Dubai: The reasons behind those deadly road accidents in the UAE may just become clearer with the launch of a first-of-its-kind black box for cars in the country.
"Mounted on the windscreen of a vehicle, the damage-proof Siris Black Box can analyse driver behaviour and record what happens in the critical seconds before an accident," said Mark Petrou, Operations Director, Siris, a division of Securesys Services, an electronic security systems company in Dubai.
He said the box uses GPS/GPRS and GSM with a 3D acceleration sensor to view events through an SD card in real-time video. It is connected to the car battery and gets activated when the ignition is turned on, he said, adding that the recording system gives the option of tracking, and records time, date, position and G-forces with a wide dynamic range-function camera.
Road accidents annually account for 14-15 per cent of deaths in the UAE. Police records show that in Dubai alone, a total of 3,567 road accidents occurred in 2009 — mainly due to speeding and changing lanes incorrectly.
Better driving
"The Siris Black Box has a number of uses and promotes better driving habits and road safety," said Petrou, explaining that drivers can now have evidence in case of an accident. The SID card can be removed from the unit and used on a laptop to view its contents, he noted.
He said the black box can be used as a monitoring device through which employers can track drivers' behaviour and parents can keep a tab on how their children drive.
To get a black box, customers have to sign a contract with Siris. "We are responsible for making sure that the product is in safe hands," said Petrou. He said 100 units have been sold in the past one week since its launch. Each black box costs Dh2,500, with bulk orders fetching a 15-20 per cent discount, he said.
