36 red signal offences in Sharjah a day

Sharjah appears to have a chronic problem with drivers jumping the red signal, with police cameras recording an average 36 such offences a day in the first six months of 2013. A Sharjah traffic police report showed the red lights offences committed during that period exceeded those in the whole 2012.

Police attributed the increase to the installation of more cameras at traffic lights and other junctions in the UAE’s third largest emirate but they admitted such a problem is getting worse although it is classified as the most dangerous traffic offence.

The report, published in the semi-official daily Alittihad, showed police cameras recorded 6,500 red signal abuses in the first half of 2013, a daily average of 36.
The number of offences is nearly 1,200 higher than the 5,300 traffic lights offences recorded through 2012 and 4,600 through 2011.

“The increase is a natural result of the deployment of more traffic cameras at signals and junctions in the emirate…over the past year, 24 new fixed cameras have been installed in those areas,” the report said.

“But such a big increase shows that such offences are on the rise despite continuous awareness campaigns by the police and the fact that they are the most dangerous traffic offences as they often lead to accidents and deaths.”

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.