AECOM is committed to using innovative and intelligent technologies in order to make roads safer for all users, making us an ideal partner to assist National Highways meet their goal of eliminating deaths and serious injuries on their roads by 2040.
In a first for the UK, we collaborated to develop and operate a unique sensor test vehicle to allow for the monitoring and reporting of dangerous driving practices.
The AECOM managed vehicle is commissioned by police forces around the country to use its unique combination of AI hardware and software, as well as a team of our analysts, to identify any drivers using mobile phones or not wearing seatbelts. Images are taken and algorithmically analysed in real time with any potential violations being sent to a team of AECOM analysts to review and check.
We wanted to find out whether driving through a substantial section of roadworks with barriers, a reduced speed limit and other traffic management would see drivers and passengers modifying their behaviour. The findings are disappointing to say the least with drivers spotted using a mobile phone almost every five minutes and lots of drivers and passengers simply not bothering to belt up. Hopefully these results will be a wake-up call to motorway users.
National Highways manager for the data collection project
In addition to directly deterring illegal and dangerous driving, the contextual data captured, such as traffic conditions and demographics, can be used to inform policies and develop targeted interventions, such as education to highlight the dangers of hands-free devices.
Our collaborative work on the project with Acusensus, National Highways and Warwickshire Police was recognised when we won the ITS UK Enforcement Scheme of the Year award.