Abu Dhabi radars to catch seat belt violations, phone use among drivers

Watch out, motorists! Come January 1, a new automated system will be deployed to detect seat belt and mobile phone violations among drivers in Abu Dhabi.

The Department of Government Support – Abu Dhabi represented by the Abu Dhabi Digital Authority (ADDA) on Monday announced developing the new model in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Police.

Called Vehicular Attention and Safety Tracker (VAST), the system is aimed at reducing road accidents and enhancing traffic safety in the Capital.

The police have developed a radar monitoring system to capture high-resolution images through artificial intelligence-powered cameras. An automated process analyses the images to detect seat belt and mobile phone violations.

Errant drivers will get an SMS notification of the violation, directing them to rectify their behaviour.

Mohamed Abdelhameed Al Askar, Director-General of the ADDA, said: “This cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Police comes as part of ADDA’s efforts to utilise accurate data analysis and benefit from the latest technologies to enable a digital government that is proactive, personalised, collaborative and secure.

“The traffic safety and road accident reduction model will significantly contribute to reducing accident and injury rates, thus enhancing traffic safety levels across the emirate.”

Major-General Maktoum Ali Al Sharifi, Director-General of the Abu Dhabi Police, said: “The Abu Dhabi Police are persistent in their efforts to promote safe driving practices and protect human lives by implementing traffic laws. The joint cooperation with the ADDA supports our vision to ensure that Abu Dhabi remains a safe and secure society.”

The VAST system was implemented in five phases: Camera and edge devices, image review module, SMS notification, performance dashboard and model retraining.

Al Sharifi noted that the ‘Data and Modern Technology’ team from ADDA worked closely with the relevant team from police to develop this joint analytical model by collecting, tracking, analysing and processing data using artificial intelligence techniques.

ashwani@khaleejtimes.com

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