Vassilis Vassilopoulos doesn’t mince his words: “It can’t be the case that you’re constantly under observation. What’s the point of all this? And then with AI! Is it still possible?” The 58-year-old Greek parked his old little Renault in front of a locksmith at the intersection of Mesogeion Street and Halandri Street on this cold January day. It is one of the busiest traffic arteries in the Greek metropolis of four million people, Athens.
What makes Vassilopoulos angry can only be seen upon closer inspection: there is a light pole erected in the green median strip a brand new AI camera installed. It is one of the “intelligent” cameras that, under the aegis of the Athens Digital Ministry, will now record traffic violations at eight “high-risk locations” in the greater Athens area. The pilot phase began in December and official commissioning will begin at the end of January.
As Athens Digital Minister Dimitrios Papastergiou highlighted in advance, these cameras have “advanced AI algorithms”. They can detect red light violations, vehicle speed, smartphone use, not wearing a seat belt, and not wearing a helmet. Incidents are displayed in real time on a live monitoring dashboard.
The plan is to uniformly digitally record violations. This is intended to dramatically speed up detection, processing and fine management. The traffic offenders get it Fine notices directly in the digital citizen portal gov.gr and via text message. There are also pictures of the violation. Anyone who wants to lodge an objection must do so within 13 days – digitally, of course. Fines are paid electronically. Penalties and points are automatically entered into the Greek E-Traffic Central Register (SESO). Driving licenses can be revoked digitally immediately.
“The AI also makes mistakes,” says an SUV driver
Already in the pilot phase, the AI cameras registered a large number of violations. In just four days, from December 16th to December 19th, one of the eight AI cameras in Attica alone registered over a thousand violations of the cell phone and seat belt laws as well as around 800 speeding violations, without any punishment being imposed at the time. But now things are getting serious. Since Monday, the fine notices due have been sent digitally.
The AI cameras are already working. Before that, only half of drivers wore their seat belts. Now most of them are
Thanos Mavris, taxi driver in Athens
Vassilopoulos shakes his head. “If you can’t drive, you can’t drive. People need to be better trained.” Michalis Doukas echoes the same sentiments. The 38-year-old gets in his white SUV a. “I want to see if this even works. The AI also makes mistakes. What if I’m penalized for supposedly talking on my smartphone while driving while I was just using the touchscreen in my car?” His partner Irene in the passenger seat nods.
Thanos Mavris sees it differently. The 29-year-old taxi driver waits for customers at a nearby taxi rank. He likes the AI cameras. “The fear of fines plays a big role,” he tells the taz. A normal salary in Athens is 750 or 800 euros net per month, says Mavris. “Who wants to pay a 350 euro fine for driving without a belt or helmet or for using a cell phone?”
A passenger gets into his taxi. Thanos Mavris, who sits behind the wheel for ten hours a day, adds: “The AI cameras are already working. Before, only half of the drivers wore their seat belts. Now the vast majority do. Almost all motorcyclists now wear a helmet. Before, it was completely different.”
Hellas ranks third in the EU for road deaths
But it’s not just the ominous AI cameras that are supposed to drastically reduce the number of traffic accidents here. By June, 388 new cameras will be installed in the greater Athens area, which will only record red light violations. EU funds provide the financing. Throughout Hellas Around 2,500 new cameras are planned, including 2,000 permanently installed cameras in accident-prone areas and 500 cameras in public transport to monitor violations of bus lane regulations.
In 2024 as a whole, Greece recorded 665 road deaths, compared to 522 last year. In 2024, Hellas was in third place in the EU behind Romania and Bulgaria in terms of the number of road deaths in relation to the total population. In the future, the AI cameras will ensure more traffic discipline. And thus save lives.