Dubai launches ‘Give Way… Give Hope’

By Eudore R. Chand

DUBAI 3 October 2019: Dubai has launched a three-month campaign entitled ‘Give way … Give Hope’ to raise awareness among drivers about the importance of giving way to emergency and police vehicles to save the lives.

It has been launched by Dubai Police, in collaboration with Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) Dubai Corporation for Ambulance Services and The General Directorate of Civil Defense.

Spreading the culture of giving way to emergency, police and official convoy vehicles enhances the overall speed of response to accidents, and provides much-needed services to the injured without unnecessary delays.

Six Indicators

  1. The first is to reduce the response time to emergencies through raising awareness among members of the public and motorists on the importance of paving the way for emergency vehicles.
  2. The second is to reduce the number of crashes involving emergency vehicles.
  3. The third indicator is to qualify trained emergency drivers in Dubai Police, Dubai Ambulance and Civil Defence, through specialized training programs.
  4. The fourth is to educate and train motorists, especially those working in large corporations and companies, on how to react to the presence of emergency vehicles on the road.
  5. The fifth indicator is to introduce educational and awareness materials of the “Give way…. Give Hope” campaign among the materials provided at driving schools to become as one of the requirements for obtaining driver’s license in the future.
  6. The sixth indicator is to reduce the number of committed fines for not giving way to emergency and police vehicles on road.

As per Ministerial Resolution No. 337 of 2019, violators of not giving way to emergency vehicles are fined Dh3,000, plus 6 traffic (black) points and vehicle impounding for 30 days.

The campaign would continue annually for the next five years.

Every second matters when it comes to saving people’s lives. Adhering to road rules is in line with the strategic plans of Dubai Cooperation for Ambulance services that aims at reaching the utmost traffic safety and enhancing the competence of emergency response reports which contribute to saving both lives and properties, decreasing death rates caused by traffic accidents and realizing a safe environment on roads.

The response time to reach the site of an accident is related to the risk of death or injury. Reducing this time is a strategic goal of civil defence.

The campaign, which is planned to run for three months, will include posting awareness messages on all social media and mass media platforms. In addition to distributing pamphlet and guidebooks to driving centres across Dubai and playing awareness videos for students at schools in which all will be available in four languages (Arabic, English, Urdu, and Tagalog) to reach to a significant number of targeted groups.