STUDY ON SEAT BELT USAGE: CASE STUDY OF ABU DHABI EMIRATE, UAE (Paper 668)

Based on World Health Organization (WHO) annual report 2015 wearing a seat-belt reduces the risk of a fatality among drivers and passengers by 25–50%. This report stated that just over half of all countries have enacted good seat-belt and child restraint laws.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has a unique driver composition community, where more than two hundred different nationalities are residing in the country along with different education levels, culture, language, and driving skills which creates a considerable challenge for road safety concerned agencies. In Abu Dhabi (AD), the capital of UAE, there is a lack of better understanding regarding the frequency of using seat belt while driving and its impacts on drivers’ and passengers’ safety. 
The main objective of this study is to identify the status of seat belt usage in Abu Dhabi depending on a statistical analysis and an assessment.
Results indicated that 39% of vehicles occupant’s fatalities were not use seat belt in Abu Dhabi between 2010 and 2016. At the same period (Nonuse seat belt while driving) violations increased by 91%. About 31% of questionnaire participants claimed that they do not wear a seat belt while driving permanently, and it is striking that 45% of them feel uncomfortable driving when using it. This paper will present detailed data collection and analysis efforts. Also it highlights main findings. Finally the study will provide many recommendations that can be used to improve traffic safety.