Dubai: The Dubai Police Traffic Department has been effectively using the Multimedia Service to issue traffic fines via cell phones.

Colonel Nader Fikri, Deputy Director of the Dubai Police Electronic Services Department, said the police have been issuing traffic fines as MMSs via cell phones since April after supplying 13 cell phones to traffic officers.

Traffic control teams can issue a traffic fine using cell phones by taking a picture of the vehicle. They can issue fines for various traffic offences including jumping red signals, parking in places allocated to people with special needs, driving on the hard shoulder and other on the spot and absentia fines.

 

The Traffic Department has issued 300 fines since the system came into effect. Colonel Fikri said the system saves time by eliminating paperwork. It also informs the offender about the offence. The picture can be used as legal evidence.

The programme which is installed in cell phones sends the picture of the offence through the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), which goes to a secure server. The fine is then verified and sent to the Traffic Department.

"The system currently can take only still pictures, but work is on to permit video and sound clips as well. It will also be possible to take more than one shot of the same vehicle to help in identifying the kind of vehicle and the offence," Colonel Fikri said.