Accident firm Saaed to provide national service

ABU DHABI // The private company that responds to minor traffic accidents in Abu Dhabi is going nationwide - and maybe even international. Saaed is to spread across the country by the middle of the year. Other countries in the region are also interested in using its services, said Col Hussein al Harthi, the chairman of Saaed and the director of Abu Dhabi traffic police.

Saeed staff deal with accidents that do not result in injury, allowing police to focus on more serious accidents and patrolling. The Saaed staff use hand-held electronic devices to prepare diagrams of crash scenes and reports that determine which side is at fault. When the company began operating in July 2008, it issued a fine of Dh500 (US$136) to any motorist determined to be at fault. A ruling by Lt Gen Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, reduced the charge to Dh300 from the beginning of this year.

The company, the first of its kind in the Middle East, responded to 150,959 accidents last year. Its staff reached accident scenes in an average 10 minutes 38 seconds, and finished their reports in an average 13 minutes 53 seconds, Col al Harthi said. Saaed said its staff would begin using three-wheeled electric vehicles in highly congested areas to reach accident scenes quicker. The tricycles have all the tools used by patrol cars, including a laptop computer and a printer.

The tricycles, which can be powered manually when they run out of charge, can travel at a speed of 30kph. [e-mail]