A grace period for new average speed cameras comes to an end this week. Source: Getty/RACT

Regular motorists in the country's most populous state will need to keep an extra eye on the speedometer from this week as new average speed cameras begin handing out fines.

Such technology has long impacted drivers of heavy vehicles, but two new stretches of road in NSW will now see all road users have their average speed clocked, with those exceeding the speed limit sent fines in the mail starting from Tuesday.

While the point-to-point or average speed camera systems have been monitoring all drivers for the past two months, authorities have only been handing out warning letters to motorists caught going too fast, with the exception of anybody caught more than 30km/h above the legal limit.

But from July 1, there will be no more grace period.

The system works by recording a vehicle’s entry and exit times at two points, then calculating whether the average speed exceeds the limit.

Selected for their crash history, the two spots are a 15km stretch of road on the Pacific Highway between Kew and Lake Innes on the Mid North Coast, and 16km of road on the Hume Highway between Coolac and Gundagai in the state's south.

"Motorists are reminded that from today the cameras will begin capturing light vehicle speeding offences. Warning letters will be issued to those caught for the first two months before penalties will begin on July 1," Duncan Lucas, Executive Director of Road Safety Regulation at Transport for NSW said when the cameras were first turned on at the start of May.

While these cameras have been quietly monitoring driver behaviour, from Tuesday, they’ll start issuing fines. Source: NSW Government

The more comprehensive speed monitoring has been welcomed by road safety advocates in the state but some have argued there could be drawbacks. Traffic lawyer Hayder Shkara previously told Yahoo News the move may target the "everyday driver" who drifts between five and 10km/h over the limit while "overtaking or distracted".

"I also think the average speed cameras may encourage drivers to become overly fixated on maintaining speed rather than focusing on overall safety, like adjusting to conditions or anticipating hazards," he said.

A spokesperson for Transport for NSW said the move is aimed at reducing crashed caused by speed, saying the "average speed safety cameras encourage drivers to stick to the speed limit over longer distances, not just when they see a camera."

A breakdown of NSW speeding fines for light vehicles

Exceed speed limit by 10 km/h or less
Unrestricted licence: $145 fine, 1 demerit point
Learner or P1/P2 licence: $145 fine, 4 demerit points
Exceed speed limit by over 10 km/h but not more than 20 km/h
Unrestricted licence: $334 fine, 3 demerit points
Learner or P1/P2 licence: $334 fine, 4 demerit points
Exceed speed limit by over 20 km/h but not more than 30 km/h
All drivers: $574 fine, 4 demerit points
Exceed speed limit by over 30 km/h but not more than 45 km/h
All drivers: $1,097 fine, 5 demerit points
Exceed speed limit by over 45 km/h
All drivers: $2,959 fine, 6 demerit points

This article originally appeared on Yahoo News Australia at https://au.news.yahoo.com/aussie-drivers-warned-as-major-speed-camera-change-to-see-new-fines-issued-this-week-005525392.html