Dubai, Roads and Transport Authority, 4^th July 2024: Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has delivered traffic safety awareness messages to over 350,000 students across schools in Dubai. Additionally, RTA organised educational events that saw the participation of over 15,000 students in awareness programmes held in 50 schools in Dubai throughout the current academic year 2023-2024. RTA takes proactive and effective traffic measures in line with Dubai's Traffic Safety Strategy to help protect road users from traffic incidents in the emirate.

RTA systematically educates the public according to the best global practices and technologies, focusing primarily on children and students to build a knowledgeable and cultured generation. Training children on basic traffic behaviour skills is crucial for improving future traffic safety levels. These awareness programmes for children starting from birth with the 'Child Safety' programme, which helps educate and train mothers on using vehicle child seats, distributed annually to hundreds of mothers in coordination with strategic partners.

RTA adopts a systematic and thoughtful approach to addressing the educational environment by designing programmes and activities tailored to the needs of each educational stage. Each awareness programme complements the previous one and prepares for the next, supported by experts in the field. This approach equips the educational environment with essential awareness and educational programmes to achieve overall educational goals, including proper traffic behaviour, which in turn serves the targets of Dubai's Traffic Safety Strategy.

RTA has innovative plans for student traffic awareness, aided by artificial intelligence and Dubai's Metaverse Strategy. Traditional awareness methods, such as lectures and lessons, are no longer sufficient in the modern era. Therefore, RTA continually strives to keep pace with modern technologies and trending student interests in coordination with partners from the Ministry of Interior, Dubai Police General HQ, and a host of other government and private entities.

Students are considered one of the key pillars of Dubai's Traffic Safety Strategy in its awareness and educational aspects. The awareness events are based on an operational plan tailored to serve school stages, parents, and school bus drivers. Traffic culture is a fundamental part of the knowledge students should acquire in Dubai schools. Education is a strategic priority for the emirate, which is home to over 220 private schools offering 17 diverse curricula to more than 180 nationalities and various cultural backgrounds.

RTA calls on students, parents, and drivers to cooperate in enhancing traffic safety on Dubai's road network, which is classified among the best in the world. Parents and school bus drivers are urged to reduce speeds in school zones and to exercise caution when students are boarding and alighting at schools. This collaboration is vital for maintaining the traffic safety levels that Dubai has achieved, including maintaining a zero-fatality rate in school zones since 2010.