AI Traffic Cameras Are About To Start Watching Your Hands And Calling The Cops On You
Arkansas DOT says new camera tech will flag handheld phone use in construction zones
https://www.carscoops.com/author/stephen-rivers/
by Stephen Rivers
Arkansas work zone cameras start spotting phones in mid-January.
Alerts will go to on-site officers, not automated ticket systems.
Signs will warn drivers before entering affected traffic zones.
Surveillance tech isn’t slowing down anytime soon. Just about every week, it seems another AI-powered camera system shows up in public view, and later this month, Arkansas drivers can expect a familiar set of smart traffic cameras to quietly pick up a new skill.
More: LA’s New Automated Camera System Doesn’t Wait For A Judge To Act
They’ll begin monitoring what drivers are doing with their hands. If the system detects a motorist holding a hand-held device, or in other words, a cell phone, it’ll send a real officer after them.
Next-Level Monitoring
According to the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT), work zone traffic cameras already used to enforce speeding violations will begin detecting handheld device use starting in mid-January. If the system spots a driver holding a phone or similar device, it sends an alert to an Arkansas Highway Police officer stationed downstream, who can then pull the vehicle over once it exits the work zone.
Importantly, ARDOT says this is not an automated ticket-by-mail setup. An officer must be present for any warning or citation to be issued, and drivers won’t receive a fine based solely on camera footage. The traffic cameras are meant to assist enforcement, not replace it.
Global Tech, Local Rules
The traffic cameras are made by Acusensus, an Australia-based company whose AI traffic systems are already in use across the UK, Greece, Australia, and several other countries around the globe.
Read: A Single AI Traffic Camera Issued Over 1,000 Fines In Just Four Days
Earlier this month, we reported that a single Acusensus camera in a pilot program in Athens flagged nearly 2,500 violations and triggered 1,000 automated fines in only four days. But according to our sources in Greece, there are ongoing concerns about the system’s legality, particularly around how the footage is used.
Who Makes the Final Decision?
Back in the US, Dave Parker of ARDOT explained to Carscoops how the system works: “Acusensus uses AI to identify which images are likely to contain offences, such as drivers holding phones or passengers not wearing seatbelts, to determine whether those images should be checked by reviewers.”
Once a potential violation is flagged, a certified law enforcement officer steps in. “Each photo is verified by a certified law enforcement officer before the decision is made to pull the violator over,” Parker said.
Using a handheld device in an Arkansas work zone is already illegal, but officials say the law has been difficult to enforce consistently. Arkansas Highway Police Chief Jeff Holmes described the technology as a practical solution to that problem, noting that hands-free rules in work zones have long been challenging to police without clear visual confirmation.
Warning Signs and Blurred Lines
It’s worth pointing out that ARDOT is installing signs to warn drivers of the camera tech before they go into affected work zones. Unsurprisingly, all of this leads us to privacy concerns that have come up more and more in recent months and years. Arkansas authorities also don’t track false positives, either, so there’s no telling how often officers have to check images that are erroneous.
ARDOT says the state’s laws limit how the data can be used. Any information captured by the traffic cameras must be deleted, unless it’s needed to issue a warning or citation. In other words, the footage isn’t being archived or repurposed beyond enforcement, according to the authorities.
Parker told us that “Images are only retained for court. All other deleted [sic] that day by the system unless specifically retained by the officer for court.” Arkansas isn’t mailing tickets from machines, but it is giving officers a new digital set of eyes.
Screenshot Acusensus / YouTube
