Proposal to use Salik technology to control speed

Road-safety experts were divided over a proposal to use existing Salik technology to monitor speed.

Transport expert Glenn Havinoviski says speed-monitoring cameras in Abu Dhabi needs to be closely-spaced to avoid abuses of technology that tracks vehicle movement. Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

ABU DHABI // Road safety experts are divided over a proposal to use Salik technology to monitor speed.

Salik, which was introduced by Dubai Road and Transport Authority (RTA) in 2007, is a “free flow tolling system” that operates without toll booths, barriers or gates. Fees are deducted through prepaid accounts.

Dubai resident Paul Gill has proposed that authorities consider installing a Salik gate at the Abu Dhabi-Dubai border and at Jebel Ali and use the timing of the Salik tag to calculate average speed.

"Using a time stamp of the Salik tags to calculate the average speed between the gates will deter people from speeding over the entire distance, as those with an average speed over the limit will be fined," said the Briton, who shared his proposal on the Road Safety UAE website.

Thomas Edelmann, founder of Road Safety UAE, described it as a “fantastic initiative” that may be a first in the Middle East.

“Section control is a very good technology to control the speed of motorists,” he said. “At the entry point, vehicles are identified and at the exit point or a second point, the same happens again. The system calculates the speed based on the time it took the vehicle to reach the second point.”

Salik, Arabic for "clear", is also capable of recording registration plates of cars with no Salik tags, Mr Gill noted. Any additional gates would not carry tolls.

“This means the average speed can be calculated for all cars using the road,” Mr Gill said. “I believe that extending the Salik gates down Sheikh Zayed Road using this existing technology is the cheapest and quickest way of implementing the section control.”

RTA launched Salik with the aim of cutting traffic congestion on main roads. The tolls effectively drove motorists off the congested routes.

“Hopefully, this [proposal] will reduce accidents as there is no benefit in dangerously overtaking or tailgating people to intimidate them into moving out of the way,” Mr Gill said.

In the first quarter of the year, Dubai Police recorded 3,355 incidents of reckless driving.

Exceeding the speed limit by more than 60kph was the most common traffic violation, with 2,790 offences recorded from January to March. Driving in a manner dangerous to the public was next with 445 offences, followed by driving a vehicle in a dangerous manner by racing on the road at 120 offences.

“People have very little patience and consideration for other users,” Mr Gill said. “They seem to forget that other people have a right to be on the road.”

More effective enforcement of limits was needed, he said.

“People are aware of the speed camera locations so they just slow down when going past them and speed up again afterwards. This is particularly bad in Abu Dhabi where the distances between cameras aren’t a very effective deterrent.”

Glenn Havinoviski, a transport expert in Abu Dhabi, said unless cameras were closely spaced, in cases of congestion on any part of a controlled section, drivers may try to figure out if they could make up for any slowdown. “Salik will determine the point A to point B speed and not detect where they may have been speeding and where they were slow or stopped.”

He said Dubai’s cameras were closely spaced and provide that safety benefit.

The solution, he added, had to be implemented in Abu Dhabi itself where existing cameras were widely spaced.

The RTA declined to comment on the Salik proposal.