The UK manager of road safety technology company Acusensus, Geoff Collins is admitting the number of drivers the AI-based camera system is detecting travelling without wearing a seatbelt is higher than he’d ever imagined possible.
Acusensus invented its “Heads Up” technology which uses specially equipped cameras to see through the windscreen and into the vehicle, identifying cases where people are not wearing a seatbelt or using a mobile phone as they drive past. Figures released by Safer Roads Greater Manchester show that, in just one location, nearly 2,400 were detected not wearing a seatbelt in just 51 days.
“When I first started delivering this solution to monitor our roads, I really thought that mobile phone use while driving would be the thing we picked up,” the enforcement expert said. “However again and again we’re seeing drivers needlessly putting themselves at risk by not wearing a seatbelt, when it is literally a life saver.
“As I’ve said before, some people seem to think that that those who break seatbelt rules and are seriously injured or killed in a subsequent crash aren’t doing any harm, other than to themselves. However, think of the emotional cost for all those having to deal with fatal and serious road injuries – from families, friends and colleagues to other road users involved and the emergency services who have had to deal with the aftermath. I’m baffled why people would put themselves at risk, but they do, and we need to use every tool we have to save them from themselves?”
When a possible case of seatbelt misuse or distracted driving is identified by the “Heads Up” software, anonymised images are sent to a secure cloud for later human review, which validates if a potential offence has occurred. A further, secondary check will validate this and then allows for the creation of an offence file, which can be used by the police for prosecution. Acusensus has worked with almost half of all UK police forces and many more are showing a keen interest in the technology.
(Picture – Acusensus)
