One of the video cameras installed on a Doha road to monitor motorists overtaking from the right.

By Bonnie James/Deputy News Editor


The Traffic Department has launched a helicopter patrol to help ease congestion on Qatar roads by giving guidance to cops on the ground during the morning rush hour.
Traffic is at an all-time high, considering that the population has exceeded 1.9mn, the number of vehicles crossed 1mn and several infrastructure development projects are underway.
Road works on Doha Corniche and many other locations have had a cascading effect on traffic disruption, with bumper-to-bumper traffic a common sight on all roads during the peak hours.
The traffic patrol copter was spotted hovering over Al Shamal Road, one of the worst affected highways over the past few days between 6am and 8am.
“The helicopter keeps travelling up and down across the most congested stretch of Al Shamal Road, in addition to hovering over parts of Salwa, C Ring and D Ring roads,” a motorist said yesterday.
“The officer in the helicopter will liaise with the land patrols and inform them about the status of traffic in the various areas and thus help them move in quickly to address congestions,” Brigadier Mohamed Saad al-Kharji, head of traffic, was quoted yesterday by local Arabic daily Al Sharq.
The official claimed that introduction of the copter to monitor traffic and the subsequent steps by the patrol teams on the ground have improved traffic flow by 30%.
“About 200 patrol teams of the Traffic Department, Al Fazaa, and Lekhwiya are involved in traffic control, right from early morning,” the official said.
The expected completion of the road works on Doha Corniche in November would result in a significant improvement in traffic flow in and around the area.
Ever since all the schools reopened on September 10, traffic congestion on Doha roads has gone from bad to worse, according to a cross-section of motorists.
Long queues of vehicles that move at snail’s pace have become a regular feature on most thoroughfares, prompting motorists to start early, but with hardly any advantage.
“These days it seems everyone is leaving their homes early in order to beat the traffic, but the end result is that they end up spending more time stuck on the roads or crawling at a pathetic pace,” a resident observed.
The Traffic Department has also installed radars to ensure that motorists abide by the minimum speed limits on the highways and do not aggravate congestion.
Special video cameras have also been placed beside select roads to monitor motorists illegally cutting into traffic from the right.
Motorists who violate the rules are to be monitored through the cameras and fines issued.
“Recently an errant motorist ran over an individual who was trying to repair his car on the hard shoulder of the 22nd February Street,” Brigadier al-Kharji recalled.
Gulf Times had recently published an article about wayward motorists resorting to rampant misuse of the hard shoulders on a number of major roads in Doha, aggravating the risk of accidents and worsening traffic congestion.