Drivers Warned as Students Return To School

Hundreds of thousands of students returned to school on Sunday in the UAE, with a whole new academic year greeting students within Indian schools. For students starting at GEMS New Our Own Indian Private High School in Sharjah and Heritage School in Dubai it was new term, in a new year, in brand new school.

Schools following other curricula have also reopened after a two-week spring break.

It was as busy time for parents as those starting the new academic year. Parents had to buy uniforms, school supplies and get prepped for the start of the school year. Almost all parents we spoke to faced the issue of getting their children up, and back in the school routine.

Komal Kaundal, a working mother of two, started preparing her son two weeks in advance for his first day in the 'big school'.

"My son was in the nursery and he has now started at big school now. I tried to put him in the routine to wake up at 6:00AM [with] no afternoon naps for two weeks. We have also started a bus service for him as kids get complacent if parents drop them off. Uniforms and school supplies were brought a week in advance. There was a huge rush for school shoes and we couldn’t find his size initially. However, all went well and we did find a pair eventually!"

Meanwhile, there were traffic patrols assigned all over the country to ensure, as far as possible, a smooth flow of traffic in and around school areas on the first day back.

Commuters still faced delays parents dropped their kids to schools however, particularly on internal roads close to schools. To avoid accidents and to protect pupils as they leave and enter school buses, UAE police reminded drivers to stop when they see school buses pull up on the side of the road.

Brigadier Khalifa Mohammad Al Khaili, director of traffic and patrols directorate in the central operations sector, told the media: “The number of police patrols supervising the roads will be intensified to ensure that motorists provide a safe environment for pupils to be picked up and dropped off from school buses."

If a motorist fails to stop the vehicle when a school bus driver flashes the stop sign, there's a fine of Dh1,000 and 10 black points.

In a release sent out to the press, there was also a particular message to buses:

"Bus drivers who fail to put the stop sign when student boards or leaves the bus - or in case of noncompliance with traffic instructions - will be fined Dh500 and slapped with 6 black points."