Warning: child in car

Driving in the UAE really is quite an experience. It's a multi-faceted experience. You see everything from drivers who speed, to drivers who do not know how to use their signals, to drivers who decide to set their own laws by driving on the hard shoulder, to drivers who think tailgating is the proper way to drive, etc.

But one of the things that upsets me the most about driving in the UAE is when I see young children, toddlers even, jumping around in cars, unrestrained. I am not sure if there is a regulation here about children being strapped in special seats until a specific age, but if there is, then it is definitely not being enforced.

Last time I was driving home behind a car where the back window was open. A 2-3 year old child who was sitting unrestrained by any seatbelt or chair was practically hanging out the window, about to fall out!

Sure, we can blame the police for not being more strict about this issue, but really, the ones to blame here are the stupid, ignorant parents who allow this to happen. Don't they understand that this is a danger for both the child and the driver? Drivers can get distracted, children can get hurt, and in the case of an accident, having the child jumping around in a car like that can prove fatal.