Traffic on an Israeli highway. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A new Israeli app enabling drivers to photograph traffic violations is being launched by road-safety organizations and the police, Geektime reported on Wednesday.

The initiative, called “Guardians of the Road — Social Change on the Roads,” is a joint venture of the National Road Safety Authority, Israel Police Traffic Department and the NGO Nativ Batuach (Safe Lane). Its goal is to deter reckless driving.

Users of the app are able, via smartphones set up on their dashboards, to continuously photograph the road and other vehicles through their front windshields. When witnessing a traffic violation, users can record a voice description of it. The photographs and voice descriptions are then automatically and anonymously sent to the National Road Safety Authority, where they are thoroughly examined for veracity. If the information reveals that a violation did, in fact, occur, it is passed on to the Israel Police.

During a pilot run last year, around 7,500 moving violations were recorded, hundreds of which were passed on to police, Geektime reported.

According to National Road Safety Authority spokesperson Moriya Malka, more than 5,500 people have already signed up to take part in the venture, and additional volunteers will be recruited in the near future. Users must be over the age of 30 and not have committed any serious traffic violations in the past five years.