Nearly a third of parents in the UAE are transporting young children without a proper restraint system, according to a survey conducted five years after the country made child car seats compulsory for children aged four and under.
The poll, carried out in January 2026 by RoadSafetyUAE and Al Wathba Insurance, covered 1,010 residents and found that 28 per cent of parents with children in the zero-to-four age group do not own a child seat at all. The figure stands in contrast to the near-universal recognition among parents — 95 per cent — that restraint systems provide better protection in a crash.
Road safety data cited in the study indicates that child restraint systems can cut the risk of death by up to 71 per cent and reduce injuries by as much as 82 per cent.
Muralikrishnan Raman, Chief Financial Officer of Al Wathba Insurance, stressed that the protective value of proper restraints applies regardless of age. “Proper restraint systems save lives and spare us from injuries in case of car accidents, and this is true for adults and children alike,” he said in a Khaleej Times report. “It is vital to instill safety habits into our children as early as possible in their lives.”
Among parents who do not own a child seat, the most frequently cited reason was a child’s resistance to being strapped in, given by 29 per cent of respondents. Nearly a quarter believed that holding a child in their arms offers equivalent protection to a car seat, and 23 per cent said they considered themselves safe enough drivers to avoid accidents.
Compliance gaps extend to parents who do own a seat. Of those, only 79 per cent said they use it on every trip. The leading justification for skipping it was also driving confidence, cited by 43 per cent, followed by children’s objections at 37 per cent, and a view that short journeys do not warrant restraints.
The survey also flagged a specific gap in third-party vehicles. Only 52 per cent of car seat owners said their child always uses a restraint when riding in a taxi, limousine, or a friend’s car. Twelve per cent said their child never does in those situations.
Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE, called for child seat education to begin before birth. “This must happen in the pre-natal phase at hospitals, ideally coupled with a mandatory car seat discharge policy like in many other countries, then at kindergarten stage and throughout the education stages,” he said.
Compared to a 2017 baseline, ownership has risen by eight percentage points and consistent usage by nine — a trend the survey authors described as encouraging, though insufficient. “Almost one third of parents fail to provide child seats to their kids, however mandatory by law,” Edelmann said. “The main message is a very simple one: ‘If you love your kids, buckle them up, on all trips!'”
