What do the new AI road cameras that have caught 10,000 drivers look like?

More than 10,000 people have been fined for breaking road laws after police trawled through images collected by artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled road cameras [1].

Since they started the trial in 2023, Devon & Cornwall Police said they had collected 6,000 images of people breaking seat belt laws and 4,000 of drivers using their phones.

The Acusensus Heads-Up systems use two different cameras to take front-facing pictures of people driving their cars, and then the AI will analyse if anyone is breaking any seatbelt or mobile phone offences. Advertisement Advertisement

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The images are then verified by at least two human reviewers to determine if an offence has taken place. If so, the driver will then be contacted and is usually fined.

They can also operate as traditional speed cameras.

Adrian Leisk, Devon & Cornwall Police's head of road safety, said after using the cameras for three years, they had noticed a significant reduction in both offences.

The police said they had seen a 50% decrease in seatbelt detections and a 33% decrease in mobile phone detections at three different locations during the course of the month.

He also said less than 1% of drivers monitored committed the offences.

What do the AI cameras look like?

An AI camera in operation in Cornwall. (Cornwall & Devon Police)

Acusensus is the main business behind the AI road cameras, and their machines look significantly different from a traditional speed camera.

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The cameras are mounted on a large T-shaped stand and secured with a brightly coloured base.

There are two black separate cameras on the stand, with one in the middle of the prongs and one at the far end.

Police forces across the country have been adopting AI cameras. (Getty)

Police forces across the country, including in places like Manchester and Essex, have been carrying out similar trials to Devon & Cornwall [2].

The government is also expected to announce the largest update to road safety laws in a decade this autumn.

What other road cameras are there?

There are numerous different types of cameras in operation on roads in the UK, each with a different purpose.

Yellow box

The standard camera in operation in the UK, the large yellow box cameras that operate on British roads catch people for breaking the speed limit.

A yellow speed camera. (Getty)

Red light camera

These cameras do not have to be yellow and are used to monitor if people go through a red light. The Redflex camera seen below is an example of one. Advertisement

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They also often serve a dual purpose of being a speed camera.

A Redflex speed and red light camera. (Getty)

Average speed camera

Average speed cameras are becoming more common in the UK and are usually seen on motorways and dual carriageways.

There are usually numerous camera towers along a section of road, each with multiple cameras.

The cameras log your arrival at each tower.

If you arrive quicker than you should have been able to had you had stuck to the speed limit, then they will record it as a speed violation.

A set of average speed cameras. (PA)

Mobile speed cameras

Mobile speed cameras are usually mounted on police vans and are deployed at the police's discretion.

They are often deployed when the police think drivers are repeatedly breaking the law on a certain section of the road or in the aftermath of a crash when no stationary cameras are nearby.

Police also deploy mobile speed cameras. (PA)

How effective are speed cameras?

Various studies have shown speed cameras do achieve their goals, with reductions in speed, collisions and the number of people breaking the limit. Advertisement Advertisement

A 2017 study conducted by the London School of Economics [3] found that from 1992 (when cameras were first introduced) to 2016, traffic enforcement cameras reduced accidents by between 17% and 39%, while reducing fatalities by between 58% and 68%.

An RAC Foundation [4] report from 2016 found that the number of serious collisions near 551 fixed speed cameras reduced by 27% after the cameras were put into action.

Research by the College of Policing [5] in 2017 found speed cameras were an effective way to keep people within the speed limit.

They compared numerous roads that did not have cameras to roads that did.

They found on the roads with cameras that the average speed was 7% lower, the number of vehicles breaking the speed limit was 52% lower, and there were 19% fewer collisions.

References

^ artificial intelligence (AI)-controlled road cameras (uk.news.yahoo.com)
^ including in places like Manchester and Essex, have been carrying out similar trials to Devon & Cornwall (uk.news.yahoo.com)
^ study conducted by the London School of Economics (www.lse.ac.uk)
^ An RAC Foundation (www.racfoundation.org)
^ College of Policing (www.college.police.uk)