Pioneering road signs detect drivers using mobile phones

Groundbreaking technology is being trialled in Sussex, UK, to crack down on in-vehicle mobile phone use.

Sussex Safer Roads Partnership (SSRP) is targeting the use of mobile phones in vehicles using a pioneering piece of equipment. The Vehicle Activated Sign (VAS) has been funded by SSRP, initially for use by Brighton and Hove City Council. The VAS can detect the use of mobile phones within vehicles whenever they drive past the sign.

The VAS lights up – similar to signs which detect vehicles travelling over the speed limit – to highlight that the driver is on the phone and encourage them to put it down. Despite being against the law for fourteen years now, the advancement in technology results in mobile phone use among drivers still being a significant problem. The SSRP aims to spark behavioural change in the county, which motorists can then use nationally. This technology, developed by Thermotor, is to be trialled in the Brighton and Hove district to begin with. If successful the technology will be deployed across Sussex.