‘Shocking’ AI road safety study picks up 19,000 driving offences in two weeks

Drivers are being urged to wear seatbelts and avoid using mobile phones after an artificial intelligence road safety trial recorded almost 19,000 driving offences in just two weeks.

Mayor of the West Midlands Richard Parker described the results as "frankly shocking", stating that the scheme – conducted across two locations in Birmingham and Wolverhampton – revealed far higher levels of driver risk-taking than had been anticipated.

Examples of life-threatening risks caught on camera included a driver holding a phone with both hands instead of the steering wheel, alongside a front passenger holding an unbelted child on their lap.

Dozens of further photographs documented children travelling inside vehicles without age-appropriate restraints.

The images were captured in March using AI camera technology positioned outside fire stations in Ladywood and Fallings Park.

At the Ladywood site, 11,045 potential non-use of seatbelt offences and 1,163 potential mobile phone use offences were identified, with 6,030 potential seatbelt offences and 757 potential mobile phone offences recorded at Fallings Park.

Commenting on the scale of the problem, Mr Parker said: “The number of people risking their own lives and the lives of others, including some very young children, is frankly shocking and far higher than we expected when setting up the trial.

“The law is clear on seatbelts and mobile phones.

“I’ve met families who have lost loved ones to reckless driving. They never recover from these tragedies, the grief is always there.

“People need to stop doing this, it is simply not worth the risk.

“As we review these results with our road safety partnership and look to next steps, I promise to use every resource available, including new technology like this, to make our streets safer for everyone.”

The trial was funded by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in collaboration with the police and the fire service.

Simon Foster, the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner and chair of the area’s road safety partnership board, said: “These initial findings are deeply concerning.

“Let me be absolutely clear: reducing the number of people killed and seriously injured on our roads remains our absolute top priority.

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

“We cannot tolerate reckless behaviour that puts lives at risk, and we will use every effective tool at our disposal to ensure our roads are safer.”

No follow-up enforcement is planned following the trial, which aimed to establish the potential scale of illegal phone use and lack of child restraints.

Mat MacDonald, West Midlands Road Safety Commissioner, said: “Mobile phone use at the wheel and failing to wear a seatbelt are two of the leading causes of death and serious injury on our road network, and yet you barely have to leave your front door before you see someone taking these potentially lethal risks.

“Our work with this cutting-edge technology shows we will stop at nothing to stamp out such behaviours.”

The WMCA said road safety data for 2025 showed mobile phone use was linked to 32 deaths and unbuckled seatbelts to 133 deaths on UK roads, while about 2,000 motorists a year in the West Midlands are fined and given penalty points for driving while using a mobile phone.