‘AI cameras could tackle widespread culture of dangerous driving behaviours’

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An artificial intelligence trial which uncovered nearly 19,000 potential driving offences in two weeks has highlighted a “huge problem” with driving behaviours in the West Midlands, said the region’s first road safety commissioner.

AI-powered cameras installed outside Ladywood fire station in Birmingham and Fallings Park in Wolverhampton, captured drivers holding mobile phones at the wheel and failing to wear seatbelts. One image appeared to capture someone drinking from a wine bottle at the wheel.

Mat MacDonald said another image which showed a child “sitting unrestrained on a front passenger’s lap,” was “particularly shocking”.

He said the findings pointed to a “widespread culture” of dangerous driving behaviours.

“What this trial has shown to me more than anything else, is we have a huge problem with these potentially lethal behaviours behind the wheel,” he said.

WMCA

The AI cameras have been “trained to recognise certain patterns”, such as drivers who appear to be using mobile phones

Speaking about images that were captured during the two-week trial, which took place in March, MacDonald said he was not surprised by the number of drivers that were captured using mobile phones.

“I was equally disturbed, but not entirely surprised by numbers around mobile phones, specifically,” he said.

“I travel by foot a lot and it is is almost impossible to get as far as the end of <a href="https://myappsplus.com/how-to-clear-the-cache-on-your-xbox-series-x/” title=”How to clear the cache on your Xbox Series X”>your street without seeing someone who is dialling and driving.”

He said the cameras had also captured other concerning examples, including people appearing to inhale from balloons while driving.

“There was one particularly galling photo of someone drinking from a bottle of wine.”

Press Association

Simon Foster, West Midlands police and crime commissioner previously said the findings of the trial were “deeply concerning”.

“We are closely evaluating these trial results to consider how this advanced AI technology can be deployed for future police enforcement,” he said.

Road safety data from 2025 showed mobile phone use was linked to 32 deaths on UK roads while unfastened seatbelts were linked to 133 deaths, the WMCA said.

MacDonald, former chairman of campaign group Better Streets for Birmingham and an NHS doctor, said he was hopeful of the potential to roll the AI cameras out more widely in the future.

“I am working very hard to see what we can do to make this technology a reality on the roads in the West Midlands,” he told the BBC.

“Hopefully this is the first step towards something that will enable us to start getting a grip of these types of behaviours, which… can end lives and ruin people’s futures.”

WMCA

MacDonald said the trial was actually stopped earlier than planned because of how many possible road offences were being detected.

The technology identified 11,045 potential seatbelt offences and 1,163 potential mobile phone offences at Ladywood, and 6,030 potential seatbelt offences and 757 potential mobile phone offences at Fallings Park.

No enforcement was planned as a result of the trial, which was funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) working with the police and fire service.

He said he was keen to ensure the technology became more than just an “interesting experiment” and believed it had the potential to help change driver behaviour if rolled out more widely.

“We’re currently in talks about what that looks like in terms of what resourcing we need to create to make this technology viable on our roads,” he explained.

The road safety commissioner added: “Ultimately, we don’t want to fine anyone. Ultimately, we want the number of fines and activations on these cameras to be zero because then we know we’ve done our job.”

WMCA

Dr Christophe Bastien, associate professor of Transport Safety at Coventry University said the technology offered an objective way of understanding how motorists behaved on the roads.

“The fact that 19,000 offences were identified during a relatively limited deployment suggests that actually, risky behaviour such as mobile phone use and seatbelt non-compliance, remain more common than many people think,” he said.

He said the technology could help to improve road safety and target action in the future.

“These cameras provide an objective way to measure behaviour,” he said.

“I think they are a way to target intervention where they most need it.”

Dr Bastien, who has more than 25 years of experience in transport safety, added AI systems were not always perfect but could be used to support existing enforcement methods, rather than replacing them.

“I think in some respects, you still need the police to make the call,” he said.

“The idea is not to punish people. It is the way people drive.”

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