DOHA: The Traffic Department is planning to introduce “mobile” radars on a wide scale to snare speeding vehicles, in addition to the surveillance cameras already installed on major roads and highways, a senior official of the department has said.
The Department, for the first time in the country, will also deploy a specially trained patrolling team to monitor highways across the country.
The first batch of the Highway Patrol Police comprising 50 officers graduated on Thursday. The new force is expected to start work next year.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the graduation ceremony, Brigadier Mohammed Saad Al Kharji said that there is a plan to install cameras on patrolling vehicles to detect speeding cars. These cameras can take pictures of the erring vehicles even when the patrolling team is on the move, he added.
Most key roads and highways in Qatar have speed radars but surprise raids using cameras mounted on vehicles are not common in the country.
The mobile radars are apparently intended to monitor areas where there is a lack of permanent surveillance cameras and spot motorists who would try to cheat the radars by pressing on the gas as soon as they come out of the ‘surveillance area’.
Asked if there is a plan to introduce digital countdown system at intersections, Al Kharji said the smart traffic control system at many new intersections is integrated with a technique to alert motorists before the traffic lights turn red.
On the new patrolling team, Al Kharji said they will promote safety on highways by monitoring the speed limit, keeping space between vehicles and handling emergencies like
accidents.
The patrolling team received theoretical and practical lessons on controlling traffic on highways, safe parking and stopping on highways as well as dealing with the public.
The new initiative is the result of a collaboration between the Ministry of Interior and
RasGas.
The training programme was implemented by the globally-renowned Northwestern University, Chicago.
The team has also received specialised training in implementing traffic laws on tailgating, use of mobile phones while driving, speeding, use of seat belts etc. The officers are equipped with advanced skills in investigating road accidents, interrogation of drivers and preservation of evidence.
The new patrolling team will use both radar and lidar (a device used to monitor speed using laser) to control speeding. The officers were also trained to manually control the flow of traffic, if the need arose. The Peninsula
