ABU DHABI // Parents are urged to not strap small children into adult seat belts because it could be fatal in accidents.
Experts warned against the common error and said children should be kept in booster seats until they have outgrown them.
Parents and drivers should realise that seat belts and child seats will save lives and reduce injuries only if they are used and sized correctly, said Robert Hodges, a driver education and road safety expert.
“Often, the child wrongly uses an adult seat belt at too young an age or too small a height, so the parent or child will put the diagonal belt under the child’s armpit, or will tell the child to ‘hold the belt down’,” he said.
“I have known parents who tell the child to put the downward diagonal belt behind the child’s back, reducing protection to that of a poorly-fitted lap belt only.”
Children who should be in a booster seat but are wearing only a seat belt are at risk of abdominal, head and spinal injuries.
“If the seat belt does not sit correctly across the rib cage and the pelvic bone, there is a risk that soft tissue in the abdominal region and the lower spine is damaged in the event of a collision,” said Dr Britta Lang, the UAE country director of Transport Research Laboratory.
“This is what we refer to as the ‘seat belt syndrome’ and happens, in particular, when only a lap belt is used.”
Generally, children need to use a booster until they are at least 149 centimetres tall and weigh between 36 kilograms and 45kg, according to non-profit Safe Kids Worldwide. For most children, they will be between the ages of 8 and 12.
Seat belts in cars have been developed with “the average adult” in mind, Dr Lang said.
“They best fulfil their function of spreading the stopping force needed to keep vehicle occupants in their seats after a collision across their body, for grown-ups,” she said. “Children are considerably smaller and hence the seat belt may not sit right across the rib cage and pelvis area.”
Child seat and seat belt rules vary around the world but authorities look at three key elements: age, weight and height, Mr Hodges said.
“A child has to be tall enough in the torso to be able to wear an adult seat belt,” he said.
“A child of over 1.35 metres in height will usually be safe enough using an adult seat belt. Under this height they must use a supplementary device such as a large child seat or a sit-on child booster seat.”
In the UAE, there is no law obliging young children to be strapped into safety seats.
“Introducing a law that prescribes the use of child seats is urgently needed,” Dr Lang said. “This must be coupled with education and awareness campaigns.”
There are many initiatives across the UAE that try to raise awareness about the need and correct use of child seats, including hospitals that give out baby car seats to new parents, she said.
Dr Reem Al Ameria, a certified child passenger safety technician and instructor, also warned of wrongly using seat belts.
“Recently, I noticed that my nine-year-old daughter had the belt behind her back while strapped in a booster seat,” said the Jordanian mother of three. “I told her of an incident involving a six-year-old girl in the US who was nearly cut in half because of a common seat-belt mistake. The girl’s seat-belt strap was behind her at the time of the accident.”
Dr Al Ameria, an Abu Dhabi-based car seat advocate, recommends a high-back booster seat with better side-impact protection and wants to see a child car seat law in place in the UAE.
“I would love to see a child car seat law tomorrow, but I must admit that I’m seeing more car seats while driving around the city,” she said. “I’m sure we’re in a much better place than before in terms of people’s understanding of car seats.”
rruiz@thenational.ae
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
WWE World Heavyweight ChampionshipAJ Styles (champion) v Shinsuke Nakamura
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
United States Championship Jeff Hardy (champion) v Jinder Mahal
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Raw Tag Team Championship (currently vacant) Cesaro and Sheamus v Matt Hardy and Bray Wyatt
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
Singles match John Cena v Triple H
Cruiserweight Championship Cedric Alexander v tba
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 611bhp
Torque: 620Nm
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Price: upon application
On sale: now
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
1.
|
United States
|
2.
|
China
|
3.
|
UAE
|
4.
|
Japan
|
5
|
Norway
|
6.
|
Canada
|
7.
|
Singapore
|
8.
|
Australia
|
9.
|
Saudi Arabia
|
10.
|
South Korea
|
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
bundesliga results
Mainz 0 Augsburg 1 (Niederlechner 1')
Schalke 1 (Caligiuri pen 51') Bayer Leverkusen 1 (Miranda og 81')
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5