Lincolnshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner says he’s thinking about using Acusensus’s Heads-Up cameras to spot distracted drivers and those not wearing a seatbelt on his county’s road.

The BBC reports Marc Jones will discuss the idea at the East of England and East Midlands Road Safety Summit this week.

The Acusensus Artificial Intelligence technology detects drivers using their phones, using two cameras which capture suspected offences. One of them is set at a shallow angle to identify mobile phone use to the ear, and to see whether the seatbelt is going across the body or hanging down behind the driver.

The second camera has a steep view, providing visibility of mobile phone use low down, to detect behaviour such as texting near the steering wheel or door. This second camera also gives further evidence of seatbelt use by being able to check the presence of the lap portion of the belt, and confirm that the seatbelt is clipped into the buckle.

It is currently being trialled in Cornwall and detected nearly 300 potential offences on the A30 in just three days.

Mr Jones told the BBC: “In Lincolnshire over the last few years we have made encouraging steps forward in our bid to keep our roads safe – however the number of tragic incidents on our roads has remained too high and we must do more.”

The AI cameras have already been used in a week-long trial at sites across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The technology was explained in a Highways Voices podcast in March.

(File picture – Devon and Cornwall Police)