Now dishing out fines to those demonstrating poor lane dicipline…

Last year we reported on the news that Abu Dhabi was investing in an army of more than 700 new fixed cameras to help police the capital’s roads.

These ‘METAfusion’ radars come from the labs of IDEMIA, a French tech company that specialises in ‘Augmented Identity’ and has already supplied Dubai’s roads with a shipment of cutting-edge cameras.

They can catch more than just speedy drivers too. Utilising their sophisticated arsenal of AI-enabled features the cameras analyse data in real-time, determining incidences of violation on a number of motoring offenses including ‘changing lanes without indicating’, and ‘the running red lights’. METAfusion cameras can also provide feedback on weather conditions and capture 10 second clips of video.

Cameras are rolling…

And now the first phase of those cameras have been switched on at a collection of Abu Dhabi interchanges — with their eagle eyes, and eager shutters zeroed in on the lanes approaching the junctions. Those motorists sitting in the wrong lane, or changing lanes at the last minute to try and get ahead of traffic could find themselves slapped with a fine of Dhs400, issued by the cameras.

Talking about the cameras when they were first announced last year, Major Muhammad Al Zaabi, head of traffic technical systems at the Abu Dhabi Police Security Systems Department said:  “This initiative comes as part of the Abu Dhabi Police’s efforts to enhance traffic safety for drivers and road users, and as part of its strategy to keep pace with the country’s development process over the next 50 years”.

Speeding and changing lanes without indicating are two of the leading causes of road traffic accidents in the UAE and deaths resulting from collisions globally.

Images: Getty/IDEMIA