How AI tech could bust Aussie drunk drivers

Drivers under the influence could soon be getting busted by an artificial intelligence screening tool. Here’s how it would work.

The team behind the groundbreaking technology that detects illegal mobile phone use and seatbelt use now has drunk and drug-affected drivers in its sights.

Australian technology company Acusensus is set to expand its groundbreaking artificial intelligence technology to get drivers under the influence off the roads.

The firm has already developed cameras which can detect drivers using mobiles, speeding and not wearing seatbelts, which are being used in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT.

Road safety technology company Acusensus has developed a simulator as it expands its groundbreaking AI technology.

Facilitated by the Federal Office of Road Safety and Griffith University, Acusensus has developed a simulator that tests both impaired and sober drivers through a range of scenarios.The new roadside AI screening tool - which is in the research and development phase - would measure the attentiveness, reaction time, control and impairment level of drivers in real time and identify if a driver was posing a risk.

Acusensus founder and managing director Alexander Jannink said the external AI system, which would be set up in fixed cameras or trailers on the side of roads, could end up saving countless lives.

Under the system, if a driver was detected by the roadside camera as showing signs of being affected by drugs or alcohol, police would receive a notification ping.

Using that information, police could then direct the driver into a random breath test operation or perform a traffic stop and test the person for alcohol or drugs.

The AI screening tool would be able to detect “classic hallmarks” of drink-driving such as speed control or if drivers were swerving or moving out of their lanes, Mr Jannink said.

Acusensus is set to expand its AI tech to remove more drunk and fatigued drivers from our roads.

Acusensus founder Alexander Jannink. Picture: Supplied.

“In the coming years, I’m looking forward to being able to deploy this both in Australia and internationally and make a real impact on the hundreds of thousands of people killed every year by drug and alcohol affected drivers,” Mr Jannink said.

“We know alcohol and drugs plays a significant part in road fatalities. By eliminating this problem with the help of AI technology, we could potentially save hundreds of lives each year in Australia alone.”

A passionate advocate for road safety, Mr Jannink said the tool would be beneficial as testing drivers for drugs was “expensive and time consuming” for police.

Mr Jannink, who was recently named one of Australia’s top 100 young entrepreneurs by Business News Australia, is on a mission to reduce road trauma worldwide.

He was personally touched by road trauma in 2013 when a close friend was killed when he was run over from behind while riding his bicycle in Los Angeles.

The drug-affected driver was using his mobile phone at the time, Mr Jannink said.

“I’ve been working in road safety since 2006,” Mr Jannink said. “It was already close to my heart, but that really made it quite personal for me.”

Acusensus has gone global with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, London and Las Vegas.