Dubai, United Arab Emirates, -Thursday, March 30th 2017 [ ME NewsWire ]
- Low knowledge of seat belt protection for back-seat passengers
- Alarmingly low seat belt use of drivers: Emiratis and the 18-24 year olds
- Alarmingly low seat belt use of front row passengers: Emiratis and the 18-24 year olds
- Alarmingly low seat belt use of back seat passengers – of all demographics!
- The role of the responsible driver prompting his/per passengers to buckle up must improve
- The top 6 reasons for ‘not using’/’not prompting’ seat belts need to be addressed
Coinciding
with the UAE Ministry of Interior signing a new law mandating the seat
belt use by all passengers in addition to drivers, RoadSafetyUAE and QIC Insured
announce the results of the UAE’s most holistic seat belt survey. The
survey was conducted in February 2017 and is based on a representative
sample of more than 1,000 UAE residents.
The
results are shared with the public in 2 steps due to the big volume of
data. This first release sheds light on the overall knowledge with
regards to the protective powers of seat belts as well as the use of
seat belts by drivers, front-seat passengers and back-seat passengers
and it provides insights linked to the role of the responsible driver
(asking and prompting passengers to wear seat belts) and the reasons for
not using seat belts. The second release in 2 weeks’ time will share
data points related to the child seat belt use.
Thomas
Edelmann, Founder and Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE: “We are very
proud of this unique piece of research which times very well with the
recent MOI announcement of the introduction of the holistic seat belt
law. The findings of this study will help all stakeholders to develop
hard-hitting awareness and education initiatives to accompany the
implementation of this fantastic new law”.
Frederik
Bisbjerg, QIC Insured Executive Vice President, MENA Retail adds: “Seat
belts safe lives and spare us from injuries in case of car accidents.
Our mission is to protect our customers and our eco-system, hence it is
just logical to have worked on this holistic research project. We want
to demonstrate in a credible and tangible manner how we at QIC Insured
can contribute to better our society.”
A) OVERALL KNOWLEDGE:
Overall,
the knowledge level of respondents is sound, with 91% understanding,
that seat belts protect drivers and front-seat passengers. This
knowledge peaks with females, older respondents (35+), Westerners and
Sharjah residents. The lowest knowledge levels can be observed with
young respondents (18-24) and Emiratis.
|
‘Do you think, seat belts protect drivers and front-seat passengers in cars in case of accidents?’
|
||||||||
|
SELECTED DATA POINTS
|
Total
|
Gender
|
Age Group
|
Nationality
|
||||
|
Female
|
18 to 24
|
35 to 39
|
40+
|
Emirati
|
Arab Expat
|
Westerner
|
||
|
No
|
9%
|
5%
|
13%
|
5%
|
5%
|
15%
|
7%
|
4%
|
|
Yes
|
91%
|
95%
|
87%
|
95%
|
95%
|
85%
|
93%
|
96%
|
Interestingly,
the knowledge level with regards to seat belts protecting back-seat
passengers is significantly lower: just 81% think the same! This
dimension peaks with females, the 35-39 year olds, and Westerners. The
lowest values can be seen with young respondents (18-24), Emirati and
Arab Expats.
|
‘Do you think, seat belts protect back-seat passengers in cars in case of accidents?’
|
||||||||
|
SELECTED DATA POINTS
|
Total
|
Gender
|
Age Group
|
Nationality
|
||||
|
Female
|
18 to 24
|
35 to 39
|
40+
|
Emirati
|
Arab Expat
|
Westerner
|
||
|
No
|
19%
|
13%
|
24%
|
13%
|
19%
|
24%
|
26%
|
8%
|
|
Yes
|
81%
|
87%
|
76%
|
87%
|
81%
|
76%
|
74%
|
92%
|
As
the new UAE seat belt law will add the back-seat passengers to the
already long exiting law making seat belt use mandatory the front row,
specific efforts need to be made to broadly educate the UAE on the
importance of seat belts with regards to preventing injuries and
fatalities to back-seat passengers!
