Kyle Kellams: Earlier this month, the Arkansas Department of Transportation announced they’re rolling out some new technology to make construction zones safer for both drivers and workers. Matthew, you’ve done some reporting on this. Get us up to speed on what’s new.
Matthew Moore: That’s right. ArDOT is using cameras on interstate highways that can detect when a driver is holding a cell phone in their hand and inside of a work zone.
So I talked to Dave Parker about this. He’s the head of communications with ArDOT. He says this initiative actually dates back a few years. The first iteration of this was three cameras that can register how fast a driver is going. Now, two of those cameras have been upgraded with AI technology.
Parker says they can lay out a specific prompt for the cameras to watch for.
Dave Parker: We say look for a motorist in a work zone with a cell phone in their hand, and as a person is driving through that construction zone, if it detects that based on our command or instruction, it records an image of the person and as well as the vehicle they’re driving in.
Kellams: So an AI prompt. That’s fascinating. Walk me through this process. Let’s say a camera does detect a person with a phone in their hand. What happens next?
Moore: So once that photo is taken, it’s sent along to an Arkansas Highway Police officer. They take a look at that photo and decide whether to pull over the motorist outside of the work zone. And it’s important to note that an officer must be present for a warning or ticket to be issued.
Kellams: Will they be incredibly strict with this?
Moore: Yeah. So Parker says there will be plenty of warning coming up to this. Lots of signs warning drivers that this construction zone will feature cameras. And he also stresses the importance of human interaction here, too.
Parker: AI technology is not perfect. And when, you know, there may be a situation where a conversation with that officer needs to be had, there may be an explanation. Maybe it’s a warning versus a violation, a citation. So, you know, we still believe in that human interaction to help us determine what’s the best course of action to take.
Kellams: Here’s a thought. What happens to the photos?
Moore: Right. That’s a good question. Parker says there’s a few things that happen. If a picture is taken and someone is pulled over and given a warning or a ticket, that image is kept for court records. But if it’s a false positive, like, say, the camera takes a picture, but it’s not of someone with a phone in their hand, those aren’t kept.
Parker: All others are deleted that day by the system, unless specifically retained by the officer for court purposes.
Kellams: OK. I can imagine someone’s listening to us and they say, this just sounds like a way to get more tickets to boost the state police, bottom line. Any conversation about that?
Moore: Right. So maybe like a cousin to the speed trap sort of situation here. Well, something that I didn’t realize until this interview is that when you’re pulled over by a state cop and given a ticket and have to pay a fine, it’s not the state police who get that money.
Parker: No money from this. The violation, where it occurs, that county retains, gets the portion of the speeding ticket or the violation ticket. We don’t retain any of this. So we’re not out there trying to increase funding through this program.
Kellams: What do they think, months down the line, success for this program looks like?
Moore: Yeah. I asked a version of that question to Parker. What data they’re collecting to make that call, what success looks like. He says there’s a few indicators, but the major one is the obvious one: crashes in work zones.
Parker: You know, in 2021 was the unfortunate peak of construction work zone crashes in Arkansas, like many states are battling this. We had, you know, 2,100 to 2,200 construction work zone crashes in Arkansas. And we started other programs at the time, the Slow Down Phone Down campaign that’s now going into its fifth year. Anything we could to get awareness to people to be mindful in these construction zones of speeding, distractions, all sorts of things. And so those numbers have been going down since we started our campaign in 2022. But they’re still very high. They’re still in the 1,500 to 1,600 crashes per year category. And we’re trying to, if we see a significant drop, can we attribute everything to this particular effort, the cell phone, maybe a portion of it. But, you know, we’ll look at the numbers and see and then adjust accordingly.
Moore: Kyle, it sounds obvious to say, but it bears saying out loud. If you’re hurtling down the highway in a giant heap of metal, traveling 50 to 60 miles an hour, just keep the phone down.
Parker: This is not just for our workers, but for your safety as well. Just resist from using that phone or touching that phone or putting it in your hand. We’re talking about a minute or two in a construction zone when you’re driving through the interstate and you might be in it a couple of minutes at the most. Just put the phone down.
Kellams: That was Dave Parker with ArDOT. Matthew, thank you.
Moore: Thanks, Kyle.
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