Police have been testing the latest technology in artificial intelligence (AI) on Hove seafront to check whether drivers are wearing seatbelts or using mobile phones at the wheel.
Traffic officers have also been trialling the tech breakthrough on the A23 at Hickstead and the Gatwick link road.
Sussex Police said: “More than 10,000 vehicles were screened in Sussex with a ‘sensor test vehicle’ which analyses if offences are being committed.
“It is fitted with a specialist camera system to filter out possible offences which are then checked and double-checked by human eyes.
“The vehicle was used in a joint operation by Sussex Police and National Highways which identified more than 200 driving offences at sites on the A23 Hickstead, the A23 Gatwick link, and at Kingsway, Hove, earlier this year.
“Not wearing a seatbelt and being distracted while driving such as by using a mobile phone remain two of the most common factors of why people are killed or seriously injured on our roads.
“This includes a 23 per cent rise last year in the number of fatalities linked to people not wearing a seatbelt, according to Department for Transport figures.
“These figures also show that there were 420 collisions on British roads in 2019 in which the driver was using a mobile phone at the wheel.
“The results of the operation, which have just been published, found that commercial road users were disproportionately represented, accounting for 32 per cent of mobile phone offences and 82 per cent of seatbelt offences.”
The Chief Constable of Sussex, Jo Shiner, who is also the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Roads Policing, said: “Too many people continue to die on our roads and many more are seriously injured every day.
“I welcome all initiatives to help raise the profile of dangerous activities taking place on our roads and would urge everyone to wear a seatbelt and not to be distracted by their mobile phone.
“I also acknowledge and thank the vast majority of law-abiding motorists who were shown to be fully compliant with the law during this operation.
“If people you care about use their phone while driving or don’t wear a seatbelt, please encourage them to change their behaviour before they get hurt or hurt someone else.”
National Highways road user compliance lead, Jamie Hassall, said: “We are getting a better picture of driver compliance on the strategic road network as we deploy this equipment on different types of roads around our network.
“We want to raise the awareness of the small percentage of drivers that put themselves and others at risk with these behaviours that we can now easily detect these offences.
“Most companies have a zero tolerance to using a handheld mobile phone and many have banned the use of hands free also due to the increased risk of having a collision and it is the same for seatbelts.
“This means drivers could be sacked, get points and a fine or even find themselves in court in more serious cases. It is time to make a positive change by putting the phone away and belting up.”
Jamie Uff, Aecom technical director, who has been managing the research and deployment of the sensor test vehicle, said: “Despite the often-reported dangers of distracted driving and failing to wear seat belts, the numbers of people killed or seriously injured as a result of these behaviours remain high.
“The technology Aecom is deploying makes detection straightforward and is providing valuable insight to the police and policy-makers on the current level of road user behaviour.”
Geoff Collins, Acusensus UK general manager, said: “The Sussex installations have proved that the combination of AI as an intelligent ‘pre-filter’, supported by independent human review, results in an extremely powerful tool to identify dangerous driving behaviours.
“Acusensus’s ‘Heads-Up’ technology is currently operated across Australia, where behaviour change is already taking place, with an associated drop in deaths and serious injuries.”
Just this last week i have had five attempts to rob my buke chained outside of my flat. On one occasion they managed to get one of the chains off. There seems to be a gang of young foreign speaking men going around in Hove. They have tried in broad daylight and on one occasion at 04.30 am. They know the Police are no longer about any time of the day.
What’s a buke???
Five attempts. One has to wonder if Robert is feeling threatened by these thieves why someone else would make light of the situation because of a type error.