Offending drivers in NSW will now be fined and lose demerit points if caught by a mobile phone detection camera.

A grace period ran from December 2019 to February 2020 where offending drivers received a warning only. Now, the penalty is $344 or $457 if caught in a school zone.

There will be a loss of five demerit points, ten in a double demerits period.

Using artificial intelligence, the cameras capture an image of the front seats of a vehicle. Images are later reviewed to verify if an offence has been made.

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During the pilot run, between January and June 2019, cameras detected more than 100,000 offending drivers.

It is unknown if or where cameras have been introduced to the Manning and Great Lakes Police District but it's anticipated 45 will operate across NSW.

The cameras operate in locations that meet criteria such as prevalence of crashes or relevant crash types.

They are being installed out of sight and without warning through the State government. It's a key initiative in the government's target of reducing road fatalities, with a target of zero by 2056.

By 2023, the State government is hopeful of 135 million vehicle checks through the program.

Despite this, NRMA claimed it's a lost opportunity to reinforce the driver safety message of not using phones illegally.

Monash University Accident Research Centre estimated the program will reduce road trauma by about 100 fatal or serious injury crashes in a five year period.

NSW is the first state in Australia to implement the program. Transport for NSW is not aware of any other jurisdiction in the world where a fully operational phone detection camera enforcement system is in place.

Since 2012, there have been 183 casualty crashes involving a driver/rider using a handheld mobile phone. This resulted in 13 deaths and 245 injuries.

Ninety of these crashes occurred in country NSW.

The contribution of mobile phone distraction to road trauma is under reported due to difficulties in obtaining conclusive evidence at crash scenes.

Drivers are only permitted to use a phone in a cradle with Bluetooth, while passing it to a passenger or use in a drive thru service situation.