More than 140 people have died in crashes involving distracted drivers in Minnesota over the past five years. 

Tuesday marks the beginning of a month-long effort to crack down on distracted driving, starting with extra enforcement.

"It's so much more of an issue than we even thought it was," South Lake Minnetonka police Sgt. Adam Moore said.

Moore is referring to distracted driving, captured more than 10,000 times in February alone by AI cameras along Highway 7 in Shorewood. The volume of violations was so high, police were only able to stop 3% of those drivers, Moore said.  

"We've tried other things in the past. This technology that we have, has proven to be really the only effective tool that we've had," Moore said.

In April, Minnesota's Office of Traffic Safety is funding 14 agencies across Minnesota so they can have unmarked vehicle cameras that can see inside cars, spotting drivers illegally using their phones.

Richfield police have used the cameras for more than four years and said they are a great tool for catching distracted driving.    

"You can see right down into other people's vehicles and you can see them texting or doing whatever they are doing," Richfield police Sgt. Matt Steen said.

Moore said they are doubling the number of officers watching the AI cameras for the month of April.

"There's still thousands of hours of videos that you can watch when you get to your destination and you don't need to do it while you're driving your car," said Moore. "People have lost loved ones just from distracted driving and they're glad that we're doing something about it."