A conversation with Dr.-Ing. Youssef El Hansali, Chief Executive Officer of VITRONIC Machine Vision Middle East LLC

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Youssef El Hansali is a renowned entrepreneur and influential leader in the field of traffic technology, recognised for his strategic vision and results-oriented approach. In 2009, he established VITRONIC’s group company in Dubai, UAE, laying the foundation for the company’s expansion in the region. Under his leadership, VITRONIC’s speed enforcement solutions achieved market leadership, capturing nearly 70% of the regional market. Today, he is responsible for leading VITRONIC’s operations across four group companies in the Middle East and Africa.

With a strong focus on innovation, collaboration, and public safety, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Youssef has contributed to advancing intelligent traffic solutions worldwide. He promotes interdisciplinary cooperation between researchers, industry experts, and policymakers to drive meaningful progress in mobility and traffic management.

Holding a PhD in Transportation Science, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Youssef is committed to lifelong learning and knowledge sharing. As a guest professor in Smart Mobility at Hasselt University in Belgium, he supports the development of future mobility experts. His dedication to innovation and excellence continues to contribute to VITRONIC’s global leadership in traffic engineering and management.

The aim is to help authorities “focus resources where they can create the greatest safety impact, while maintaining legal defensibility, transparency and public trust.”

A recent visit to VITRONIC’s US office gave Dr. Youssef  a first-hand view of this model in action. In Montgomery County, Maryland, VITRONIC runs a TSaaS programme that forms part of the county’s Vision Zero activities, covering more than 200 speed and red-light enforcement systems supported by an end-to-end traffic safety service. VITRONIC manages the operational complexity, while the county retains governance and statutory control. It is, in Dr. Youssef’s words, “an important model for the future”: a long-term partnership built on clearly defined responsibilities, measurable performance and continuous programme improvement.

That spirit of partnership is what VITRONIC brings to Geneva. “Road safety is not a challenge that one organisation or one technology can solve alone,” Dr. Youssef notes. Effective strategies require collaboration across policy, infrastructure, enforcement, legal processes and public communication, and the IRF conference brings these perspectives together. The team is particularly keen to discuss how authorities can turn ambitious safety strategies into practical solutions that are technically reliable, operationally manageable and publicly accountable.

The message for delegates is clear. “Technology today can address a much broader range of high-risk road behaviours than ever before. However, technology alone is not the outcome.” Real progress comes from combining reliable detection with secure evidence handling, efficient operations, transparent governance and a clear focus on measurable safety impact. Traffic enforcement, in VITRONIC’s view, works best as an integrated, adaptable and accountable road safety programme, with one goal in mind: safer roads and lasting improvements in driver behaviour.

VITRONIC is generously supporting the IRF 2026 Annual Conference, taking place in Geneva from 16 to 18 November 2026. Learn more about the conference at https://irfofficial.org/irf-2026-annual-conference.

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Tell us about your organisation: what you do, where you operate and what sets you apart?

VITRONIC is a machine vision company founded in Germany in 1984. The company is currently represented on five continents in over 80 countries with around 1,400 employees. Established in Dubai in 2009, VITRONIC Machine Vision Middle East LLC supports customers across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) by combining local expertise with VITRONIC’s globally proven image processing technology.

In the road sector, we help public authorities make traffic enforcement more accurate, efficient and scalable. Our portfolio covers applications such as speed and red-light enforcement, section control, automatic number plate recognition, and the automated detection of mobile phone and seatbelt violations. It also includes the software and services needed to securely transfer evidence, monitor roadside equipment and process cases.

What sets us apart is the combination of more than four decades of machine vision expertise with an end-to-end understanding of enforcement. We do not view a roadside device as an isolated product. We consider the complete process, from detecting an offence and creating reliable evidence to system monitoring, case review and integration into the authority’s existing workflows.

More recently, our regional mobility portfolio has expanded into road user charging with the establishment of SkyToll Mobility Intelligence LLC in Dubai. As a sister company of VITRONIC and the regional competence centre for Road User Charging (RUC) in the Middle East and Africa, SkyToll Mobility Intelligence builds on SkyToll’s established expertise and long-standing know-how in tolling, combining it with a local presence and knowledge of the regional market.

Together, VITRONIC’s expertise in traffic enforcement and SkyToll’s capabilities in Road User Charging enable us to address a broader range of road infrastructure and mobility needs across the region. This combination also reflects the broader role that intelligent mobility and Road User Charging solutions can play in supporting safer, more efficient and sustainable mobility and contributing to more environmentally responsible transport ecosystems.

How has your organisation’s mission evolved over the years, and what does it look like today?

Our original focus was on developing highly accurate machine vision and measurement technology. That technical foundation remains essential, but the needs of road authorities have changed.

Customers are no longer looking only for a device that detects one type of offence. They increasingly need integrated solutions that address multiple high-risk behaviours, integrate with existing IT environments and reduce pressure on limited operational resources. Across the Middle East and Africa, we see growing demand for scalable traffic enforcement programmes that support wider smart mobility and road safety strategies.

