KUWAIT CITY, March 27: Before the implementation of the new traffic law on April 22, the Ministry of Interior has completed its preparations for enforcing the new fines, including a public awareness campaign on the law’s provisions. In this regard, Head of the Traffic Awareness Department at the General Traffic Department Major Musaed Al-Aslawi said the traffic control and surveillance cameras, along with newly deployed cameras, are capable of monitoring a range of traffic violations, particularly those related to seatbelt use and mobile phone usage while driving.

Major Al-Aslawi revealed the types of traffic cameras deployed at the roundabouts, intersections, and main and internal roads in various areas of the country. He explained that different types of cameras are used to monitor traffic conditions, including surveillance cameras, artificial intelligence cameras, point-to-point speed monitoring cameras, and modern cameras designed to detect violations such as “no Uturn” and mobile cameras. A total of 413 traffic surveillance cameras, located at intersections and linked to the traffic control room, are designed to monitor congestion and alleviate bottlenecks by adjusting signal timings. These cameras also track violations such as mobile phone usage, failure to wear seatbelts, children sitting in the front seats, crossing solid lines, and obstructing traffic. These cameras are monitored by staff in the operations room. They cover all directions at intersections and record the aforementioned violations. Furthermore, there are 421 fixed traffic enforcement cameras placed on main and internal roads, roundabouts and intersections. These cameras are designed to monitor speeding and red signal violations.

The footage from these cameras is carefully reviewed after data extraction to verify recorded violations. If a violation is confirmed, it is sent to the violator via the government application Sahel. If, during the review, it is found that the driver was using a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt, these additional violations are added to the main violation. There are 252 artificial intelligence cameras deployed on most roads and internal areas. These cameras are designed to monitor seatbelt violations, children sitting in the front seats, mobile phone usage while driving, and lack of lane discipline. These AI cameras also undergo a review process, and if a violation is confirmed, a notification is sent to the driver through the Sahel app. Like the traffic enforcement cameras, these AI cameras register seatbelt violations for both the driver and the passenger, while mobile phone usage violations are only recorded for the driver.