More than 3,200 people have been caught using mobile phones while driving or not wearing seat belts as part of a trial of state-of-the-art cameras in Greater Manchester.
Images captured by the ‘Heads Up’ camera system, developed by Acusensus, show drivers holding mobile phones in front of their face, to their ear while behind the wheel, sometimes with passengers – including children – next to them.
In several cases the cameras also found drivers, adult and child passengers not being securely fastened in their seats or not wearing seat belts at all.
The findings, released during Brake Road Safety Week and in support of Greater Manchester’s Vision Zero Strategy and Action Plan to eliminate road deaths and life-changing injury by 2040, will be used to inform campaigns to raise awareness of the consequences of not complying with the law.
The ‘Heads Up’ cameras capture images of passing vehicles which are initially processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect drivers who are potentially breaking the law and putting themselves, their passengers and other road users at risk.
The use of AI as the first filter ensures privacy for the vast majority of law-abiding motorists, while also checking hundreds of thousands of vehicles over an intermittent period between 3rd September and 24th October, something which would likely take a human reviewer several months to complete.
Images which contain evidence of an offence go through a two-stage human check to confirm that an offence has taken place. Any offences detected as part of the trial can be passed to the police for them to consider further action. However, if no offence has been committed, the image is immediately deleted by the software and no further action will be taken.
The trial, carried out by AECOM and Acusensus on behalf of Safer Roads Greater Manchester, was held across the city-region throughout September and October to gather data to understand the scale of the issue to inform future education campaigns and enforcement. As it stands, no offenders have yet been prosecuted from this trial.
During the deployment the Heads Up system recorded 812 drivers distracted by using mobile phones behind the wheel, and 2,393 incidents of seat belt non-compliance by drivers or passengers.
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.
