Drivers put on notice as new mobile phone detection camera testing goes live in Adelaide

Adelaide has started final testing of new mobile phone detection cameras at four key locations across the city in a move to combat distracted driving and enhance road safety. 

The cameras, placed at South Road Torrensville, the Southern Expressway at Darlington, the North-South Motorway at Regency Park, and Port Wakefield Road at Gepps Cross, will be fully operational from September.

The initiative aims to curb the trend of mobile phone use while driving, which has been identified as a contributing factor in numerous fatal accidents. 

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"It allows enforcement to continue on a 24/7 basis for people who are quite frankly taking their lives and the lives of others into their own hands by using a mobile phone while driving," Superintendent Darren Fielke from South Australian Police said.

The cameras will capture photographic and video evidence of offending drivers, with a warning period in place until August. 

However, come September, violators will face substantial penalties, including a $540 fine, a $99 victims of crime levy, and the loss of three demerit points.

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Over the past five years, 199 lives have been lost in South Australia due to distraction-related accidents. 

A trial conducted last year revealed that one in 84 drivers was caught using their mobile phone on South Road alone, where 50,000 vehicles pass through each day.

New Police Minister Dan Cregan said the government's priority with the cameras is changing driver behaviour, not generating revenue 

"If not a single dollar is raised from this program, the government will be happy," he said. 

"We want to change driver behaviour, and that is what this program is directed at doing."

This article was produced with the assistance of 9ExPress.