AI technology to improve road safety across county
The cameras can spot motorists not wearing a seatbelt or using their mobile phone and send the pictures directly to the police
NEW cameras set up on roadsides across North Staffordshire will use AI to detect if a driver is committing an offence and automatically send it to the police.
Staffordshire Police are among 10 forces chosen to use the technology which will be set up on busy roads such as the M6, A50, A500, A34 and the A53.
The mobile technology can detect motorists who are not wearing a seatbelt or are using mobile phones the wheel. It will be mounted on top of a vehicle or trailer and raised up over the road - and multiple lenses mean different angles will be captured of the driver and passengers, adding to the evidence.
The images will then be processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse whether the motorists are committing an offence. They will then be passed to police for consideration on any action to be taken.
Drivers can be fined up to £500 for not wearing a seatbelt in addition to penalty points, while using a mobile phone while driving can result in a fine of up to £1,000 and six penalty points.
The other forces taking part in the trial are Greater Manchester Police, West Mercia, Humberside, Durham Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Norfolk; Thames Valley Police and Sussex.
The National Highways trial first launched in 2021 when motorists were sent warning letters informing them of the dangers of their behaviour.
It is now being extended to Staffordshire after research showed that drivers are four times more likely to be in a crash if they use a phone and twice as likely to die in a crash if they don’t wear a seatbelt.
The latest trial began on February 19 and will run until March 2025 ahead of a possible nationwide introduction.
There are plans for the technology to be fixed to gantries for the first time giving an unobscured view of all lanes.
Matt Staton, National Highways head of national road user safety delivery, said: “We know that distracted driving and not wearing seatbelts were key factors in a high number of incidents that resulted in people being killed or seriously injured.
“Working with our police partners we want to reduce such dangerous driving and reduce the risks posed to both the drivers and other people. We believe that using technology like this will make people seriously consider their driving behaviour. We will continue to invest in technology that could help make sure everyone using our roads gets home safe and well.”
Dr Jamie Uff is the technical director at AECOM and is the lead research professional who has been managing the deployment of the technology. He said: “AECOM is really pleased to be continuing our work with National Highways, the police and camera suppliers. Our work to date has highlighted the scale of the issue, has shown that technology can play a valuable role, and that there is much still to be understood about driver behaviour given the new insights gained.
“Expanding the deployments and integrating data processing with police systems is an important step towards this technology making a significant contribution to road safety.”
Enforcement of motoring offences will remain a matter for individual police forces.