AI cameras spot thousands of drivers without seatbelts or on phones

Artificial intelligence cameras set up for two weeks outside a Birmingham fire station picked up more than 12,000 possible seatbelt and mobile phone offences, figures released this week show.

The trial ran in March outside Ladywood fire station in Birmingham and Fallings Park fire station in Wolverhampton. Together the cameras captured almost 19,000 images of possible offences.

The figures

Initial scans of the images found:

• in Ladywood, 11,144 possible cases of a seatbelt not being worn and 1,163 of a driver using a mobile phone
• in Fallings Park, 6,081 possible seatbelt offences and 757 possible phone offences

Because it was a trial, no one was prosecuted. The aim was to find out how big the problem might be.

A child on a lap

Among the images released, one showed a front-seat passenger with a small child on their lap and no seatbelt. That child would have been left completely unprotected in a collision, and it was one of dozens of examples of children travelling without the right car seat or restraint.

Another showed a driver holding a phone with both hands, eyes on the screen rather than the road. A third showed a motorist with a phone to their ear and only one hand on the wheel.

"Frankly shocking"

The trial was funded by the combined authority and run with the police and fire services. The mayor, Richard Parker, said the number of people risking their own lives and others' was "frankly shocking and far higher than we expected".

"The law is clear on seatbelts and mobile phones. I've met families who have lost loved ones to reckless driving. They never recover from these tragedies; the grief is always there," he said. "People need to stop doing this, it is simply not worth the risk."

Simon Foster, the police and crime commissioner, who chairs the road safety partnership board, called the findings "deeply concerning" and said the partnership was considering how the technology could be used for enforcement in future.

Mat MacDonald, the regional road safety commissioner, said phone use at the wheel and not wearing a seatbelt were "two of the leading causes of death and serious injury on our road network".

"Yet you barely have to leave your front door before you see someone taking these potentially lethal risks," he said.

What the law says

Holding and using a phone while driving, even when stopped at traffic lights or in a queue, can bring six penalty points and a £200 fine. Drivers who passed their test in the past two years can lose their licence. Not wearing a seatbelt can lead to a fine of up to £500, and drivers are responsible for making sure children under 14 are properly restrained.

Similar cameras have been used by other police forces to bring prosecutions, and the results here will now be reviewed by the road safety partnership to decide the next steps.