21,000 red signal violations registered in Abu Dhabi

The Traffic and Patrols Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police urged drivers to reduce speed as they approach traffic lights and intersections and avoid increasing speed when traffic lights change from green to amber, which can cause serious traffic accidents resulting in deaths and severe injuries.

Brigadier Khalifa Mohammed Al Khaili, Head of Traffic and Road Safety Engineering Department at the Traffic and Patrols Directorate of Abu Dhabi Police, noted that as many as 21,688 red light violations were recorded last year by the cameras that use infrared technology that capture images without a flash, which are installed at different intersections. He said: “Jumping a red light carries a fine of Dh800, a penalty of eight black points, and vehicle impoundment for a period of 15 days (or an alternative being Dh100 per day to avoid impoundment).

Al Khaili stressed that traffic surveillance was intensified via the surveillance cameras mounted at 50 intersections across Abu Dhabi to detect violating vehicles. “The new high-quality cameras use an infrared light without a flash and include infrared license plate readers. They are multifunctional and monitor more than five lanes in each direction at the same time,” he added.

Adding further, Al Khaili indicated that the cameras can detect vehicles that run red-lights and fail to abide by the lane rules. They can also record vehicles that stop at pedestrian zones and violate speed limits. Any other violations related to impermissible turns, over-takings and U-turns can also be detected by these cameras.

Al Khaili also noted that installing infrared cameras at the various intersections and intensifying traffic control has resulted in a decrease in the number of accidents caused by red light jumping from 233 accidents in 2013 to 152 accidents in 2014.

Furthermore, Al Khaili emphasized the directorate’s commitment to pursue its efforts aimed at reducing traffic accidents caused by red light jumping, as a part of its strategic plan. “The directorate continues to install infrared cameras at a large number of intersections in Al Ain and Abu Dhabi. The new cameras’ locations have been determined according to traffic accidents and violations indicators, and based on traffic density,” he explained.

Al Khaili lauded the efficiency of these multifunctional surveillance cameras mounted at intersections, which can scan license plates of all passing vehicles, determine the numbers and types of passing vehicles, estimate the average speed, and record the number and direction of pedestrians while traffic signals turn green and red.

In conclusion, Al Khaili urged motorists to support the efforts aimed at maintaining their safety and protecting them against potential traffic accidents at intersections, which can lead to deaths and severe injuries because some motorists carelessly fail to wait a few minutes at  intersections before the light turn green.

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