Abu Dhabi: As part of the awareness campaign for school bus drivers, held under the Joint Committee for Traffic Safety in Abu Dhabi, which is headed by the Department of Municipalities and Transport and whose members include the Integrated Transport Centre, the General Command of the Abu Dhabi Police, the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi and in cooperation with The Abu Dhabi Police General Command as well as a number of strategic partners, the Integrated Transport Centre held a number of awareness workshops for school bus drivers and supervisors in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, and Al Dhafra region, in the aim to promote traffic safety and maintain the security and safety of students who use school buses in their daily commute to and from their schools.

The workshops included informative lectures on traffic safety in Arabic, English and Urdu, for 400 school bus drivers and supervisors, and videos showcasing incorrect conducts and how to avoid them. Essential roads and traffic rules were also introduced to avoid accidents and the damage and losses resulting from these accidents, as well as enhancing adherence to safe driving standards.

The centre showed how these workshops focus on the sole interest of our students’ safety during their journey to and from schools, by increasing the awareness among drivers as well as the importance of their commitment to traffic safety rules, avoiding driving while tired and not being preoccupied with anything other than the road. The workshops also highlighted the importance of conducting periodic examinations of all safety systems in the bus and surveillance cameras, making sure of having a first aid kit onboard at all times, and applying required safety procedures when leaving the bus.

The workshops included many initiatives as well, including broadcasting awareness messages and highlighting the roles and responsibilities of bus drivers and supervisors, and was highly proactive in achieving the desired outcomes.

This campaign comes within the framework of the efforts made by the Joint Committee for Traffic Safety, to establish a safe and sustainable transportation environment that facilitates transportation and mobility in the Emirate, and ensures community safety for its residents and visitors, as well as improving the quality of life in the Emirate.