Speed limits have been around in America since the early 20th Century, but the first national limit was only imposed by President Nixon in 1974. After this, fatalities across the country dropped from 4.28 per million miles driven to 2.73. The benefits of speed limits are indisputable, with traffic officers and speed cameras operating ceaselessly to ensure the safety of the roads, and AI making things even more accurate.

Are speed camera’s actually effective?

A large review of 28 different speed camera studies has shown evidence of their effectiveness in improving road safety. Sceptics insist that cameras are not able to fix the root cause of speeding, and while they may have a point, there is still proof that roads are safer when speed cameras are in place.

Speed cameras have been shown to reduce car accidents by up to 50% in their surrounding areas, as well as decrease fatalities by up to 44%. Drivers may still speed occasionally, but simply knowing about speed cameras means more caution is taken, and lives are being saved.

Opponents to speed cameras also raise concerns that their purpose is simply to make a profit, but these worries can be refuted by evidence of money going primarily into various road traffic funds and not into the pockets of government or traffic officials.

It is clear that speed cameras are a powerful tool to mitigate danger on the roads, and new AI cameras are only increasing their productivity.

New AI technology is heightening speed cameras’ abilities

State-of-the-art technology using AI machine learning is being used in traffic regulation to better enforce speed limits. With new variable speed limit (VSL) systems in place in Nashville, cameras are able to modify speed limits on various roads, taking into considerations factors like the weather, congestion, car accidents, and road works amongst others.

Roads that currently use this technology are known as smart motorways, and they are able to minimise negative effects of busy roads where cars slow down due to traffic jams ahead, and risk getting hit by faster moving vehicles behind them.

At first, the AI technology that was implemented ran its results through operators and didn’t have very successful outcomes but has since been able to operate without human assistance.

The potential of AI-based traffic regulation

AI has shown potential for various traffic regulations, such as these incredibly high-tech speed cameras and after some improvements to this VSL system, the technology was able to improve to a 98% accuracy rate, rather than failing in the first ten minutes as it did initially. Daniel Work at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where the technology was developed says:

“I think that we’re just scratching the surface of a whole new way to operate freeways. Anything that we can do to reduce the number of crashes that happen on that roadway, the number of fatalities that happen on that roadway, is worth doing.”

An official statement from the United States Department of Transportation showed that a microsimulation of the technology found almost 33% reduced traffic speed variations with minor impact on vehicle delays, but overall improved safety for the road.

Oliver Carsten at the University of Leeds, says that the reliability of the AI technology cannot be gauged fully yet, but he explains the benefits:

” If you want to maintain throughput in very congested conditions, you need to bring maximum speed down and keep smooth operation of the road, because otherwise you get shockwaves. Essentially, just a few people slamming on their brakes will cause the traffic to grind to a complete halt.”

Overall, the use of AI seems promising to limit speed variations on US roads. While more data is needed to produce reliable results, the technology aims to improve safety and ultimately save lives and certainly is not as harsh as other regulations like this intense one from Florida.