Manchester City Council will begin trialling cameras that automatically detect distracted drivers, the new ‘Heads Up’ technology from Acusensus able to capture footage of passing vehicles before the images are processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect potential offending drivers.
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.
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.
Greater Manchester has stated that the trial will be used by Safer Roads Greater Manchester as a traffic survey so they can understand how many drivers still choose to break the law.
The Acusensus camera system has been used by police forces and local highways authorities across the UK since it was first trialled by National Highways in 2021.
The data collected during the trail will be used to refine future road safety campaigns aiming to improve compliance of mobile phone and seat belt use by drivers, Manchester City Council reports.
TfGM’s network director for highways, Peter Boulton, said: “In Greater Manchester we know that distractions 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 seriously injured.
“By utilising 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 also helping to reduce these dangerous driving practices and make our roads safer for everyone.”
Achievements and innovations in road safety will be celebrated at the third annual CiTTi Awards, which will be held on 26 November 2024 at De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in London. Nominations are open now! Please visit www.cittiawards.co.ukto learn more about this unmissable event for the UK’s transportation sector
