Dubai: There are currently 511 radars across Dubai and Dubai Police have plans to add around 50 more soon.
Dubai Police’s new radar — the Vitronic — can catch eight different traffic violations, Lieutenant Colonel Hassan Nasser Abdul Razzak Al Razouqi, Director of the Technical Control Department at Dubai Traffic Police.
The new radar can record eight violations: vehicles speeding, vehicles going below the speed limit, vehicles not leaving enough distance between other vehicles, drivers not wearing the seat belt, drivers using their mobile phone, heavy vehicles not abiding by their designated lanes, heavy vehicles that are on the road outside their designated timings and vehicles driving on the hard shoulder.
Al Razouqi said that five out of the eight features are in place and the other three are still being tested. Talking on the mobile phone, not wearing the seat belt and not leaving enough space are not the features that are being tested.
The Vitronic is fitted with 3G technology that instantly sends violations to the traffic department.
The Vitronic, Lt Col Al Razouqi said, can have up to eight cameras monitoring both sides of the road. “We first tried it out in 2008. In 2011 we started using them, but they did not have all those features. New technology keeps coming out every day and we need to stay updated and that’s why we are installing those new features.”
Regarding the Vitronic radar, Dubai Police has 27 fixed ones, 10 mobile and 14 monitoring traffic lights, bringing the total to 51.
There are four different kinds of radars in Dubai: Vitronic — which is the most recent, Sensys, Lux and the laser gun, Lt Col Al Razouqi said. He said the other models cam only catch speeding vehicles and vehicles that run a red light.
Lt Col Al Razouqi said they always look for the newest technology. “We visit international exhibitions and look at technology used in the most advanced countries.”
As to how they decide where to place the radars, he said they see traffic accident reports and place the radars in areas where there are large numbers of accidents.
He said they will be installing more radars on Al Khail Road soon.
