Distraction Detection |
Danger at the wheel
Technology isn’t always beneficial – when smartphones cause motorists
to take their eyes of the road it can have fatal consequences. Jack Roper
looks at how mobile enforcement is used to detect distracted drivers –
and uncovers brand new systems that use smart sensors, cameras and
machine learning to spot in-car phone users automatically
Illustration Sean Rodwell
Muscling their way along
Britain’s highways as
they gather evidence of
dangerous driving,
Highways England (HE)’s three
plainclothes ‘Supercabs’ are the
heavyweights of UK mobile
enforcement. Deployed in
rotation by 29 police forces
nationwide as part of
Operation Tramline, the
unmarked truck cabs have
filmed over 3,500 moving
traffic offences in the last
year. These include 1,195
seatbelt infringements and
1,062 instances of illegal mobile
phone use, which presents a growing
menace across the developed world.
In the US, National Highway
Transport Safety Agency (NHTSA)
figures identify driver distraction as
a factor in 9% of all accidents, causing
3,166 road deaths nationally in 2017.
Authorities are
cracking down drivers
acting illegally behind
the wheel
The UK has recently introduced
stiffer penalties for the offence and
Highways England’s celebrity tractor
units have succeeded in raising
awareness, capturing positive
headlines along with prosecutable
footage. But as enforcement agencies
worldwide wait on a definitive
technological solution for monitoring
in-car behavior (more on an exciting
one currently being piloted later) the
Supercabs represent an exercise in
pragmatic, hands-on policing.
“There are two officers in the cab
and one has a video camera, so they
They really do change driver
behavior. People have been very
supportive, which generates enthusiasm
within the police force
John Walford, commercial vehicle incident prevention team
leader, Highways England
Traffic Technology International July/August 2019
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