Following the successful implementation of the Saher Road Safety Program, the Traffic Police Department is keen to adopt innovative technologies that improve the safety and security of the Kingdom's roadways, said Ibrahim Al-Aqeel, head of the Riyadh Police for Planning and Information. He said the introduction of innovative technology that includes the installation of a digital camera system and other measures as part of the Saher Road Safety Program has been of great help to the Traffic Police in monitoring road safety violations. “For the first time we were able to communicate with the driver by sending an SMS on his mobile pointing out the time, exact location and the type of traffic violation that he had committed,” Al-Aqeel said. The official was speaking as one of the keynote speakers at the launch of 2share, the new name of Emerging Technologies, a Riyadh-based holding company established in 2007. Al-Aqeel said that in order to maintain traffic safety, the Traffic Police Department is required to enhance road safety monitoring systems through the introduction of innovative technologies and in cooperation with service providers such as STC. “In a very short time after it was introduced, the Saher program proved to be extremely effective in detecting traffic offenses. It was possible only through the adoption of the latest technological methods,” he said. Other speakers on the occasion were Fahad Al-Tayyash, spokesman for Ministry of Education, Michael Codini, head of Voxeo Voice XML for Middle East and North Africa and Engr. Mansour F. Al-Obaid, Partner and CEO of 2share among others. Al-Obaid said the Kingdom has witnessed a 150 percent increase in the number of subscribers for both mobile and fixed line telecommunications. “Such an increasing demand in the telecommunication sector offers a huge opportunity to introduce technology that employs the use of voice portals that provide consumers with better and more efficient services,” he said.
