Dubai: Starting in July, Dubai radars will be able to catch tailgaters, Dubai Police have announced.

Major General Mohammad Saif Al Zafein, Assistant to the Dubai Police Chief for Operations Affairs, said the move is in order to reduce casualties from accidents caused by tailgating.

Earlier this week, the Dubai Police launched its annual ‘Keep a safe distance’ traffic campaign, quoting tailgating as the third-leading cause of traffic deaths.

Tailgating caused 26 deaths in 2014, and 11 deaths between January and May this year. Also in 2014, Dubai Traffic Police issued 69,964 fines for people not leaving a safe distance between vehicles on Dubai roads and in 2015, 19,975 fines were issued in the first four months.

Maj Gen Al Zafein said the radar has the latest technology that can detect tailgating violations accurately, regardless of the speed of the vehicle.

He said that the radar will detect motorists who leave less than 5 metres of space from the car ahead of them at a speed exceeding 80km/hr. If the car is cruising at a speed lower than 80km/hr, then the radar will not detect a violation.

The radar takes photos of the front and rear of the vehicle and can detect the violation in any lane.

The photos will help make sure the violation is legitimate and can be accessed if the driver contests the fine.

The fine for tailgating is Dh400 and four black points.