The Automated Enforcement System (AES) designed to nab traffic offenders has been given the greenlight by the cabinet.

Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri said the AES would be implemented before the end of the year.

"I am glad that we are going ahead with the system (AES) after years of deliberation on the government’s part.

"Of course, there was the initial rejection of the system by certain quarters, hence the delay," he told reporters after a visit to the Road Transport Department in Johor Bahru today.

The AES system, which is widely used in developed countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, is essentially a system where cameras are installed at accident-prone areas to detect speeding vehicles and cameras are placed at traffic light junctions to nab those beating the red light.

An estimated 3,000 cameras are expected to be installed nationwide.

The locations have been identified by the Road Safety Department and the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research.

"The cause of road fatalities in the country, which averages 7,000 a year, is speed and if we can reduce speeding on the highways and major roads then we can possibly reduce the figure too," Rahim said.

- Bernama