Accident-Free Day: Dubai Police ensure a safe first day back at school

Traffic officers have drawn up a comprehensive action plan to cut congestion and limit accidents

First Corporal Abdulrahman from Dubai Police directs traffic on the first day of term outside the School of Research Science in Dubai's Al Warqaa area. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

Children arrive at school

Children with new rucksacks arrive at the gates

Abdullah Masood directs motorists

Officers were also promoting the nation-wide Day Without Accidents safety scheme

Officers ensured motorists adhered to traffic laws

A father walks his daughter to school

Police officers kept traffic moving

Officers were stationed across Dubai in the morning

Officer Masood accompanies a young pupil to the school gates

The majority of UAE pupils made their return to school on Monday

Dubai Police directs traffic

Officers are also encouraging road safety

Parents drop their children off at school

A young pupil arrives at the school gates

Maj Gen Abdullah Al Ghaithi, director of the General Department of Organisation Protective Security and Emergency, greet children

Dubai Police patrols were out in force on Monday morning for a major back-to-school safety drive.

Officers were stationed at schools across the emirate in anticipation of a surge in traffic as tens of thousands of pupils headed back to the classrooms after the summer break.

Police chiefs had drawn up a comprehensive action plan in an effort to cut congestion and limit accidents on one of the busiest days of the year.

The National joined police as they managed traffic outside the School of Research Science in Al Warqa.

Maj Gen Abdullah Al Ghaithi, director of the General Department of Protective Security and Emergency at Dubai Police, greeted pupils as they arrived at the school gates.

He underlined the importance of providing a safe environment for pupils.

Maj Gen Al Ghaithi told The National: "Ensuring the safety of our children is not just the responsibility of the police but a collective effort from the community.

“The response from drivers to the scheme grows stronger every year, which gives us great hope.”

He said the force has thrown its support behind a nationwide campaign to make the first day back at school accident free.

Motorists can have four black points removed from their licence if they avoid having an accident or committing a traffic offence on Monday, under the Accident-Free Day initiative.

“Dubai Police focuses on engaging people because its only with an active participation from the public that we can assure the safety of our children en route to their educational institutions,” Maj Gen Al Ghaithi said.

“Because this would help that one day we could see an entire generation for whom traffic culture is deeply ingrained in their daily behaviour.”

Members of the public said they were eager to sign the scheme's online pledge in order to play their part in making the emirate's roads safer, not just on the start of the new term.

Janine Nael, 26, who signed the pledge, told The National: "We can’t expect change to happen if we we're not part of it."

Frustrated by daily encounters with irresponsible drivers, she emphasised that most offences she faces on her route from Ajman to Dubai involve excessive speeding and tailgating.

"There are drivers who make you feel they own the roads," she said.

"I have even told my younger cousins about the campaign and explained to them how important it is. This lesson will grow with them and hopefully be part of their traffic culture one day."