‘50 new traffic cameras to be installed around Amman’

AMMAN — The Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) and the Central Traffic Department (CTD) are planning to install 50 cameras and radars around the capital to reduce traffic violations and limit road accidents, according to GAM officials.

In 2016,the number of road accidents dropped by 20 per cent compared to 2015, Mohammad Faouri, director of joint management at GAM, said on Saturday. 

GAM will float a tender to install cameras in locations where traffic accidents often occur and in areas where violations are frequent, to reduce risks on the road, he added.

In 2016, there was a decline in road accidents and violations, Col. Mahmoud Awwad, director of the Amman traffic department, said, adding that residents of the capital showed more commitment to rules and regulations set by the department.

The areas with the most recorded number of accidents this year included University of Jordan (Queen Rania) Street, Al Aqsa Street, Al Qusour Bridge, Mashaghel Circle and Yadoudeh Street, Awwad added, noting that the majority of the accidents are caused by a sudden change of lane or speeding.

“Because of the cameras that had been installed on streets earlier in 2016, the number of recorded road accidents and violations was lower than previous years. Motorists started abiding by the rules more,” he told The Jordan Times.

Awwad did not have exact figures on the number of accidents recorded in 2016. 

In the first nine months of 2016, 542 people died in around 8,000 accidents, a CTD official told The Jordan Times last October.

There were also 1,270 critical injuries and 12,000 minor injuries in the same period.

During 2015, there were 608 deaths in 9,712 accidents, as well as 2,021 critical injuries and 12,000 minor injuries, according to the CTD.

“The cameras will have a positive impact on the reduction of accidents and traffic tickets… They will also ensure the safety of the people in Amman, just like this year,” a source at GAM said. 

“People will have to follow the rules.”