AI road cameras have contributed to a huge reduction in the number of people killed or seriously injured on roads in the South East of England.
Provisional data from the Department for Transport shows that 49 people were killed and 495 were seriously injured across Devon and Cornwall.
This is the lowest number of people impacted by road traffic accidents since modern recording systems were introduced.
It also represents an almost 20 per cent drop compared to 2024, with Vision Zero South West putting this down to a number of safety initiatives.
Vision Zero is a collaboration of 17 organisations across the region, including Devon and Cornwall Police, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, NHS trusts, National Highways and more.
The partnership's key goal is to reduce fatal and serious collisions by 50 per cent by the end of the decade, with the latest data suggesting that targets are on track.
Vision Zero South West has been instrumental in significantly reducing the number of accidents across the region.
This includes the first UK trial of cameras powered by artificial intelligence that can see inside cars to see whether drivers are wearing their seatbelts or using their mobile phones.
AI road cameras that can see inside vehicles have contributed to a drop in fatalities and injuries across the South West
|GETTY/VISION ZERO SOUTH WEST
Data from the cameras during August 2024 presented a huge 50 per cent drop in seatbelt detections and a 33 per cent fall in cases of mobile phone use.
The cameras were used on the A38 at Landrake during 2023, 2024 and 2025, with Vision Zero finding a "prolonged and significant reduction" in both seatbelt and mobile phone offences.
Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, praised the new data, noting that road safety was a "personal priority" for her.
Commissioner Hernandez, who is also chair of Vision Zero South West, said: "Our collective efforts - as partners and communities - to ensure road users are at their best are starting to make a real difference to people's lives.
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AI speed cameras have become more common around the UK in recent years | TRANSPORT FOR GREATER MANCHESTER"While we are obviously delighted to see a significant decrease in the number of people being killed or seriously injured, there is still a lot of work to do.
"We must never forget what these numbers represent. These are real people killed in tragic and traumatic circumstances - loved ones and family members, parents and children, brothers, sisters and friends."
She noted that the organisation was working "tirelessly" to ensure the rate of drivers being killed or seriously injured across Devon and Cornwall would continue to fall.
Vision Zero South West has launched separate safety initiatives, including a state-of-the-art motorcycle simulator to train young riders in hazard prediction and pedestrian training for thousands of primary school children across the region.
AI road cameras can detect seatbelt and mobile phone offences
| TRANSPORT FOR GREATER MANCHESTERIt has also purchased a Ford Focus RS to promote road safety to a younger audience through social media, which is often a harder-to-reach demographic.
Adrian Leisk, Head of Road Safety for Devon and Cornwall Police, said: "Devon and Cornwall Police officers work tirelessly year-round to enforce the laws that are there to keep all road users safe.
"We are beginning to see that enforcement, notably around excessive speed, mobile phone, and seat belt offences, and in tandem with lowered speed limits and safety camera installation, is beginning to have a measurable effect on improving safety on our counties’ roads."