Trials of cameras that spot motorists using mobile phones or not wearing a seatbelt are being rolled out further ahead of possible national deployment.

The new mobile cameras can detect unsafe driving behaviour

Ten police forces have signed up to use the new kit, which is mounted to a vehicle or trailer and has multiple cameras, giving differing views of the driver and their passengers.

But there are also plans for the technology to be fixed to gantries for the first time giving an unobscured view of all lanes.

The technology could play a major role in improving road safety. Research shows that you are four times more likely to be in a crash if you use your phone while driving and twice as likely to die in a crash if you don’t wear a seatbelt.

The National Highways trial first launched in 2021 when motorists spotted driving without seatbelts or on the phone by police using the technology were sent warning letters informing them of the dangers of their behaviour.

The research is now being extended to work with more police forces to help learn more about how the technology could work on National Highways roads and inform a possible future rollout nationwide.

Police forces taking part in the trial include Durham, Greater Manchester Police, Humberside, Staffordshire, West Mercia, Northamptonshire, Wiltshire, Norfolk, Thames Valley Police and Sussex.

The trials, run in partnership with infrastructure consulting firm AECOM, will run until March 2025.

The new type of technology captures footage of passing motorists. The images are processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse whether the motorists could be using a handheld mobile phone or drivers may be without a seat belt.

The images are then passed to police for consideration on any action to be taken. Drivers can be fined up to £500 for not wearing a seatbelt in addition to penalty points. While using a mobile phone while driving can result in a fine of up to £1,000 and six penalty points.

England’s motorways are already among the safest roads globally and National Highways has an ambitious strategy to further improve safety over the coming years.

Matt Staton, National Highways’ head of national road user safety delivery, said: “We know that distracted driving and not wearing seatbelts were key factors in a high number of incidents that resulted in people being killed or seriously injured.

“Working with our police partners we want to reduce such dangerous driving and reduce the risks posed to both the drivers and other people. We believe that using technology like this will make people seriously consider their driving behaviour.

“We will continue to invest in technology that could help make sure everyone using our roads gets home safe and well.”

Dr Jamie Uff, technical director at AECOM, added: “Our work to date has highlighted the scale of the issue, has shown that technology can play a valuable role, and that there is much still to be understood about driver behaviour given the new insights gained.

“Expanding the deployments and integrating data processing with police systems is an important step towards this technology making a significant contribution to road safety.”

Although the research is funded by National Highways, enforcement of motoring offences will remain a matter for individual police forces.

Dangers of hands-free phone use while driving reinforced in new research

While the safety cameras in the National Highways trial focus on handheld phone use, a new project is also reinforcing the dangers of hands-free phone use while driving. An Open University (OU) educational project uses an interactive video to show just how distracted drivers are when they use their phone behind the wheel.

The project is being used to highlight to police that hands-free phone use while driving is no safe alternative to hand-held use. Research among police officers showed that the video changed attitudes to the safety of legal hands-free mobile phone use by drivers dramatically. After taking part, 88% reported that, in future encounters with phone-using drivers, they would explain the dangers of all phone use, not just hand-held use. More details are here.