News

Cameras that automatically detect ‘distracted’ drivers to be trialled in Greater Manchester

This could save so many lives.

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant - 29th August 2024

Greater Manchester is to begin trialling state-of-the-art cameras which can automatically detect drivers who are distracted.

The new ‘Heads Up’ technology captures footage of passing vehicles before the images are processed using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect potential offending drivers – including those using mobile phones behind the wheel, or not wearing a seat belt

According to Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), footage that is deemed to contain evidence of an offence is then sent for a secondary human check to confirm, but only then if an image shows that no offence has been committed, will it be deleted immediately by the software and no further action will be taken.

The camera system by Acusensus was first trialled by National Highways back in 2021, and has been used by police forces and local highways authorities across the UK ever since.

Greater Manchester will trial cameras that automatically detect ‘distracted’ drivers / Credit: Peter Trimming (via Geograph) | TfGM

The campaign to introduce the new cameras was supported by Calvin Buckley, whose partner Frankie Hough and their unborn daughter Neeve died in May 2023 after a speeding driver – who was filming himself reaching speeds of 123mph on the M66 in Bury – crashed into her car which had stopped on the hard shoulder.

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Between 2014 and 2023, there were 138 people killed or seriously injured following road traffic collisions in Greater Manchester where driver distraction was a contributing factor, TfGM has confirmed.

Of those deaths, 23 people lost their lives in a road traffic collision where the driver was using a mobile phone, and in 2020, one in four people killed in Greater Manchester wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

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Driving while distracted is listed among the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s ‘fatal four’ causes of road traffic collisions.

Man admits to killing pregnant mum-of-two in M66 horror crash near Bury

Speaking ahead of the roll-out of the new cameras across the region next week, Peter Boulton, who TfGM’s Network Director for Highways, said: “In Greater Manchester, we know that distractions and not wearing seat belts are key factors in a number of road traffic collisions on our roads which have resulted in people being killed or seriously injured.

“By utilising this state-of-the-art technology provided by Acusensus, we hope to gain a better understanding of how many drivers break the law in this way, whilst also helping to reduce these dangerous driving practices and make our roads safer for everyone.”

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Heads Up will be deployed at several locations across Greater Manchester from Tuesday 3 September on a trial basis.

Featured Image – TfGM

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Manchester’s iconic inflatable monsters are set to invade the city centre again this Halloween

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Dozens of huge inflatable monsters are set to invade Manchester next month, as Halloween returns to the city for 2024.

Yes, it’s that time of year yet again… the monsters are back.

After several years of looming over Manchester‘s most-notable rooftops and lurking around famous city centre sites, it’s been revealed that the iconic MCR Monsters will be returning for another year of spooky celebrations next month, along with loads of other terrifying tricks and treats – with something for the whole family to get involved with.

Organisers CityCo and Manchester BID are gearing up to “roll out the blood-red carpet” for its legendary and monstrous guests in a couple of weeks time.

This year’s annual Halloween in the City celebrations will kick off with a week-long colourful invasion of the MCR Monsters, before being followed by a two-day family festival across the city’s popular shopping destinations.

Halloween is returning to the city for loads of spooky celebrations next month / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)

Crawling their way back into the city from Friday 25 October through to Halloween itself on Thursday 31 October, the epic MCR Monsters inflatable art trail – which is created by artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas – will be taking over leading locations like Manchester Arndale, Harvey Nichols, Selfridges, Corn Exchange, and New Century, with many more sites set to be announced soon.

A brand-new monster called ‘The Leech’ will be heading to town to join to celebrations this year, alongside some other spookily-similar faces from years’ past.

Buildings across the city will also be turning a ghoulish green once the night falls, while you can also expect to see thousands of little pumpkin lanterns adorning the city’s streets once again.

There’ll be something for all the family to / Credit: CityCo (via Supplied)

Some of the other fan-favourite events on the jam-packed Halloween in the City lineup confirmed to be returning this year are the ‘Monsters Rock! Music Festival’, with spooky live bands and DJs, as well as gruesome games and competitions, the popular ‘Team Trick v Team Treat’ fancy dress challenge, and the hair-raising monster procession ‘Rock! Party Procession’ – which will feature giant puppet monsters, stilt walkers, and a live band marching their way through Manchester Arndale and on Market Street.

Thousands of families are expected to come into the city centre dressed in their scariest costumes over Halloween weekend on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October.

Jane Sharrocks, who is the Chair of Manchester BID, said Manchester is set to transform into the “ultimate Halloween playground” this year, and that organisers are planning 2024 to be the “most thrilling year yet”.

“As the first UK city to host these incredible creatures, Manchester has become the ultimate Halloween destination,” Jane added.

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Halloween in the City officially returns to Manchester on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 October, with the monsters descending from Friday 25 October and the pumpkins potentially even earlier, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled.

Featured Image – CityCo (via Supplied)

News

‘Life-changing’ scheme helps house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Hundreds of homeless people in Manchester have now been helped “get back on their feet” thanks to a successful pilot housing scheme.

Greater Manchester’s ‘Housing First’ pilot scheme was rolled out in 2019.

The scheme is all about recognising that “a good home has to be the first step to a good life”, according to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), and since it was first introduced, it has primarily been helping people with chronic and long-standing experiences of homelessness into homes of their own, without preconditions.

Ongoing personalised wraparound support to manage issues, ranging from mental health problems to substance misuse, is also a key part of what the scheme’s all about.

Since 2019, the scheme then has helped a total of 413 people find “good, safe homes”, GMCA has revealed.

Around 75% of those housed have also sustained their tenancies too, with some even going on to form part of Housing First’s co-production panel – sharing their experiences, and making sure that the service continues to meet people’s needs.

Because of the clear success of the pilot in our region, Greater Manchester and Mayor Andy Burnham are now calling on the Government to take the lessons learned from the scheme and embed them into a new approach to tackle the housing crisis nationwide.

Andy Burnham says he believes that giving everyone a good, safe home would be “one of the best investments the country could make”, as it would “take pressure off” other public services and public finances, and declared that our region is ready to follow in Finland’s footsteps by becoming the first UK city-region to adopt the ‘Housing First’ philosophy permenantly.

“The evidence is clear that it works, and when a pilot scheme gets results it shouldn’t end there – it should become the new normal,” Mr Burnham said.

A ‘life-changing’ scheme has helped house hundreds of Greater Manchester’s homeless people / Credit: Manchester City Council

“Housing First has shown that if you give people an unconditional right to safe and secure housing, backed up with personalised support, you set them up to succeed, so instead of winding it down, we should be scaling it up and turning it into a national mission.

“We’re starting that here in Greater Manchester.

“We’re bringing in new protections for renters, tackling bad landlords, and with the right powers and funding, we can deliver 75,000 new homes in this parliament.

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“Our new Housing First Unit will drive this work forward, bringing together partners across our city-region with a clear goal – a healthy home for everyone in Greater Manchester by 2038.”

Featured Image – Flickr

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