JEDDAH: The Traffic Department in Jeddah Governorate will implement a system using the Global Positioning System to unclog traffic jams and help emergency vehicles reach their destinations, said Brig. Gen. Muhammad Hassan Al-Qahtani, Director of the Traffic Department. The new system monitors vehicles and locates emergency vehicles, whether they are ambulances, Civil Defense vehicles or Red Crescent vehicles, and directs them to scenes of accidents, fires and other emergencies, he said. It will be implemented immediately following the Kingdomwide implementation of the Saher system for monitoring traffic violations, he added. Brig. Gen. Abdullah Al-Jiddawi, director of Civil Defense in Jeddah, said heavy traffic presents real problems for Civil Defense workers trying to reach fires and accident scenes. The Saher system will not cause delays for Civil Defense vehicles carrying out their tasks, he added. Gen. Al-Jiddawi said the GPS-based system will be of great importance for determining locations of emergency scenes and selecting the route to be taken by emergency vehicles so they can reach their destinations as quickly as possible.
