Manama - Traffic authorities in Kuwait are urging motorists to be more cautious on the road and to observe road discipline.

The call came after authorities recorded 7,272 violations in the six governorates over the weekend.

According to a report by local Arabic daily Al Anba , 487 cars were impounded and two drivers were referred for legal action.

A total of 116 vehicles were seized in the capital, followed by Hawalli with 107. The vehicleswere seized for serious traffic violations.

Hawalli tops the list of traffic violations with 2,090.

The Mubarak Al Kabir Governorate had the lowest recorded violation with 37 with two cars impounded.

The authorities said 281 drivers were booked for using their mobile phones while driving.

“We urge all drivers to adhere to a high sense of road discipline and full compliance with traffic signs,” traffic officials said.

Kuwait has one of the highest traffic accident rates in the world despite repeated campaigns to promote awareness and reinforce road discipline.

The police have recently taken a major step forward to monitor, track down and apprehend offenders with the deployment of “smart patrols” on the country’s roads, Kuwait News Agency (Kuna) reported.

Efforts to use the latest technology to enforce the law were based on cooperation between the information technology sector of the Ministry of Interior, the police and traffic commands, Mohammad Al Mansouri, head of operations of the traffic general directorate and a supervisor of the project, said.

A “smart patrol” is equipped with sensors, radar systems and cameras for monitoring all activities and movements around the police vehicle.

The system automatically detects and registers number plates of cars and scans the car record to determine whether its status is legal or whether the driver’s record is clean, he said.

The radar can monitor up to 40 vehicles per minute and images of the activities on the roads are automatically transmitted to the operations room of the ministry or any other affiliated facility.

Data in the system attached to the patrol car can be updated automatically every 30 minutes.

Each of the 20 “smart cars” deployed in areas notorious for recurring problems and law-breaking actions is equipped with a voice system that alerts the officer about the status of a passing car.

Al Mansouri said that the “smart patrols” of the traffic police had registered 2,055 cases of insurance expiry and 92 “wanted vehicles” in 2011 and 2012.