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The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) confirms that the trial phase of ‘Al Raqeeb’ System (a smart system to detect exhaustion signals in bus drivers while sitting behind the wheels) has shown a remarkable drop in the reporting of such cases by as much as 88% in city and inter-city services. RTA reckons that physical exertions can result in accidents that may undermine the safety of riders, besides having a direct impact on the operational efficiency of buses in terms of on-time arrivals. The system had been adopted in line with the smart city initiative launched by the Government of Dubai.
Adel Shakri, Director of Transportation Systems, RTA’s Public Transport Agency, said, “RTA is the first government entity responsible for public transport to adopt this drivers’ monitoring system. The drop in the exhaustion and fatigue cases experienced by bus drivers by (88%) is indicative of the success of the trial phase covering (50) buses in an initial step. ‘Al Raqeeb’ system involves fitting a sophisticated device to the front of the bus driver to monitor any indicators of fatigue, tiredness or illness suffered by the driver through technological indicators, which are transmitted to the Control Room at RTA where the case will be immediately responded to. There is also another smart system that monitors the driving attitudes in terms of exceeding the speed limit, disregard to safe driving principles, irresponsibility of using brakes, sudden swerving, and using the mobile phone while driving among others.
“The two systems are being experimented on standard buses, articulated buses and double-deck buses covering Dubai city service or inter-city service. According to the results, a plan will be set up to implement the system in our bus fleet comprising more than (1500) buses operated by more than (3) thousand drivers. RTA offers everything possible to support the public transport systems, especially buses which are used by a large proportion of public transport riders,” added Shakri.
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