The state government has backflipped on a pledge to list the locations of mobile phone detection cameras, which were put into action on Sunday.
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Unlike the situation with speed cameras, the government had decided not to include signs notifying drivers there was a mobile phone camera in the area.
"This isn't revenue raising, this is about saving lives," Transport and Roads Minister Andrew Constance said last month.
But the locations of all mobile phone detection cameras would be placed on the Centre for Road Safety website, Transport for NSW said in October.
However, the government this week has reneged on that commitment - choosing to keep motorists in the dark.
"A decision has been made not to disclose the location of the cameras," said Centre for Road Safety executive director Bernard Carlon.
"Driving while using a mobile phone is a dangerous behaviour and motorists need to know that they can be caught at anytime, anywhere."
The NRMA has voiced objections to keeping the locations secret, citing it is a road safety opportunity missed.
"These cameras must be about getting people to put down their phones, not taking away licences," the NRMA's Peter Khoury said.
"We want people to change their behaviour behind the wheel - not three weeks later when they get a fine in the mail."
The new cameras will operate 24 hours a day in all weather condition and take photos of the cabin area of every vehicle that passes.
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After that, artificial technology is used to automatically review the images and single out those believed to be using a phone.
The Centre for Road Safety said that humans then check those pictures before any infringement notices are sent out.
For the first three months of the camera rollout, drivers caught will receive a warning letter in the mail.
After that period ends, drivers will find an infringement notice including a $344 fine and five demerit points in their letterbox.
For the last few months, Illawarra motorists have been spooked by the impeding arrival of the cameras.
In October drivers used social media to warn that the cameras had been rolled out early, but they were in fact white boxes monitoring traffic flow.
Last week, a Facebook group posted photos of the Windang road- Boronia Avenue intersection showing what they assumed was a mobile phone camera.
However Transport for NSW stated it was a CCTV camera, which was being used for incident management along what was a major arterial route.