The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has installed smart signs in school zones to reduce speeding by interacting with motorists driving through and parents on the school run. The smart signs are capable of detecting and displaying the driving speed and sending friendly messages to the drivers through expressive emojis. These facial expressions reflect drivers' psychological mindset, coupled with tips relating to the driving speed as the vehicle passes by the devices and sensors installed near school zones.
Engineer Maitha Bin Adai, CEO of RTA, said: "Phase I of the project was tentatively commissioned in five areas in the first week of the school year, including Muhaisnah 1, Al Mazhar, Al Wasl, Al Garhoud and Al Safa. Other areas will be covered in Phase II in other areas as per engineering standards based on the type of the road, the number of schools therein, and the number of speeding tickets issued in those areas. Areas selected in Phase 1 had previously witnessed over-speeding cases in recent months, and therefore smart speed limit signs displaying 40kph were installed on streets surrounding schools zones. Exceeding the speed limit, even by a small margin, may cause accidents and injuries to students.”
“The smart signs are equipped with digital screens capable of capturing and showing the driving speed as the vehicle passes through a school's zone, along with emojis that intelligently depict the driver's mental state while driving. A smiling face indicates the driver is compliant with the prescribed speed limit while the frowning face means the driver has exceeded the speed limit. Then the smart signs display either tribute remarks, alerts or warnings indicating to drivers the speed limit allowed on a given street,” elaborated Bin Adai.
“The smart signs are part of several projects and initiatives targeting students, school zones and surrounding areas, following the Agency’s success over the past six years in eliminating fatal traffic crashes and achieving zero deaths in school zones,” concluded the CEO of the RTA.