No deaths, serious injuries down since AI camera added on Highway 7 in Minnesota

For the past year, an artificial intelligence camera has captured images of people driving distracted, holding phones behind the wheel on Highway 7 in Minnesota between St. Louis Park and St. Bonifacius.

In 2024, there were five fatalities on Highway 7 alone, one of the deadliest years on record, but since the AI technology was added, there have been zero.

"I knew that the work that we did would have an impact, but to the degree, I am very surprised, yes," said Sgt. Adam Moore with the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department.

As the camera has been positioned along various spots on the highway, it's helped conduct 1,200 distracted driving stops, Moore said. Before the camera, that number was just 300.

In addition to zero deaths, the number of serious injury crashes has been cut in half, according to the Highway 7 Safety Coalition, where Moore is the director.

"The numbers are great and to be able to say 'yes, we made a difference,' but really just being able to say that we saved lives out here by the work that we did, and you can't put a price tag on that," said Moore.

He is hoping to receive a grant from the National Safety Council in March so the camera can stay up.

The technology doesn't come cheap. Moore said it costs roughly $15,000 per month to lease it.

Moore said he is in talks with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota State Patrol to see if similar cameras could be put up along other dangerous roadways across the state.

"Moving forward, seeing how successful this program is, I really think that there will be some more interest here," said Moore.

The Highway 7 Safety Coalition is also working with MnDOT to make safety improvements to the roadway, but that wouldn't happen until 2029. Moore is hoping for funding from the state legislature.