Tag to secure parking spots for physically challenged

Students from the University of Dubai have come up with an idea that, they say, will make the lives of drivers with handicap permits much easier.

The three students devised a system that notifies the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) headquarters if someone is abusing the handicap parking spots across the city.

“The idea here is to create a tag similar to Salik and it will be distributed to handicapped drivers to put in their car,” said university professor Sami Miniaoui, who oversaw the four-month-long project.

“The tag is fixed in the car and in the parking spot so when the handicapped person comes to the parking spot, the system knows they’re arriving.

“And if a car parks in the handicapped spot without it, a signal will tell officials there is a car onsite without a tag so an RTA agent can come and give a fine to the person,” Miniaoui said.

Murad Ali Sabt Shaban, Sayed Ismael Al Hashemi and Mohammed Ahmed Qasem said they came up with the idea after noticing a car park in a handicap spot without a designated card.

All three are fourth-year information technology students and hope to see their capstone project turn into a reality.

“We’re trying to get it patented and maybe find a company here that can support us and fund this project,” Shaban said, who added the last four months have been stressful.

“I’m a father of three kids and they would cry because they wanted to spend time with me, but I couldn’t because of this capstone project.

“It was very busy,” said Shaban, who also holds a full-time job with the Dubai Police. Miniaoui said while the project put a lot of pressure on the students, it’s been worthwhile for them.

“We try to encourage students to go for these kinds of projects. There is a huge potential in what they’re doing.” Gulshan Kavarana, whose daughter has a physical disability, says she would pick up a tag for her car if the project is implemented.

“I’m glad these students are thinking about it because they’re building awareness on the issue,” she said.

Kavarana said one of the most difficult places to find parking is at The Dubai Mall on a Friday.

“It’s always full on a Friday. People are so desperate that they just park in the disabled parking,” Kavarana said.

Her 15-year-old daughter is wheelchair bound and Kavarana said taking her out of the car is always a difficult task.

Kavarana has a message for people parking in handicapped spots without permits: “It just goes to show they don’t have any respect or any humanity in them to do something like that.”

alizafar@khaleejtimes.com