B) DRIVERS:
78%
of drivers state, they ‘always’ buckle up. This is a low number,
considering that the mandatory seat belt law for front seat travelers
has been in force for many years! The highest seat belt penetration we
see for females, older drivers, Westerners, Asians and Arab Expats, and
in Dubai and Sharjah. Alarmingly low values we see for Emiratis (51%!)
and very young drivers between 18-24 years (63%!). These values are so
low, that there is an urgent need to address those 2 target audiences
without any delay – they must understand the protective powers of seat
belts!
|
‘When you sit in the front seat as a driver, how often do you use your seat belt?’
|
||||||||
|
SELECTED DATA
|
Total
|
Gender
|
Age Group
|
Nationality
|
||||
|
POINTS
|
Female
|
18 to 24
|
40+
|
Emirati
|
Arab Expat
|
Asian
|
Westerner
|
|
|
Always
|
78%
|
85%
|
63%
|
83%
|
51%
|
82%
|
83%
|
100%
|
C) FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS:
Only
71% of front seat passengers ‘always’ use their seat belt. Like for
drivers, this is a very low rate! Once again, females beat males, the
old and experienced beat the young, and Arab Expats and Westerners stand
out positively, as well as Sharjah.
The
most alarming number we see for Emiratis (38%!) and the young segment
of 18-24 years (52%), with below-par values for Arab Expats and Abu
Dhabi.
|
‘When you sit in the front seat as a passenger, how often do you use your seat belt?’
|
||||||||||
|
SELECTED DATA
|
Total
|
Gender
|
Age Group
|
Nationality
|
UAE Emirates
|
|||||
|
POINTS
|
Female
|
18 to 24
|
40+
|
Emirati
|
Arab Expat
|
Asian
|
Westerner
|
Abu Dhabi
|
Sharjah
|
|
|
Always
|
71%
|
78%
|
52%
|
80%
|
38%
|
60%
|
82%
|
88%
|
65%
|
80%
|
D) BACK SEAT PASSENGERS:
Another
truly alarming figure is the use of seat belts by back-seat passengers:
only 11% state they ‘always’ use seat belts! Alarming insofar, as the
new UAE seat belt law makes it mandatory also for back-seat passengers
to buckle up!
This
poor behavior transcends all demographics and it calls for urgent and
comprehensive education efforts of all concerned stakeholders:
governmental entities, the media, corporations, the education segment
(kindergartens, schools, universities) and platforms like RoadSafetyUAE.
|
‘When you sit in the back seat (for example in taxis, or in friend's cars), how often do you use your seat belt?’
|
|||||||||||||||
|
SELEC.
|
Total
|
Gender
|
Age Group
|
Nationality
|
UAE Emirates
|
||||||||||
|
DATA POINTS
|
Male
|
Female
|
18 to 24
|
25 to 29
|
30 to 34
|
35 to 39
|
40+
|
Emirati
|
Arab Expat
|
Asian
|
West.
|
AUH
|
DXB
|
SHJ
|
|
|
Always
|
11%
|
13%
|
7%
|
7%
|
11%
|
10%
|
12%
|
15%
|
12%
|
10%
|
10%
|
32%
|
10%
|
12%
|
9%
|
E) THE ROLE OF THE RESPONSIBLE DRIVER:
The
research uncovers the role of the driver in asking and prompting
his/her passengers to buckle up. This makes a driver a responsible
driver! Only half of us (56%) fall in the category of ‘responsible’
drivers. Drivers asking their passengers with above-average scores are:
older drivers, Westerners and Asians. The less responsible drivers are
young drivers and Emiratis.
|
‘When you are the driver of a car, do you ask your passengers to use their seat belt?’
