The Record revealed earlier this year how the national transport agency was spending £350,000 on a scheme testing technology which snares drivers using smartphones or failing to wear seatbelts.
Drivers have hit out after AI ‘spy’ cameras appeared on busy routes in Scotland’s capital as it emerged images from the cameras could be passed to police.
The Record revealed earlier this year how the national transport agency was spending £350,000 on a scheme testing technology which snares “distracted drivers” using smartphones or failing to wear seatbelts behind the wheel.
Previous roll outs elsewhere in the UK have seen thousands of motorists caught out in a matter of days and privacy campaign group Big Brother Watch has branded the Scots pilot “creepy and intrusive”.
But transport chiefs said the trial was part of a plan to make the country’s roads safer.
At the time of its launch in March, Transport Scotland said it could not confirm whether data would be passed to Police Scotland.
But after the cameras appeared on Calder Road and Silverknowes Parkway in Edinburgh in recent days, it confirmed the force could be alerted to serious offences picked up by the technology.
Reacting to the new Edinburgh cameras, one member of the public wrote on Facebook: “1984 is coming true….”
Another said: “Another control system for the working man keep us in check and monitored.”
A third added: “Given the state of AI in its current condition, I wonder how many instances it will alert to where the person(s) isn’t actually doing anything wrong. Who fixes that?”
But others were supportive of the scheme. One said: “Wear your seatbelt. Stay off your mobile phone. No problems!”
Another said: “Good, the amount of people still using phones and obviously looking down to use them when driving is unreal, cars have tech now to still use a phone but without actually touching it.”
Drivers can be fined up to £500 for not wearing a seatbelt, in addition to penalty points, and up to £1,000 and six penalty points for using a mobile phone.
Transport chiefs said the Scots pilot, being carried out by Edinburgh-based firm AECOM, was focused on helping “determine the scale and extent of specific driver behaviours”.
Labour MP Dr Scott Arthur has assured the public, saying the camera systems will use AI software to identify potential offences before human verification.
He said: “Images will be anonymised. However, if there are any serious issues detected these may be shared with Police Scotland.”
The cameras were earmarked for 12 Scottish locations at the start of the pilot and have so far appeared at nine across the country.
The six-month pilot is expected to draw to a close in the coming weeks.
Jake Hurfurt, Head of Research and Investigations at Big Brother Watch said: “Drivers should not be monitored and potentially criminalised by AI-powered video analysis. This kind of surveillance is creepy and intrusive, and treats every driver it captures as a potential suspect.
“We should all be able to go about our lives without being analysed by faceless and unaccountable AI. The Information Commissioner has expressed concern about how the adoption of immature biometric surveillance tools could lead to discrimination. Public bodies need to be careful to ensure they are not using privacy-threatening algorithms in place of human decision making.”
IAM RoadSmart Director of Policy and Standards Nicholas Lyes previously said the pilot was a “positive step” for road safety in Scotland.
The Department for Transport ran a trial of the kit across the UK in 2023, which featured some sites in Scotland, but the pilot is the first of its kind.
Transport Scotland confirmed information may be passed to Police Scotland for further investigation in the most serious cases but said the main purpose of the survey is to collect data to “inform enforcement strategies in the future”.
Scottish sites where AI cameras have been set up under the pilot
- Calder Road, Edinburgh
- Silverknowes Road, Edinburgh
- A96 Colpy
- Skene Road, Aberdeen City
- A84 Blair Drummond
- M80 J7
- M8 J25-27
- Kingsway, Dundee
- A1 Haddington
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