Warning over new AI camera fines as 300 motorists are caught out in three days
AN urgent warning has been issued of new AI cameras being used to detect driving offences after 300 motorists were caught out in just three days.
Drivers in Cornwall were slapped with penalty notices as the new tech was trialled on the A30 near Launceston this week.
The cameras are perched on a large rig attached to a van and use AI to identify offences like not wearing a seatbelt or using a phone rather than just speeding.
Such cameras have been used previously, but usually needed a human operator to manually record suspected offences.
In just 72 hours on the busy A-road, the new devices picked up a whopping 297 road law violations.
These were broken down into 117 mobile phone offences and 180 seatbelt offences.
All were spotted by the AI and then reviewed by a real person to make sure people were not wrongly fined.
Similar devices were deployed across Devon and Cornwall for a 15-day trial last September, catching 630 offenders over that period.
Devon and Cornwall Police confirmed that drivers caught out would be sent either a warning letter or a notice of intended prosecution depending on how severe their crime was.
The force’s head of road safety Adrian Leisk hailed technologies work but called the number of offences found “disappointing”.
He said: “When we trialled this technology last year, we were disappointed by the number of drivers detected not wearing seatbelts.
“The early results from our latest deployment show that there is also a problem with mobile phone use behind the wheel, which is both dangerous and illegal.
“We are employing this new technology to send a clear message to anyone who continues to use their phone behind the wheel – you will get caught.”
Being caught using your mobile phone while driving can see you fined £200 and handed 6 points, while not wearing a seatbelt could land you a £500 penalty.
It comes after drivers were given an urgent warning that an angry reaction while passing a speed camera could see them slapped with a hefty fine.
Meanwhile, one local council left residents stunned when it ordered them to spy on drivers and report neighbours flouting road rules.