Abu Dhabi's cutting-edge cameras get ready to put brakes on rogue drivers

One of the new traffic cameras at the junction of 15th Street and Muroor Road. Sammy Dallal / The National

ABU DHABI // State-of-the-art triple-function traffic cameras have been installed at 40 junctions in Abu Dhabi city and will become operational "this week".

It is the first phase of a plan to enhance traffic monitoring across the emirate. Besides snapping pictures of speeding motorists or those jumping a red light, the cameras will help police monitor traffic during an accident thanks to a built-in, high-definition video camera, which stores and renders images around the clock.

The radar will be set with a buffer against the posted speed limit.

"Technical surveys have been done to determine the number of cameras per intersection … as some require only two while others require four for optimal coverage," Brig Gen Hussein Al Harethi, head of the traffic and patrols directorate in Abu Dhabi, told The National's Arabic-language sister paper, Al Ittihad, on Sunday.

After this initial phase, these triple-function cameras will be installed elsewhere, he added.

"The second and third phases will involve Al Ain and the Western Region respectively, to better cover high-risk areas and intersections where a significant number of accidents have happened," Brig Al Harethi said. "The goal is to bring down the number of accidents at traffic-light intersections, which are the most dangerous."