Under the patronage of Lt. General HH Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, the 33rd Gulf Traffic Week kicked off on Sunday at the Etihad Tower Jumeirah hotel, under the theme "Your Life Is a Trust". 

The major event was organized by the Abu Dhabi police GHQ. 

Lt. General Al Sha’far, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Interior stressed that the UAE’s participation along with its sister states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) emphasizes the sincere and continuous endeavors of the UAE to render traffic regulations and laws effective, and to keep pace with the civilized and urban advancement witnessed by the country, under the insightful vision of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. 

He noted that this advancement is achieved under the wise and visionary leadership of the country in regards to the integrity of the human element and its development, as the human element is the actual capital owned by the country. 

Lt. General Al Sha’far added, "The MoI is implementing a comprehensive traffic strategy that includes numerous initiatives in cooperation with other concerned authorities in the country in order to limit traffic accidents and their impact, following the directives of HH Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.

He said that any observer of the status of the UAE’s traffic system will notice the amount of care extended to developing traffic rules and regulations, engineering roads as per the best international standards, upgrading the traffic and patrols departments, developing the competencies and skills of traffic personnel, and activating traffic awareness throughout the year.

Lt. General Al Sha’far stressed that the Gulf Traffic Week’s events and continuous awareness campaigns have a positive impact on spreading awareness about the risks resulting from violating traffic rules and regulations. He noted, "These events contributed significantly to reducing the number of traffic accidents and their negative impacts; extending his our deepest gratitude and appreciation to traffic department across the UAE and to the strategic partners who are working effortlessly to promote traffic safety in all ways, and to disseminate the traffic culture among members of the community."

Major General Mohammed Khalfan Al Rumaithi, Commander General of Abu Dhabi police stressed that traffic safety is a main strategic priority of Abu Dhabi police to preserving and protecting humans from traffic accidents and their negative impacts. He noted the Abu Dhabi police's endeavors to adopting the best strategic plans to improve the traffic safety system in the emirate, to further support the visons of the GGQ and that of the Government of Abu Dhabi in order to reach the Zero Fatalities Vision 2030.

He urged all motorists to avail the Year of Giving as a true start to uphold the fact that traffic safety is the responsibility of all of us, and that everyone should do his role so that we, all, enjoy traffic safety. 

The inauguration ceremony was attended by Dr. Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Health Authority; Major General Khalifa Hareb Al Khaili, Acting assistant Undersecretary for Naturalization, Residency and Ports Affairs, Major General Mohammed Al Awadhi Al Menhali, Acting Assistant Undersecretary of Resources and Support Services; Major General Dr. Ahmed Nasser Al Raisi, Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior; Major General Maktoum Al Shareefi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Police, Major General Abdul-Aziz Maktoum Al Shareefi, Director General Of Preventive Security at the Ministry, Major General Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Assistant Dubai Police Commander-in-chief for Operations Affairs and Head of the Federal Traffic Council; Major General Umair Mohammed Al Muhairi, Director General of Police Operations at Abu Dhabi police, and big number of police officers at the ministry of interior. 

The event was also attended by Mohammed bin Salih bin Badwa Al Darmaki, Chairman of the Emirates Traffic Safety Society, Afif Al Fariqi, President of the Arab Traffic Safety Organization, and big number of officials and head of local and federal departments. 

Al Sha'far and Al Rumaith inaugurated the initiative "Traffic Safety Card of Giving which was launched in line with the declaration of 2017 as the "Year of Giving". It includes gold, silver of bronze medals to be awarded to the individuals and government and private institutions in recognition for their contributions to spreading traffic awareness. 

A patrol car for kids was also inaugurated during the event. It is a small-sized car that is equipped with a smart monitor and a camera. It is used for raising traffic awareness among kids to remove their sense of fear from traffic police and to encourage them to cooperate with traffic personnel and obey traffic rules, mainly the rules related to riding and leaving schools buses safely. 

For his part, Brigadier Ghaith Hassan Al Za'abi, Director General of Traffic Coordination at the ministry of interior stressed that this annual celebration gives us a chance to check our efforts and positive results achieved within our strategy to control road safety. This has led to a remarkable decrease in the ratio of traffic accidents and their impacts, in spite of the increase in the number of vehicles registered in the county. 

"We should work with our strategic partners to prepare for this", he said.