Help improve safety on Oman’s roads and win a share of cash prizes worth a total of RO150. Have you taken the pledge yet?

In conjunction with this week’s GCC Road Safety Week, Y Magazine has launched a very special competition to help all children across the Sultanate understand the importance of road safety.

And you and your children can play a part in making Oman’s roads safer for all of us.

Presented by Panorama Mall and in association with Familia, our Road Safety Pledge is aimed at educating parents and children about the importance of safety on our roads, as well as wearing seatbelts.

With road fatalities in the GCC considered some of the highest in the world, this is an important initiative that we hope will help to save more lives on the Sultanate’s roads.

GCC Road Safety Week, which runs until tomorrow (March 17), is a coordinated effort around the six-member states to highlight issues and raise awareness among road users.

In last week’s issue, you would have found a special card inside of Y Magazine, which enables children to make their pledges about road safety – and enter the competition. These could include promising to wear a seatbelt at all times, not jumping around the car unrestrained or even asking mum or dad to put down their mobile phones and stop speeding. There’s lots of ways you can make a difference.

This is YOUR pledge so be creative and think about what you would like to change. And when you have filled out the card, all you have to do is to get your mum or dad to sign it so we know you will be making a huge effort to help you and your family to stay safe while driving.

Then all you have to do is take the card to one of the drop boxes located in various SPAR outlets around Muscat.

The best three pledges – don’t forget, you can also add your own drawings or other designs to the card – will share in a total cash prize of RO150.

The closing date for entries is March 24.

Good luck and we look forward to receiving all your entries – and in the meantime, stay safe on the roads!

Prizes

• The best three pledges will win a cash reward of RO75 (first place), RO50 (second place) and RO25 (third place). The winners will receive their prizes at a special ceremony on March 30.

Dropbox locations

• SPAR Darsait
• SPAR MBD
• SPAR Madinat Sultan Qaboos
• SPAR Al Hail

Top 6 tips for a safe car ride

• Always wear your seat belt

A seat belt should be on before the car moves, and should stay on until the engine is turned off at your destination.

• Use both lap and shoulder belts

While most cars have lap and shoulder belts that buckle as a unit, but some have two separate belts – one lap and one shoulder – or only a lap belt. Make sure your child looks for and fastens both belts.

• Never share a seat belt

Two kids should never buckle up as a pair.

• Ride in the backseat

Kids younger than 12 should always ride in the backseat. Passenger-side air bags, designed to protect a person with a much bigger body, can seriously injure a small child.

• Stay calm

Kids need to understand the importance of staying calm and low-key in the backseat. If they’re jumping around or yelling, it can distract the driver and put all the passengers at risk.

• Follow these rules all the time

Kids have a tendency to think that rules only apply when they’re with their parents. Instruct your child to always follow the rules for car safety – even if they’re in someone else’s car. For instance, if your child is asked to sit in the front seat of a car, they should tell the driver that they would prefer to sit in the back.

Source: American Medical Association

COMPETITION RULES

• The competition is open to children aged 16 and under
• Cards must be completed by children only and then signed by a parent or guardian
• Entries will be disqualified if there is evidence of parental involvement
• Entries received after the closing date of March 24 will not go forward to the judging stage
• Children of employees of SABCO Media or associated companies are excluded from taking part
• The editor’s decision is final
• Winners will be notified by email or telephone