|
||||||
|
SELECTED
|
Total
|
Age Group
|
Nationality
|
|||
|
DATA POINTS
|
18 to 24
|
40+
|
Emirati
|
Asian
|
Westerner
|
|
|
Always
|
56%
|
34%
|
69%
|
38%
|
61%
|
67%
|
F) REASONS FOR NOT USING THE SEAT BELT / NOT PROMOPTING PASSENGERS TO USE THE SEAT BELT:
In
order to design targeted awareness and education initiatives, it is of
paramount importance to understand the mindset for not using / not
promoting the use of seat belts.
|
‘You mentioned that you don't always wear your seat belt or ask your passengers to do so. Please tell us why?’ |
||
|
1.
|
When I sit on the back seat, I feel safe enough without seat belt
|
55%
|
|
2.
|
On short trips, it is not needed to wear seat belts
|
25%
|
|
3.
|
I am a safe driver and I will not be involved in an accident, hence I don't need seat belts
|
14%
|
|
4.
|
Other safety features like airbags protect just as well as seat belts
|
13%
|
|
5.
|
Seat belts are inconvenient to wear
|
11%
|
|
6.
|
Seat belts crinkle my cloths
|
10%
|
|
7.
|
Seat belts don't increase safety
|
6%
|
|
8.
|
It is not part of our culture
|
5%
|
|
9.
|
I don't like the look of seat belts
|
5%
|
|
10.
|
Religious reasons
|
4%
|
Details of the ‘UAE’s FIRST HOLISTIC SEAT BELT SURVEY’,
commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE and QIC Insured and conducted by YouGov,
can be found in the ‘featured’ section on:
http://www.roadsafetyuae.com/statistics/.
About RoadSafetyUAE:
RoadSafetyUAE’s
vision is to contribute to reducing the number of road traffic
fatalities, injuries and accidents in the UAE. RoadSafetyUAE’s mission
is to raise the awareness for proper conduct on our roads, in an
engaging manner and on a broadly communicated and permanent basis.
RoadSafetyUAE’s award-winning platform engages with the stakeholders
traffic participants, governmental entities, the media, and more than 30
corporate social responsibility (CSR) minded partners. ‘Tips &
Tricks’ are the content backbone, provided for more than 60 topics of
road safety, all specifically relevant to the UAE. More information can
be found on www.RoadSafetyUAE.com
In
addition to QIC Insured, RoadSafetyUAE partners with RTA, Dubai Chamber
of Commerce, Dubai Health Authority, BMW, Michelin, Audi, Nissan,
Infiniti, Al-Futtaim Honda, Volvo, Al-Futtaim Volvo, Galadari Brothers -
Mazda, MAN Trucks, STS, Gargash Insurance Brokers, PepsiCo,
Johnson&Johnson, MMI, Pernod Ricard, Serco, MiXTelematics,
JustKidding, AMEC Foster Wheeler, OMD, NSG and VOX Cinemas.
About QIC Insured (Qatar Insurance Company):
Qatar
Insurance Company (QIC) is a publicly listed composite insurer with a
consistent performance history of over 50 years and a global
underwriting footprint. Founded in 1964, QIC was the first domestic
insurance company in the State of Qatar. Today, QIC is the market leader
in Qatar and a dominant insurer in the GCC and MENA region. QIC is one
of the highest rated insurers in the Gulf region with a rating of
A/Stable from Standard & Poor’s and A(Excellent) from A.M. Best. In
terms of profitability and market capitalization, QIC is also the
largest insurance company in the MENA region. It is listed on the Qatar
Exchange and has a market capitalization of over USD 4 billion.
QIC Insured is the retail brand of QIC’s personal insurances and can be experienced at www.qic-insured.com
Contacts
RoadSafetyUAE
Thomas Edelmann, Founder and Managing Director,
+971 50 55 19 216, Thomas@RoadSafetyUAE.com
QIC Insured
Frederik Bisbjerg, Executive Vice President, MENA Retail
+974 4496 2360, frederik.bisbjerg@qicmena.com.qawww.qic-insured.com
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