Road cameras in Dubai can identify your vehicle

Traffic offenders in Dubai have been warned of cameras placed on all major roads that can immediately identify the vehicle and help police issue fines for violations.

Gone are the days when one could pull up seatbelts or stop talking over mobile phones while driving at the sight of an oncoming  police car, and still expect to go unnoticed.

Police personnel monitoring roads from their control room will now be able to identify and punish offenders by monitoring the vehicles through remote cameras that can zoom in and out of various locations across Dubai.

Lieutenant Ahmed Yaser Amiri, Head of programme at the “We Are All Police” section told 'Emirates24|7' that the number of fines issued to motorists through remote cameras stood at a whopping 6,213 during the first six months of 2011.

“Almost all major roads are covered by these cameras. Motorists do not expect us to be monitoring them but they should know that we are always there. Officers from the control room will be monitoring them all 24 hours working in four shifts and will be able to trace every violation,” said Amiri.

An offender or person under whose name the vehicle is registered is immediately called and informed about the violation. “We do this so that the offender is aware of the violation,” he added.

The cameras, he said, also help police determine dangerous routes and at what time motorists tend to violate rules more often.  “Based on these data we take precautionary measures. More police patrols are deployed at such locations,” he said.

According to him the number of such fines have, however, reduced by about 30 per cent in 2011 compared to the previous year.

“The number of fines have reduced from 8,809 during the first six months of 2010 to 6,213 during the same period of 2011. The drop is mainly because of increased awareness and more orderly driving,” said Amiri.

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