State-of-the-art cameras which can automatically detect drivers using mobile phones behind the wheel or not wearing a seat belt are being trialed in Greater Manchester in the UK.
The new Heads Up technology from tech firm Acusensus captures footage of passing vehicles before the images are processed using AI to detect potential offending drivers.
Footage deemed to contain evidence of an offence is sent for a secondary human check to confirm that an offence has occurred. If an image shows that no offence has been committed, it is deleted immediately by the software and no further action is taken.
The trial will be used by Safer Roads Greater Manchester as a traffic survey so it can understand how many drivers still choose to break the law. This will be used to refine future road safety campaigns aiming to improve compliance of mobile phone and seat belt use by drivers.
Research shows that you are four times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone while driving and twice as likely to die in a crash if you don’t wear a seat belt.
Peter Boulton, Transport for Greater Manchester’s (TfGM) network director for highways, said, “In Greater Manchester we know that distractions and not wearing seat belts are key factors in several road traffic collisions on our roads which have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured.
“By utilizing 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 helping to reduce these dangerous driving practices and make our roads safer for everyone,” he added.
Heads Up, which can be mounted to a vehicle or a trailer, will be deployed at several locations across Greater Manchester from Tuesday September 3 on a trial basis.
The Acusensus camera system has been used by police forces and local highways authorities across the UK since it was first trialed by National Highways in 2021.
Geoff Collins, General Manager at Acusensus, said, “Using our Heads Up technology will allow Safer Roads Greater Manchester to better understand the levels of distracted driving and seat belt wearing on their roads.
“The vast majority of drivers set out to be safe on every journey, but bad habits can creep in, resulting in a safety risk for everyone. This approach is the first step in encouraging better behavior, ensuring safety for all road users.”
The trial follows the launch of Safer Roads Greater Manchester’s Touch.Screen campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of drivers becoming distracted while using a mobile phone.
The campaign was supported by Calvin Buckley, whose partner Frankie Julia Hough and their unborn daughter Neeve died after a speeding driver, who was filming himself reaching speeds of 123mph on the M66 in Bury, crashed into her car which had stopped on the hard shoulder.
Between 2014 and 2023 there were 138 people killed or seriously injured following road traffic collisions in Greater Manchester where driver distraction was a contributing factor. Of those deaths, 23 people lost their lives in a road traffic collision where the driver was using a mobile phone.
