Lincolnshire PCC considers AI cameras to improve road safety

AI cameras are just one of the methods to be considered for use in Lincolnshire

Traffic cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) could be introduced in Lincolnshire as a way of reducing fatal crashes.

The county's police and crime commissioner (PCC) Marc Jones will discuss this and other safety measures at a road safety summit next week.

The camera systems are being trialled in Devon and Cornwall to catch drivers using phones or not wearing seatbelts.

Mr Jones said he hoped to identify ideas that can be implemented locally.

He believes the East of England and East Midlands Road Safety Summit will offer the chance to share best practice.

Speakers include roads and local transport minister Richard Holden, road safety experts and PCCs from across the East of England and East Midlands.

Mr Jones said: "In Lincolnshire over the last few years we have made encouraging steps forward in our bid to keep our roads safe - however the number of tragic incidents on our roads has remained too high and we must do more."

The AI cameras have already been used in a week-long trial at sites across East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire - resulting in 239 people being fined for using their mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt.

As well as the AI cameras, the summit will look at a scheme in Northamptonshire which allows local residents to apply for grants of up £5,000 to improve road safety in their communities.

The conference will also hear about "Vision Zero" - a strategy that sees no road death as "inevitable" - which was first implemented in Sweden in the 1990s and has reduced road deaths there from 541 in 1997 to 192 in 2021.Mr Jones said: "We should never accept needless and pointless deaths on our roads and I will continue to seek the most effective ways to keep our road users safe and this event represents an excellent opportunity to learn from others."