KING COUNTY, Wash. — New technology may soon catch drivers texting and driving on King County roads.
Four new “SmartSigns” are out on the streets now as a part of a pilot program that will go until the end of July.
The signs don't use cameras and do not issue tickets or citations. Instead, they use infrared heat detection technology to detect unsafe driving habits. The technology then alerts the driver on a digital sign and collects the data to help improve traffic safety.
“There is no filming. We're not capturing photos. We're not keeping photos. What we are doing, though, is tracking what behaviors are happening and really trying to impact those dangerous behaviors on our roads,” said Sara Wood, the Target Zero manager for King County.
The King County Target Zero Coalition works with traffic safety and community partners to implement safety programs that aim to reduce crashes, serious injuries, and deaths on King County roads.
The technology can detect if you are holding a phone while driving, and the digital sign will read “Phone Down.” It can also detect if the driver or passenger has their seatbelt unbuckled, and the sign will read “Buckle Up.” It can also detect speeding and will tell you to “Slow Down.”
If you are not breaking any rules, the signs will either tell you your speed limit or show an emoticon smiley face.
“Our plan as the King County Target Zero Coalition is to work with each of those jurisdictions that have the signs out over the next few months and come up with some sort of an education and enforcement plan with them targeting whatever behavior the signs are detecting,” said Wood.
As of April 5, the four signs were in Pacific on Milwaukee Boulevard, Seattle on Airport Way, Issaquah on Front Street, and White Center. Over the next few months, they will be moved to 12 different locations in the county as part of the pilot program.
On April 5, at least two of the four signs were not working. The company the county is contracting with said that was because of a lack of sun and dead batteries.
This is the first time that SmartSigns have been used in King County.
This comes as last year was the deadliest year on Washington roads in decades. In 2023, 797 people died on Washington roads, according to WSDOT. Their data shows there were 16,671 distracted driving crashes and that 121 of those crashes were fatal.
The funding for this pilot program comes from a $150,000 King County Distracted Driving Prevention grant from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. These are federal funds from the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission. A spokesperson for the Target Zero Coalition of King County said the SmartSigns are part of this grant, and a $50,000 contract covers the full campaign.