New AI cameras will be rolled out from tomorrow to catch drivers illegally breaking the law by using a smartphone while driving.
Cameras will be deployed in the Greater Manchester area from 3 September, as part of a wider national trial to ensure safer roads.
Using your phone while driving is punishable by up to six penalty points and a £1,000 fine.
As well as catching motorists on mobile phones, the cameras are also able to detect people not wearing seatbelts – both of which are ‘key factors’ in crashes.
New AI cameras will be rolled out across Greater Manchester to catch drivers illegally breaking the law by using a smartphone while driving as part of a wider national trial to ensure safer roads
Transport for Greater Manchester will introduce AI cameras built by technology company Acusensus, who say they ‘provide automated recognition of drivers using mobile phones while driving in order to enforce traffic safety laws intended to prevent distracted driving’.
The artificial intelligence ‘Heads Up’ software was first trailed by National Highways in 2021.
It captures footage of passing vehicles (going up to 300km an hour), which is then run through AI to detect whether someone is using their smartphone while driving or if someone in the car is not wearing a seatbelt.
Two photos are taken: one of a shallow angle which captures if a driver has a phone to their ear and checks whether a seat belt is being worn, and a second deeper angle which can see if a person is texting in front of them.
The AI footage is then examined by a human to confirm that the software is correct, and an offence has indeed been committed.
If the human check confirms an offence’s been committed then the driver is issued with a penalty charge notice.
But if the image is incorrect and shows no offence has been committed then Acusensus says it is immediately deleted from the archives.
AI powered cameras previously deployed in Devon and Cornwall caught 117 people using their mobile phones in just three days
A new AI traffic cop (pictured) was deployed between East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire back in June
The state-of-the-art cameras – which can be mounted to a trailer or vehicle and are positioned higher than traditional speed or traffic cameras – will also be used by Safer Roads Greater Manchester as part of a survey to find out how many drivers break the law and to strategise future road safety campaigns relating to mobile phones and seat belts.
This introduction follows Safer Roads’ Touch Screen campaign which aimed to raise awareness of the dangers of using a smartphone while driving.
Department for Transport (DfT) data found that 400,000 drivers a year still use a mobile device when behind the wheel, with drivers four times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone while driving.
You’re also twice as likely to die in a crash if you don’t wear a seat belt.
This comes after This is Money reported that 31 per cent of 18 to 26-year-olds have recorded themselves while behind the wheel – and more than half of these have subsequently uploaded the content to social media for likes, despite the potential for it being used as incriminating evidence.
Peter Boulton, TfGM’s Network Director for Highways, said: ‘In Greater Manchester we know that distractions and not wearing seat belts are key factors in a number of road traffic collisions on our roads which have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured.
‘By utilising this state-of-the-art technology provided by Acusensus, we hope to gain a better understanding of how many drivers break the law in this way, whilst also helping to reduce these dangerous driving practices and make our roads safer for everyone.’
Police forces in Hampshire and the Thames Valley targeted commercial vehicles using an AI spy camera van (pictured)
A driver caught using his phone at the wheel – as captured by the AI-powered cameras. The AI footage is then examined by a human to confirm that the software is correct, and an offence has been committed
Which regions are joining the AI camera rollout?
National Highways and police forces across England have extended an ongoing trial that began in 2021, which will now run until March 2025.
The 10 police forces now taking part in the AI camera rollout are: Greater Manchester, Durham, Humberside, Staffordshire, West Mercia, Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Norfolk, Thames Valley Police and Sussex.
The trial is aimed at helping police forces understand how AI technology could work on National Highway roads and shape future nationwide rollout.
In the future, AI cameras are planned to be attached to gantries on motorways in the trial regions.
How effective are AI cameras?
We reported in July that new freestanding AI cameras on the A30 near Launceston in Devon had caught 117 people using their mobile phones while driving in just a 72-hour period.
A further 130 people were snapped not wearing their seat belt.
Positioned on the A34 and A303 as part of a National Police Chiefs Council campaign, the Acusensus ‘Heads Up’ vehicle caught motorists using their phones, not wearing seat belts and driving under the influence of drugs.
86 drivers were suspected of using a phone, 273 motorists or passengers suspected of not wearing a seat belt, with a further 132 mechanical offences identified.
After the human checks were carried out, five arrests were made.
Improve road safety or an invasion of privacy?
The rollout of AI cameras has the backing of many safety organisations including the RAC and AA.
Rod Dennis, RAC road safety spokesman, said: ‘Despite the penalties for using a handheld phone having doubled to six penalty points and a £200 fine seven years ago, it’s clear far too many drivers are still prepared to put lives at risk by engaging in this dangerous practice.
‘We suspect a major reason for this is a lack of enforcement, meaning many drivers have no fear of being caught.
‘AI-equipped cameras that can automatically detect drivers breaking the law offer a chance for the tide to be turned.
‘The police can’t be everywhere all of the time, so it makes sense that forces look to the best available technology that can help them catch drivers acting illegally’.
Rod Dennis said: ‘We suspect a major reason for this is a lack of enforcement, meaning many drivers have no fear of being caught.’
Safer Roads Greater Manchester’s Touch Screen campaign was supported by Calvin Buckley, whose ‘life was destroyed’ after he lost his partner Frankie Jules-Hough and unborn daughter when a driver crashed into their car on the M66 in Bury.
The driver was filming himself speeding.
He said: ‘It’s become quite common for people to use their phone to check messages, send photos or change the music while driving,’ he said.
‘But all it takes is a split second to become distracted, and when you take your eyes off the road anything could happen.’
On the other hand privacy groups are fighting back calling AI cameras ‘intrusive and creepy’.
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, said: ‘This kind of intrusive and creepy surveillance which treats every passer-by as a potential suspect is excessive and normalising it poses a threat to everyone’s privacy’
Jake Hurfurt, head of research and investigations at privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch, told the Daily Telegraph: ‘Unproven AI-powered video analytics should not be used to monitor and potentially criminalise drivers.
‘This kind of intrusive and creepy surveillance which treats every passer-by as a potential suspect is excessive and normalising it poses a threat to everyone’s privacy.
‘People should be free to go about their lives without being analysed by faceless AI systems.’
Police have said that the pictures are anonymised to remove identifying features such as the make of the vehicle, number plates or passenger faces. Only if a driver is prosecuted are the images matched to registration details, in a bid to protect privacy.
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