Seat belt is the new ignition switch in Sharjah tests

Sharjah Police are testing a device that prevents a car engine from starting unless the seat belts are fastened.

Sharjah Police are testing a device that prevents a car engine from starting unless the seat belts are fastened.
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SHARJAH // Drivers who don't use seat belts could soon find they're going nowhere fast.

Sharjah Police are testing a device that prevents a car engine from starting unless the seat belts are fastened.

If the trials are a success, the device will be rolled out to Ministry of Interior vehicles with the eventual aim of fitting one to every new car.

"When the system is installed it will not allow the car to move unless the driver and his passenger have buckled their seat belts," said Maj Gen Humaid Mohammed Al Hudaidi of Sharjah Police.

"The technology connects the driver's and the front passenger's seat belts with the ignition system so unless the belts are properly fastened, the car will not start. If the driver unfastens their belt after starting off, the device will give a warning that the ignition system is stopping in a short time."

Lt Mohammed Al Amin, a spokesman for Sharjah Police, said any decision to implement the system nationwide would be taken by the Ministry of Interior.

"They are already following up on our research progress and will be testing the device with all the ministry's vehicles very soon," he said.

Driving without fastening the seat belt was one of the most common traffic offences in Sharjah last year, with 6,175 charges laid in the first six months.

Young drivers were the least likely to buckle up. A survey last year of 325 UAE university students carried out for BMW found 55 per cent did not consistently wear a seat belt, though 92 per cent knew someone who had been involved in a car crash. Seventy per cent said they thought it necessary to wear a seat belt only in the front seat.

Col Ahmed bin Darwish, the director of Sharjah Police's patrol department, praised officers for leading by example and said the new system was an important step towards a culture of road safety.

"If you have been at an accident in which a driver, or his passenger, was not fastening their seat belt you will know why it is important for the authorities to do all it takes to have all motorists wear their seat belts."