Flash Entertainment has joined hands with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to launch a month-long road safety campaign in schools and universities across the UAE capital.

Part of Yasalam Live Across the City, Yasalam Responsibly aims to drive home the message that speed, not wearing a seatbelt, dangerous driving, talking on mobile phones and texting while driving are the leading causes of accidents and fatalities on our roads.

The community initiative also aims reach out to passengers, who play a key role in ensuring their friends drive responsibly.

Leading road safety campaigners and celebrity speakers have begun visiting schools and universities in Abu Dhabi this week, as part of a month-long community strategy to educated students on road safety.

Flash has teamed up with KHP Consulting, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, Abu Dhabi Traffic Police, Emirates Driving Company, Yas Marina Circuit, some of the country’s most respected professional drivers, and Abu Dhabi football stars to deliver an exceptional interactive and educational campaign, Yasalam Responsibly.

The campaign, which ends on November 14, has so far seen Emirati motor racing star Mohammad Al Mutawwa, Gulf Sports Race Team Manager, Barry Hope, Muna Abdulla Bin Zoubaa representing the Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi Traffic Police representatives and football players from Baniyas Club - Saad Mubarak, Fahad Ahmed and Masoud Sulaiman- visit the Abu Dhabi International School, NYU Abu Dhabi, HCT, Women’s Campus Abu Dhabi and Khalifa City.

They spoke with students about the importance of staying alert and avoiding distractions while driving.
  
The 45-minute seminar topics include:
•Friends Can Wait - Concentrate
•Passengers are just as responsible as drivers to check their friends are driving safely.
•Mobile Phone Use is one of the latest causes of road accidents especially amongst youth. Texting or talking on the phone seriously affects a driver’s response times. Drivers are urged not to use phones and concentrate on driving - messages and phone calls can wait.
•Speeding: This is the leading cause of road accident fatalities in Abu Dhabi
•Use of Seatbelt: This is the second cause of road accident fatalities in Abu Dhabi with only 11 per cent of UAE Nationals and 44 per cent of expats use safety belts.

The seminars are followed by an interactive session with Yas Marina Circuit providing various vehicles for display, such as Renault Clio RS, Aston Martin Vantage GT4, Yas Supersports SST and Formula Yas 3000. In addition, Emirates Driving Company provided a rolling car simulator.

In addition to voluntarily signing a pledge, declaring to no longer phone and/or text and drive, dozens of students will be given the opportunity to create a road safety campaign.

The campaign will be subsequently presented to and judged by leading figures in the Abu Dhabi community.

The winners will have their campaign featured in the local media plus win some exciting prizes, including tickets to the first night after-race concert to see pop princess Britney Spears perform at the Yas Arena on Yas Island.-TradeArabia News Service