Police cracking down on risky behaviours, including people using mobile phones while driving and not wearing seat belts. Photo / File
Police cracking down on risky behaviours, including people using mobile phones while driving and not wearing seat belts. Photo / File
A driver caught on his phone three days in a row at a notorious congestion point is just one of the more than 200 Tauranga and Western Bay motorists fined each month for flouting the phone ban.
Road safety advocates are pleading with drivers to focus 100% on their driving, as data shows police are catching more errant motorists.
In 2023, 2866 drivers racked up fines totalling $429,000 after being snapped using a phone — an average of 233 a month, compared to about 40 a month in 2022.
About 202 have been caught each month in 2024, with 2226 infringements recorded in the year to November and fines topping $300,000 as at September.
The practice hits drivers in the pocket, with an instant fine of $150 plus 20 demerit points — risking a three-month licence suspension if they rack up 100 demerits in two years.
Director of Brake New Zealand Caroline Perry labelled the issue as frustrating. Photo / File
In 2023, 2527 drivers — more than five times as many as in 2022 — were ticketed for not wearing a seat belt, amassing infringements totalling $377,100.
Another 2024 were caught in the 11 months to November this year, with fines of more than $260,000 issued by September.
Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter, manager of the Western Bay of Plenty road policing team, said while seatbelt infringements were trending slightly down, the issue of drivers using their phones was “getting worse”.
“We recently caught a driver on his phone three days in a row at the same location on Turret Rd [in Tauranga], and he was adamant there was no danger in doing so due to the crawling speed of all the vehicles because of the rush hour traffic.”
Hunter said it may seem there was no danger in this risky behaviour at low speed, but that was not the case.
“When you get distracted while driving, including while using your phone, you can easily fail to see a pedestrian crossing ahead or a person who simply walks out in front of your car.
“The resulting injuries can be very serious, as I have seen many times over the years.
Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter. Photo / Alex Cairns
“Even if it’s a simple nose-to-tail crash there is the inconvenience to either or both drivers of having to get their vehicles repaired, which may take some time.”
Hunter said a licence suspension for demerits, or a court sentence, could impact drivers’ jobs.
“Depending on the circumstances, people can be charged with careless driving or careless driving causing injury, and the latter offence incurs a conviction, a fine of up to $3000 and a mandatory licence disqualification for six months.”
Hunter said speed and distractions were among key contributing factors to serious injury crashes and fatalities.
He said speed or inattention had been factors in fatal crashes in Tauranga and Western Bay in 2024, and in most of the eight 2023 fatal crashes.
Ministry of Transport road crash statistics showed not wearing a seat belt was a factor in 23 fatalities and 150 serious injury crashes in the Bay of Plenty region in 2023 and since 2019 had been a contributing factor in at least 41 fatal crashes and 67 serious injury crashes.
Since 2019, phone distraction was a factor in at least one regional fatality and five serious injury crashes.
Brake New Zealand's director Caroline Perry urges drivers to put their phones down and ensure they and their passengers wore a seat belt. Photo / NZME
Road safety charity Brake NZ director Caroline Perry said it was “extremely concerning” so many drivers continued to break the law and put their lives and the lives of others at risk by using a phone while at the wheel.
Driving was one of the “most risky and complex tasks” and required 100% concentration.
“Using a phone whilst driving reduces your ability to spot and react to hazards, putting you at increased risk of being involved in a crash.”
She said wearing a seatbelt was the “quickest, easiest thing you can do to reduce your risk of being killed or seriously injured if you’re involved in a crash”.
“Taking two seconds to put your belt on could save your life.”
Perry urged drivers to wear a seatbelt on every trip — no matter how short — and to ensure all passengers were belted up, and that children under 148cm tall were in a child seat appropriate for their height and weight.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) said according to the agency’s crash analysis data, distracted driving was a major cause of crashes on New Zealand roads.
Common distractions included using a mobile phone, eating, drinking, smoking, personal grooming, talking to passengers, and reaching for objects.
Fabian Marsh, NZTA strategy director of safety, said seatbelts had been compulsory in New Zealand since the 1970s.
“But despite people knowing seatbelts can save lives and limit the injury severity from a crash, research shows that New Zealanders are still dying because they’re not wearing belts,“ he said.
“Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of being killed or seriously injured in a road crash by about 40%. If everyone wore their seatbelts an estimated 25 lives could be saved from road crashes a year.”
He said NZTA encouraged road users to put their phones away or on do-not-disturb mode before setting off.
Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.
