Skip to main content

Dubai increases enforcement cameras

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is to install 100 new radar speed-camera stations, twenty-four of which will be activated by Dubai Police in May. The new cameras include systems installed at traffic signals to catch drivers who speed up to catch the green light or jump a red light. In 2011, more than 1.5 million speeding offences were recorded by radar cameras, the Dubai Statistics Centre reported. That figure represented a leap of about 115,000 on the previous year, when 1.4 million speeding
March 4, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is to install 100 new radar speed-camera stations, twenty-four of which will be activated by Dubai Police in May.  The new cameras include systems installed at traffic signals to catch drivers who speed up to catch the green light or jump a red light.

In 2011, more than 1.5 million speeding offences were recorded by radar cameras, the Dubai Statistics Centre reported.  That figure represented a leap of about 115,000 on the previous year, when 1.4 million speeding offences were recorded.

Dubai Police only recently calibrated the cameras at traffic lights to give them the ability to catch drivers who speed up on a flashing green signal to make it through an intersection.  Within weeks, police said they registered “thousands” of fines.

Although the offenders were caught during a testing phase, a spokesman for Dubai Traffic Police said the fines would be levied because these drivers had been caught breaking an existing law - speeding.  Anyone travelling more than 20 km/h over the limit to make the light could have their car impounded while those going less than 20 km/h over the limit would face a fine.

In 2011, 19,000 fines were issued for jumping a red light in Dubai, 1,200 more than in 2010, according to the Dubai Statistics centre.  In the same year, motorists jumping red lights were responsible for 199 accidents, and 63 were caused by speeding.

The speed cameras are managed by the RTA.  Maitha bin Adai, chief executive of the RTA’s traffic and roads department, said it had installed 450 radar stations, and 230 intersection camera stations.  However, not all of these contain cameras.

He continued, “In coordination with Dubai Police we have installed 320 radar speed cameras and 156 intersection cameras.  It is imperative to review our law and compare them with the best international standards on a regular basis if we are to raise the safety standards on our roads.”

Related Content

  • Kenya to introduce microchip-fitted number plates
    November 17, 2014
    Shem Oirere looks at Kenya’s plans to introduce a new generation of vehicle registration plates fitted with microchip technology by the end of this year. In a move to improve driving standards and prevent fraud, the authorities in Kenya are planning the introduction of a new numberplate system which will incorporate microchip technology.
  • Mounting benefits of dynamic tolling project
    January 30, 2012
    Wisconsin's four-year HOT lanes pilot project, launched in May 2008, cost US$18.8 million to construct. Halfway into the project, which uses variably priced, or dynamic, tolling to improve highway efficiency, the benefits are mounting. The problem was obvious, and frustrating, to anyone who ever sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on State Route 167 and watched a lone car whiz by every 20 seconds or so in the carpool lane. But for planners at the Washington State Department of Transportation, the conundrum was
  • Audit finds red light cameras make intersections safer
    July 24, 2015
    An audit carried out by the Portland, Oregon, City Auditor’s office found that crash rates at red light camera intersections in the city were lower than before the cameras were installed and were also lower than at most dangerous intersections without cameras. The City of Portland uses 11 cameras at 10 intersections to enforce laws against red-light running and to improve safety. The Police Bureau operates the red light camera program and oversees a vendor who owns the cameras and issues citations once the
  • Corruption corrodes confidence as ITS battles to improve safety
    October 13, 2015
    News items and articles in this issue illustrate the highs and lows of ITS and the dilemma inherent in enforcement application. An IIHS report showing that speed cameras change motorists' behaviour beyond the immediate vicinity of the installations is further evidence of the positive influence the technology can have, however the guilty plea in the Chicago red light corruption case serves to undermine the entire concept.