The Transport Ministry has put out for public consultation a bill that would let AI-powered cameras book drivers for holding a mobile phone or not wearing a seatbelt, without first having to catch them speeding or running a red light.
The ministry, working with the police, plans to install fixed cameras at points in towns. The cameras would analyse images themselves to spot drivers using a phone or without a seatbelt, as well as speeding. The first is to go up on Grivas Digenis Avenue in Nicosia once the bill becomes law.
Existing traffic cameras cannot pick up phone use or a missing seatbelt. At present, drivers can only be booked for these offences if they are first caught committing another. The new rules would not apply to the existing fixed or mobile cameras, which run on different software and do not support AI.
What the bill says
The bill would add two offences to the law governing the use of photographic detection devices for traffic offences, which dates from 2001. The first is illegal use of a mobile phone or other communication device while driving, under Regulation 58(14)(a) of the 1984 Motor Vehicles and Road Traffic Regulations. The second is not wearing a seatbelt, under articles 14, 15 and 15A of the 1986 Road Safety Law.
Under the bill, the device would be triggered when a vehicle breaks a light beam or signal, but only when a driver is illegally using a phone or other communication device, or is not wearing a seatbelt.