While our commitment to improving road safety through machine vision remains unchanged, the way we support our customers has evolved from supplying individual systems to enabling complete, scalable traffic-safety programmes. Depending on the customer’s legal framework and operating model, this can range from roadside technology and back-office software to turnkey delivery and managed Traffic Safety as a Service.

The public authority always retains control over policy, governance and statutory decisions. Our role is to remove technical and operational complexity so that authorities can focus on the safety outcomes they want to achieve. This division of responsibilities is also central to VITRONIC’s managed-service approach.

What is the single biggest challenge facing road safety today, and why does it matter?

 The biggest challenge is translating road-safety ambitions into consistent, effective implementation.

The main risk factors are well understood: speeding, distraction, impaired driving, red-light violations and failure to wear a seatbelt. Most countries already have laws addressing these behaviours. Yet changing driver behaviour at scale remains challenging, particularly as road networks expand and authorities balance enforcement needs with available operational resources.

The challenge is therefore not detection technology alone. It is the ability to operate a reliable programme end to end: selecting the right locations, maintaining continuous system availability, transferring evidence securely, processing cases efficiently and measuring whether enforcement is actually changing behaviour.

This matters because enforcement only creates a sustainable deterrent when road users perceive a realistic and consistent likelihood that dangerous behaviour will be detected. The opportunity is to build on individual deployments and move towards transparent programmes with clear responsibilities, reliable workflows and measurable safety objectives.

Where do you see the greatest opportunity for progress in the next five years?

The greatest opportunity lies in combining advanced detection capabilities with more integrated and data-driven operating models.

Technologically, advances in AI-supported image analysis and machine vision make it  possible to address offences that were previously difficult and labour-intensive to enforce, including mobile phone use and seatbelt non-compliance. At the same time, multi-purpose platforms allow authorities to use one infrastructure base for several road-safety applications.

Operationally, the larger opportunity is to connect these capabilities through a common digital backbone. Secure data transfer, remote system monitoring, automated pre-processing, configurable review workflows and performance reporting can significantly reduce manual effort and make programmes easier to scale.

The objective should not simply be to detect more offences. It should be to help authorities focus resources where they can create the greatest safety impact, while maintaining legal defensibility, transparency and public trust.

Can you point to a project or deployment that you’re particularly proud of and why?

Since I recently visited our VITRONIC office in the US, I had the opportunity to see first-hand how our colleagues are delivering outstanding results with our PoliScan systems and Traffic Safety as a Service (TSaaS) programme. It was a strong example of how, across different markets and regions, we operate as one VITRONIC team, sharing the same high standards of expertise, operational excellence and commitment to delivering measurable impact on road safety.

A strong example is our TSaaS programme for Montgomery County, Maryland. The programme forms part of the county’s wider Vision Zero activities and includes both speed and red-light enforcement.

What makes the project particularly significant is its scale and operating model. The contract covers more than 200 speed and red-light enforcement systems, supported by VITRONIC’s end-to-end traffic-safety service. It demonstrates how enforcement can be delivered as a coordinated programme rather than a collection of separate technical components. VITRONIC manages the operational complexity, while the authority retains governance and statutory control.

For us, this is an important model for the future: a long-term partnership based not only on equipment delivery, but on clearly defined responsibilities, measurable performance and continuous programme improvement.

How does your approach differ from conventional solutions in the market?

VITRONIC takes a holistic approach based on more than four decades of machine vision expertise. We combine highly accurate detection technology with the software, integration capabilities and operational tools required to support the complete enforcement workflow, from capturing reliable evidence and securely transferring data to system monitoring and integration with existing authority processes.

Our objective is not simply to provide individual devices, but to help authorities build reliable and future-ready road safety solutions that can adapt to evolving requirements while maintaining transparency, governance and operational efficiency.

What are you most looking forward to at the IRF 2026 Annual Conference?

We are looking forward to exchanging perspectives with policymakers, road authorities, researchers and technology partners.

Road safety is not a challenge that one organisation or one technology can solve alone. Effective road safety strategies require collaboration across policy, infrastructure, enforcement, legal processes, and public communication. Conferences such as IRF are valuable because they bring these different perspectives together.

We are particularly interested in discussing how authorities can translate ambitious safety strategies into practical solutions that are technically reliable, operationally manageable and publicly accountable. We look forward to sharing our experience in applying machine vision and intelligent enforcement technologies to support safer roads.

What message do you most want delegates to take away from your participation?

Technology today can address a much broader range of high-risk road behaviours than ever before. However, technology alone is not the outcome.

Real progress comes from combining reliable detection with secure evidence handling, efficient operations, transparent governance and a clear focus on measurable safety impact.

Our message is simple: traffic enforcement should be approached as an integrated, adaptable and accountable road safety programme, not simply as a series of individual technology deployments. The goal is not only to detect violations, but to support safer roads and lasting improvements in driver behaviour.

References & Credits

Website: www.vitronic.com
Other links to key projects, services or products:
LinkedIn and other social media channels:

Photo credits: VITRONIC Machine Vision Middle East LLC