DUBAI 4 February 2018: Have you ever been in a hurry and found yourself trapped in traffic near a school or schools?
Well, the traffic jam may not become a thing of the past – but it definitely is going to ease up, if Dubai Police has its way.
The idea is to keep traffic moving – and for that Dubai Police has started new eco-friendly patrols to secure traffic near schools.
A policeman directing traffic and keeping an eye on short-cutters will hopefully keep traffic moving.
He is also there to raise safety awareness – among pupils, school bus drivers and motorists in general.
In all there will be 13 police cars that will patrol school zones across Dubai to ensure smooth traffic flow.
Titled the ‘Schools Security’ campaign, the programme will be carried out in 453 private and government schools and reach 308,068 pupils in Dubai. The campaign also seeks to make its officers, who are often feared by pupils, more approachable to children.
Brig Yusuf Al Adeedi, Director of Al Qusais Police Station and the spokesperson of the campaign, said officers will aim to teach pupils how to avoid and report sexual harassment, said Wam quoting a local newspaper.
“We seek to promote student’s awareness about criminal cases and how to say “No” to violence and sexual harassment. Lectures will be organised to educate pupils about the dangers of browsing unknown websites, among other topics,” he said.
Bus drivers will also be given courses on how to best advise the pupils.
Residents have welcomed the move.
“Once, it took me 40 minutes to cross the roundabout in Oud Metha before I could get to the back of American Hospital,” said Gopal Nair.
“Iv’e avoided going through there ever since, but now with policemen there, it will be better.”