M4: AI cameras rolled out to catch driving offences

AI cameras will be deployed by ten police forces until March 2025 as part of a national trial to make roads safer.

The technology, which can be mounted to a vehicle or trailer, has been designed to capture footage of passing vehicles, tracking objects moving up to 300km an hour, and that footage is then run through AI to detect whether someone is driving illegally.

Two photos will be taken – one of a shallow angle to see if the driver has a phone to their ear and checks their seatbelt and a second deeper angle picture which can see if someone texting.

Other offences including failing to stop for a red light, or driving without a valid MOT or insurance, can also be detected.

A first look at the new AI cameras (Image: Wiltshire Police)

The trial aims to help police forces understand how they can utilise AI technology on National Highway roads, and the cameras will eventually be attached to gantries on motorways in Wiltshire.

Once footage has been examined by a human to confirm an offence, drivers will then be issued a penalty charge notice.

Drivers using a phone at the wheel can be fined £200 and given six penalty points and failing to wear a seatbelt carries a maximum fine of £500.

Failing to stop for a red light will result in three penalty points and a £100 fine, driving without a valid MOT carries a maximum fine of £1,000 and driving without insurance may result in a £300 fine and six penalty points.

Department for Transport data reveals that 400,000 drivers per year still use a mobile phone behind the wheel and drivers are four times more likely to be involved in a crash while using their phone while driving.

Meanwhile, drivers and passengers are twice as likely to die in a crash if they fail to wear a seatbelt.

In February, AI cameras were placed on the M4 eastbound between junctions 17 at Chippenham and 16 at Swindon for a week-long trial.

Police say more than 1,200 offences were detected in just one week.