AI cameras set up to spot drivers on phone catch almost 300 in just three days in Cornwall

Artificial intelligence (AI) cameras caught almost 300 drivers breaking the law during the first three days of its use in the UK. The free-standing AI road safety camera is currently in use on the A30 near Launceston, Cornwall.

The cameras use AI to detect potential offences, although all images are reviewed by a person, said Devon and Cornwall Police. The system uses a number of cameras with high shutter speeds, an infra-red flash and a lensing and filtering system to record clear images of passing vehicles.

The images are then reviewed by the AI software with those identified as likely to contain evidence of an offence anonymised and sent for review by a person to confirm an offence has occurred. The force, which is trialling the system, said if an offence has been correctly identified, the driver would either be sent a warning letter or a notice of intended prosecution, depending on the severity of the offence.

In the first three days of the system, it registered a total of 297 drivers breaking the law - 117 mobile phone offences and 180 seat belt offences. Last year, Vision Zero South West conducted a 15-day trial of a larger, vehicle-based system from road safety tech firm Acusensus.

It detected a total of 590 seatbelt and 45 mobile phone offences across various roads in both Devon and Cornwall. Last year there were 48 road deaths and 738 serious injuries on roads in Devon and Cornwall.

Adrian Leisk, head of road safety for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "When we trialled this technology last year, we were disappointed by the number of drivers detected not wearing seatbelts.

"The early results from our latest deployment show that there is also a problem with mobile phone use behind the wheel, which is both dangerous and illegal. We are employing this new technology to send a clear message to anyone who continues to use their phone behind the wheel - you will get caught."