In January 2026 the Arkansas Department of Transportation and Arkansas Highway Police unveiled its new AI-enhanced workzone cameras, and it’s now that we’re seeing the results of the new system.
According to an article published by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, “Since mid-January, 70 citations and 571 warnings have been handed out to motorists.”
Jeff Holmes, chief of the Arkansas Highway Police, said, “This is yet another tool for us to reduce distracted driving in work zones and decrease crashes, injuries, and fatalities.
“It is the only system that I’m aware of that does both speed enforcement and mobile device detection,” he said.
Holmes said that the AI-powered cameras analyze, “images for handheld mobile device use by the driver.”
“The camera takes a photo within the work zone when it believes a driver is not obeying the hands-free law,” he said. “An officer stationed at the end of the work zone analyzes the photo and determines if the driver was indeed using a handheld device. The officer can then pull the driver over and issue a warning or citation.”
Holmes also said that the system only works when an officer is present, and that it doesn’t issue tickets by mail.
While the word AI might spark some fears about environmental safety, Holmes said that he is not aware of “any environmental issues with AI analyzing images.”
An article by Traffic Pro Beds reads, “‘This technology gives our troopers another tool to help identify dangerous behavior in areas where workers are especially vulnerable,’ an Arkansas Highway Police spokesperson explained … ARDOT officials also emphasize that drivers are notified when AI-enabled enforcement is in use, aligning with best practices in traffic safety that prioritize deterrence over surprise enforcement …Traditional enforcement requires an officer to visually confirm a violation — often from a moving vehicle or shoulder — which can be impractical or unsafe in narrow work zones. AI detection systems can monitor every vehicle, every minute, something human enforcement alone simply cannot do.”
The article also showcases other areas around the world who have already used the AI-analyzing camera technology to great effect.
“In Minnesota, AI detection cameras identified more than 10,000 distracted-driving events in one month, resulting in hundreds of stops once officers reviewed alerts … ‘we were seeing violations we simply couldn’t catch before,’ a Minnesota police official said following the pilot,” the article stated.
The article also said, “In Western Australia, large-scale deployment of AI traffic cameras coincided with a 40% reduction in mobile phone and seatbelt violations after enforcement began.”