AI camera trial catches over 3,200 drivers red handed in just five week

Paralympian cycling legend Dame Sarah Storey’s hailed a new artificial intelligence (AI) camera trial which nabbed 3,205 motorists on their phones or not wearing seatbelts in five weeks. 

Images captured by the ‘Heads Up’ camera system, developed by Acusensus, show drivers with their phones out in front of them on video calls or at their ear on voice calls. 

In other cases – also part of the five-week trial across Greater Manchester – the state-of-the-art AI system caught drivers, adult and child passengers not wearing life-saving seat belts. 

The ‘Heads Up’ cameras capture images of passing vehicles processed using AI to detect drivers who are potentially breaking the law and putting themselves, their passengers and other road users at risk.  

The trial recorded 812 drivers distracted by using mobile phones behind the wheel, and 2,393 incidents of seat belt non-compliance by drivers or passengers. As yet no-one has been prosecuted from the trial.

The AI trial’s been hailed by Dame Sarah Storey, 47 – Britain’s most decorated Paralympian with 30 medals (19 Golds, 8 silver and three bronze) – in her role as active travel commissioner for Greater Manchester. 

She said: “The results show the horrifying truth behind the number of drivers who still don’t consider how their behaviour behind the wheel of their vehicle can affect themselves, their passengers and others using the roads. 

“Statistics show you are four times more likely to be involved in a collision if you use your phone while driving and twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seatbelt.” 

“Alongside drink and drug driving and speeding, mobile phone usage and not wearing a seat belt make up the Fatal 4, the leading causes of serious injury and death on UK roads, which claim the lives around 1,000 people a year in Greater Manchester. 

“As the region prepares to adopt Vision Zero, the target of which is to eliminate all deaths and serious injuries on our roads by 2040, it is imperative we tackle the issue of those drivers not taking their driving responsibility seriously.”

The trial use of AI as the first filter means cameras checked hundreds of thousands of vehicles from 3rd September to 24th October, which would take a humans several months. 

Images flagged by AI then go through a human check phase to confirm an offence has taken place. If no offence has been committed, the image is immediately deleted. 

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) said drivers were four times more likely to be in a crash if they use their phone while driving and twice as likely to die in a crash if they do not wear a seat belt. 

Trial-caught drivers received warning letters reminding them they face fines of up to £500 for not wearing a seatbelt, with penalty points and potential £1,000 fines for using their phone non hands-free. 

Kate Green, Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “Distractions such as using mobile phones while driving 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 suffering life-changing injuries. 

“This trial was launched so we could better understand the scale of this problem in Greater Manchester, and the images speak for themselves. 

“They show drivers who are needlessly putting themselves and others – including young children – at risk, and sadly we know that being distracted for just a second, or not wearing a seat belt properly, can have devastating consequences. 

“We are adopting the Vision Zero ambition to end all deaths and life-changing injuries, and know more needs to be done to make our roads safer, healthier and more sustainable for pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and motorists.  

“I hope these images serve as a wake-up call for drivers and passengers on the importance of not driving distracted and seat belt compliance.”

Part of Greater Manchester’s Vision Zero Strategy and Action Plan to eliminate road deaths and life-changing injury by 2040, the images and data will be used for safety campaigns. 

First implemented in Sweden in the 1990s, Vision Zero has been adopted in other areas across Europe and the US.  

In the last 10 years nearly 10,000 people who live in, work in or visit Greater Manchester have been killed or seriously injured on our roads. 

Between 2018 and 2022, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists accounted for nearly two thirds of those killed or seriously injured, while drivers and passengers made up 34 per cent of casualties.  

In 2022, there were 71 traffic fatalities or serious injuries every month in Greater Manchester. In total 64 people were killed over the course of the year – 25 of them pedestrians – and each of these deaths was preventable.  

Geoff Collins, General Manager at Acusensus, said: “This trial shows that some drivers on Greater Manchester’s roads are engaged in dangerous driving behaviours that put themselves and other road users at risk. 

“We can now use this knowledge to intelligently address the problems, making each journey safer for everyone.”