639 Towards achieving best practice requirements for protecting child occupants in the United Arab Emirates

<h3>Background</h3> Child occupants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have one of the highest crash-related fatality and injury rates globally. Appropriate safety restraint legislations have proven to be effective in ensuring child safety seat use, thereby positively enhancing the safety outcomes for child occupants. <h3>Objective</h3> To evaluate the anthropometric characteristics of child occupants in the UAE against the best practice recommendations for achieving a proper adult seatbelt fit. <h3>Methods</h3> Paediatric anthropometric data of 627 children aged 5–12 years was obtained. The measurements taken included: height (cm), seated height (cm), and weight (kg). Descriptive statistical analysis was performed to obtain the frequencies and percentages for these measurements. The values for height, seated height, and weight were calculated for each child occupant age. To compare the anthropometric data of children in the UAE against the best practice recommendations for protecting child occupants in vehicles, the proportions of child occupants smaller than 148 cm in height, smaller than 74 cm in seated height, and lighter than 37 kg in weight were calculated for the children. <h3>Results</h3> 100% of children aged 5–7 years, 99% aged 8–9 years, 87% aged 10 years, 76% aged 11 years, and 59% aged 12 years do not meet the combined requirement of 148 cm in height, 74 cm in seated height, and 37 kg in weight for achieving proper adult seatbelt fit. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Child occupants can be legally restrained by adult seatbelts from the age of 5 years in the UAE. However, the results of the current study revealed that the body shapes and sizes of children aged between 5–12 years do not meet the best practice requirements for achieving a proper adult seatbelt fit. This should serve as justification for enhancements to the child passenger safety legislation in the UAE to ensure that child occupants are using an appropriate restraint for their age, shape, and size and therefore will be appropriately protected by the restraint in the event of a motor vehicle crash.