A portable tower was recently switched on at an Albury site after being used in other areas in the region, including in Holbrook.

The systems take photographs of drivers from an elevated point to check if people are distracted behind the wheel.

The machines were first introduced in NSW during a trial in December 2019 in a bid to curb the behaviour.

The government initially issued warnings for those caught, and fines started being enforced from March last year.

"The decision to pick up your phone can have fatal consequences," Regional Roads Minister Paul Toole said when the new camera program was announced.

"It doesn't matter whether you're driving on a busy city motorway or on an isolated road in the bush - there's just no excuse for using your phone illegally.

Government data for the Albury region shows drivers are paying tens-of-thousands of dollars in fines due to illegal phone use each year.

Police have detected 93 such offences this year, with the most recent data available to September.

Those caught have been hit with a total of $33,201 in fines.

Statistics dating back to January 2014 show $386,837 in fines have been issued for phone offences in that time, and peaked with a total of $66,668 in the 2015-16 financial year.

Meanwhile Albury's fixed speed and red light cameras continue to prove valuable for government coffers.

The system, located at the intersection of Young and Guinea streets, has issued more than $750,000 in fines to motorists since June last year.

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Drivers have been slugged $148,936 between July and September alone.

A total of $601,734 in fines were issued to drivers last financial year after 2851 offences were detected by the cameras.

The site is one of the Border's busiest intersections with thousands of vehicles passing through the area each day.

The intersection is also located within a school zone, which has varying speeds during different times of the day.

Offences peaked early in the use of the camera system, with $83,193 in fines issued in July last year.

A decision to remove warning signs from portable speed cameras in NSW late last year also led to a marked increase in fines in Albury.

There were 377 fines last financial year compared to 38 the previous financial year.

The government recently reinstated the use of the warning signs with the speed cameras.

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