Locations of South Australia’s first mobile phone detection cameras revealed

South Australia’s first mobile phone detection cameras will be rolled out this year – and here’s where they’ll be located.

Distracted drivers along the South Road corridor will be targeted in the rollout of the state’s first mobile phone detection cameras.

The cameras will be installed on the Southern Expressway at Darlington, on South Road at Torrensville, on the North-South Motorway at Regency Park, on Port Road at Hindmarsh and on Port Wakefield Road at Gepps Cross.

Following final technical and environmental review of the locations, the cameras are expected to be installed by June this year.

Drivers will not be fined or lose demerit points during a three-month educational period from June-September, before police beginning issuing penalties.

A mobile phone busting camera catches a motorist doing the wrong thing. Picture: Supplied

The current fine for illegally using a mobile phone is $540, plus a $99 victims of crime levy and three demerit points.

The selection of camera locations was based on research from Adelaide University's Centre for Automotive Safety Research, which considered crash trends and busy road corridors across Adelaide.

The cameras, which were trialled last year, capture high-quality images from several angles through the car’s windscreens, before artificial intelligence software is used to identify drivers using their phones.

Those images are then checked by SA Police to ensure drivers following the law are not mistakenly fined.

Police Minister Joe Szakacs, who announced the locations on Monday, said the cameras would serve as “another crucial tool to address driver distraction”.

Police Minister Joe Szakacs said there was no safe level of mobile phone use while driving. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Mariuz

“We know inattention is the leading cause of death and serious injury on South Australian roads, with using a mobile phone while driving increasing your crash risk by at least four times,” he said.

“We’re out to change behaviour and help drivers realise that there is no safe level of mobile use while driving.”

SAPOL assistant commissioner Ian Parrott said, over the past five years, distraction has been a factor in crashes that resulted in 1285 serious injuries and 198 deaths in South Australia.

“The introduction of Mobile Phone Detection Cameras will enhance South Australia Police’s enforcement capabilities to detect people 24/7 in more locations and we hope this will ultimately contribute to changing driver behaviour,” he said.

Get Home Safe Foundation president Darren Davis said the cameras are one way to reduce deaths and injuries due to distraction.

“But we can all make an even bigger difference. We ask everyone out there to stop accepting that driving while looking at or using mobile devices is OK – it’s not,” he said.

“Tell your family members, your friends, or anyone who is driving you that if they care for you, then leave the phone alone while driving.”

Mobile phone detection cameras are already operational in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, and a three-month grace period is underway in the ACT.