The secret locations of some of the new mobile phone detection cameras busting drivers texting behind the wheel have been revealed.
More than 3,300 drivers were detected using their phones in the first week when hi-tech cameras were rolled out across New South Wales on December 1.
Eight unmarked cameras have been in operation, with one on the Sydney Harbour Bridge catching 179 motorists using phones in just four days.
Another 210 drivers were busted in Lucas Heights in Sydney’s south, while 126 were caught in Nowra on the south coast along the Princes Highway.
The cameras, which are installed in a range of areas around Sydney and NSW, photographed 773,532 motorists in a week with more cameras to roll out across the state
‘It’s a worrying, worrying trend,’ NSW roads minister Andrew Constance told 2GB.
‘We need everybody to just wake up to themselves. You can put your phone in a cradle and use your blue tooth but for goodness sake, don’t be distracted behind the wheel.’
He warned using a mobile phone behind the wheel is equivalent to driving drunk with a blood alcohol reading of 0.08, almost twice the legal limit.
‘Even if you look down and text for two seconds travelling at 60km/h you are going to have your vehicle move 33m on a roadway or in a local backstreet without paying any attention,’ Mr Constance told listeners.
‘When you get up into those higher speeds your car travels even further distance without any attention being paid.’
The Sydney Harbour Bridge has been a hotspot for drivers using their phones while driving
Unlike speed cameras, there are no warning signs for the unmarked mobile phone cameras.
Drivers busted by a mobile phone detection camera in the first three months will only receive a warning letter.
When the grace period ends in March, drivers will cop a $344 fine, or $457 in a school zone, and five demerit points which increases to 10 during double demerit periods.
The crackdown follow a successful mobile phone camera trial earlier this year, where 8.5 million vehicles in NSW were scanned between January and June 2019, according to NSW Transport.
More than 100,000 drivers were busted illegally using their mobile phones while behind the wheel, which would have equated to almost $35 million in revenue had they copped the $344 fine.
Around 210 drivers were also busted in Lucas Heights in Sydney’s south (stock photo)
Of the 184 crashes which involved illegal mobile phone use in NSW between 2012 to 2017, seven resulted in death and while another 105 were injured.
A Daily Mail Australia photographer caught drivers and riders of motorbikes routinely touching their phones, scrolling and texting on Liverpool St in Sydney’s CBD last week.
NSW is the first state to introduce laws to enable camera-based enforcement of illegal mobile phone use.
The high-definition cameras can catch you 24 hours a day, even at night and regardless of speed and weather conditions.
Other states are now looking to introduce similar laws in a desperate bid to reduce the road toll.
New mobile phone detection cameras have captured 3,303 drivers using their mobile phones while driving in just one week (pictured)
Queensland will enforce the toughest crackdown in the country when it increases the fine for the offence by more than double from $400 to $1000.
Drivers caught using their phone twice within a year will also be at risk of losing their licence when the laws come into effect on February 1 next year.
In South Australia, drivers are slapped with a $308 fine, a $60 Victims of Crime levy and three points.
In Western Australia, drivers lose three points and are fined $400, which increases to $484 in Victoria and up to $577 in the ACT.
The Northern Territory has the most lenient laws, where using a mobile will cost you three demerits and a $250 fine.
Drivers were captured using their mobile phones while behind the wheel, putting other road users in danger in Sydney’s CBD last week