New app to cut time in processing Dubai accident reports

Dubai: In a step to expedite decisions and reduce traffic jams caused by major accidents, Dubai Public Prosecution has launched a smart electronic application that enables traffic police to send reports of the accidents to traffic prosecutors for necessary investigation and action.

Prosecutor Salah bu Farousha Al Felasi, director of Dubai Traffic Prosecution, said the new smart intelligent report system to be used with Dubai Police, will help prosecutors take orders after the traffic accident without the need to reach the accident scene.

“It is a smart application to link policemen at traffic accident site with traffic prosecutors. The policemen, who will talk to witnesses, take pictures and videos, will send their initial report to the prosecutor within minutes,” Al Felasi said.

Launched during Gitex Technology Week in Dubai, the app will be on a pilot phase for a few months in some police stations before it is officially adopted in all police stations.

Al Felasi told Gulf News that the new service will cut 70 per cent of the investigation procedure time in serious traffic accidents.

“In the past, traffic prosecutors drove to the accident scene and this would take up to an hour sometimes because of traffic. Now, they can perform their task in a few minutes.”

He said that decisions like handing over bodies to families or taking testimonies from witnesses in an accident scene will take minutes when the new service comes into effect.

“Usually it take between 24 to 48 hours to hand over the bodies in accidents and one to three months to hand over vehicles involved. But going forward, it will only take a few seconds,” Al Felasi added.

The new service will be paperless as the prosecutor will no longer need to get hard copies of the report. It is part of the Dubai Paperless Strategy, a first-of-its-kind initiative globally which seeks to transfer all applicable government transactions to digital platforms by 2021.

Meanwhile, Brigadier Saeed Hamad Bin Sulaiman, director of Al Rashidiya police station, said the new service will be piloted during serious accidents that take place in the jurisdiction of Al Rashidiya police station.

“We will get feedback about the service and hope to reduce traffic jams resulting from serious accidents. Policemen will feed the prosecutors with everything they need to issue direct orders like clearing the road and moving the cars away,” Brig Bin Sulaiman said.

How the service works

Traffic patrol goes to the serious accident scene

Policemen talk to witnesses, take pictures and videos

Policemen enter details of the accident on the app to send them to the prosecutor

Prosecutor receives notification of the traffic report on his smartphone/tablet

Prosecution begins investigation into the accident and takes necessary action