Choppers to patrol Abu Dhabi

In collaboration with the Air Wing Section, the Traffic and Patrols Directorate has started operating air patrols to monitor traffic, catch offenders, and keep a watch for any illegal gatherings and curb dangerous stunts by reckless youths.

This comes in line with the traffic safety strategy of the Abu Dhabi Police to make roads safer and more secure and reduce all causes that lead to traffic accidents and their resulting deaths and serious injuries.

Brigadier Hussein Ahmed Al Harithi, Director of Traffic and Patrols Directorate, said the Air Wing Section surveillance helicopters had started patrolling Abu Dhabi to monitor traffic on its roads and photograph offenders.

This also aimed to help the directorate determine areas of traffic congestion on the emirate’s internal and external roads and dispatch traffic patrols to ensure a smooth traffic movement in those locations.

Brig Al Harthi pointed out that the air patrols would also be on the lookout to report any vehicles without number plates or vehicles with fake number plates to traffic patrols. The air patrols would also carry out day and night patrols to ensure crowd management and photograph youths to curb their reckless behaviour for their own safety.

This was aimed to control stunts due to the risks they entailed, as well as reduce traffic accidents that often led to injuries and deaths, or caused damage to other road users.

Brig Al Harthi warned the youths against performing such dangerous show-off stunts with vehicles and motorcycles.

He reiterated that air patrols and traffic civil investigation patrols on the emirate’s roads would enforce the law by arresting offenders and confiscating their vehicles or motorcycles; and refer any persons who showed irresponsible behaviour to the authorities concerned for legal action.

Staff Brigadier Pilot Ali Mohammad Al Mazroui, Chief of the Air Wing Section at Abu Dhabi Police, stated that the traffic surveillance choppers were equipped with modern thermal cameras that provided efficient and accurate imaging regardless of weather conditions; with reliable night functionality. This would allow traffic authorities from photographing and identifying traffic offenders, in order to report them to the traffic investigation officers.

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