- Police forces around the world are using AI technology to identify distracted drivers.
- Special roadside cameras can tell if a driver is using a phone or not wearing a seatbelt.
- South Lake Minnetonka PD in Minnesota detected 10,000 violations in February alone.
Police forces have been using cameras to spot law-breaking drivers for over 30 years, but these days the cameras can identify more than just your speed or whether you ran a light. Cops around the globe are now turning to AI to help them detect distracted drivers, and they’re catching hundreds every single day.
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The South Lake Minnetonka Police Department in Minnesota has added its name to the list of forces from as far afield as the UK and Australia that’s now armed with AI camera systems. The program only went live at the beginning of this year, but it’s already become clear that distracted driving is far more prevalent than anyone could have predicted. The safety drive is now being pushed hard through April in an even tougher crackdown that combines both roadside and mobile cameras.
Related: Smart Traffic Signs Spot Phone Usage, Tell You To Put It Down
SLMPD’s Acusensus Heads-Up Camera Enforcement System detected 10,000 violations on Hwy. 7 in February, though only 300 of those cases resulted in a warning or citation, the Star Tribune reported.
The equipment consists of four infrared cameras mounted on a portable trailer which work in the dark as well as daylight. The rigs are not exactly discrete, so attentive drivers might easily spot them – but of course they won’t if they’re on their phone.
Unlike traditional speed cameras, these AI eyes don’t automatically mail out citations; instead, they send the evidence to cops positioned further down the road. Drivers face a $100 fine for a first offense, though that could increase to $300 for repeat offenders. If no stop takes place, the images from the camera are automatically deleted within a few minutes.
So far only two fixed camera rigs have been deployed in the area, but soon it’ll be even harder to get away with distracted driving. Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety last week confirmed law enforcement was getting multiple undercover police vehicles equipped with cameras on both sides designed to capture distracted drivers.
Distracted driving is one of the biggest causes of accidents and has become far more common in the last 20 years with the increase in use of mobile phones, touchscreen infotainment tech and driver-assist technologies. Like drivers in many other parts of the world, those in Minnesota are allowed to touch their phones briefly to answer a call, but are forbidden from holding the phone, texting, gaming and watching videos.
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Lead image: South Lake Minnetonka Police Department
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