Thousands of drivers face £200 fine for breaking Highway Code rule amid rollout of AI cameras

More than 3,200 drivers have been caught breaking crucial Highway Code rules in Greater Manchester after revolutionary artificial intelligence cameras were installed.

Greater Manchester has been using the new AI cameras since September and has already caught thousands of drivers using mobile phones or failing to wear seatbelts during its five-week trial.

The trial revealed shocking images of drivers holding phones to their faces and ears while behind the wheel, breaking rule 149 of the Highway Code.

The Code details how motorists “MUST NOT pick up the phone or similar device while driving to dial a number and then put it in the cradle for the duration of the conversation”. It also warns that drivers “MUST NOT pick up and use your hand-held phone or similar device while stationary in traffic”.

The Heads Up cameras were able to catch bad drivers breaking road rules using artificial intelligence to scan images of passing vehicles. During the trial period, hundreds of thousands of vehicles were scanned, catching over 3,000 offenders. Despite this, no one was prosecuted.

Under UK law, drivers can get six penalty points and a £200 fine if found to be holding and using a phone, sat nav, tablet, or any device that can “send and receive data while driving or riding a motorcycle”.

When the AI flags potential violations, the images undergo two separate human reviews to confirm if an offence has occurred. If an offence is confirmed, the evidence can be passed to the police for further action. But if the images show no violations they are immediately deleted by the software.

During the trial, the Heads Up system recorded 812 drivers using mobile phones while driving and 2,393 incidents of seat belt non-compliance.

Kate Green, Greater Manchester’s Deputy Mayor for Safer and Stronger Communities, said: “Distractions such as using mobile phones while driving and not wearing seat belts are key factors in a number of road traffic collisions on our roads which have resulted in people being killed or suffering life-changing injuries.

“The images speak for themselves. They show drivers who are needlessly putting themselves and others including young children at risk, and sadly we know that being distracted for just a second, or not wearing a seat belt properly, can have devastating consequences.”

The trial was launched after a number of serious accidents in Greater Manchester since 2022, with 64 people killed, including 25 pedestrians.

Dame Sarah Storey, Active Travel Commissioner for Greater Manchester, added: “Statistics show you are four times more likely to be involved in a collision if you use your phone while driving and twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seatbelt.

“As the region prepares to adopt Vision Zero, it is imperative that we tackle the issue of those drivers who are not taking their driving responsibility seriously and are continuing to commit offences as these images demonstrate.”

On top of hefty fines and penalty points for driving violations, new drivers who passed their test within the last two years could risk losing their licence entirely.

Offenders can also be taken to court, where they may face driving bans and fines of up to £1,000, or £2,500 for lorry and bus drivers.

Geoff Collins, General Manager at Acusensus, which operates the AI cameras, explained that the trial shows that some drivers on Greater Manchester’s roads are “engaged in dangerous driving behaviours that put themselves and other road users at risk”.

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He added: “We can now use this knowledge to intelligently address the problems, making each journey safer for everyone.”