the kids.”
Shiran Khan, another expat who’s been here for five years added: “It will help a lot because the children will learn the basics of safety and will help us to save our lives and other lives as well. If we are not following this law, then who will? For whom are the rules being made? We need to take care of ourselves first and then we can take care of others.
“It will really improve things because sometimes children are dancing on the front seats of cars,” said Christopher Fernandes, another long-term expat. “It is better to have a car seat for the children to be belted to. This will protect them for a long time. I would like to advise parents to use these seats, even if they are costly. This will help save some lives.”