100km/h talking timebombs

Fifty drivers were snapped using cellphones in one hour from Hopetoun Bridge, above State Highway 1 in central Auckland, yesterday. Other drivers tried to read while driving. Photo / Sarah Ivey

Many New Zealand drivers are openly flouting the law which bans hand-held cellphones and police are concerned that talking and texting will lead to more carnage.

In just one hour yesterday, the Herald observed 50 motorists using their phones on one of the busiest stretches of motorway in central Auckland. Thirty-three drivers were texting and 17 were talking. Forty-two were men.

The number was far higher than those in two unscientific surveys from the same spot - on Hopetoun Bridge, above State Highway 1 - in the week after the cellphone ban came into force last November.

Waitemata serious crash unit sergeant Stu Kearns yesterday said drivers started off well by sticking to the new law, but he had noticed they had lapsed in the following months.

"I think the shock's over and I think they're starting to creep back into old habits," he said.

"Police are taking strong enforcement action but I don't know how many more people need to be injured or crashes need to occur for the message to get through."

On Monday, at a crash in west Auckland, police found a woman driver slumped unconscious in the driver's seat with a mobile phone in her hand. They are still investigating whether she was using the phone before or after the crash.

Last Friday, a young man involved in a hit-and-run accident north of Auckland told police he had veered off the road while texting. Police later tracked his red van to the driveway of Prime Minister John Key's electorate office in Kumeu, where he had taken refuge.

Transport Minister Steven Joyce last night told the Herald he was waiting for police figures showing levels of driver compliance with the new law, but acknowledged there needed to be more driver awareness of the dangers.

A publicity campaign about the dangers of driving and using a phone is screening on television.

"It would be wise to wait until the figures come through, but what I would say is that people need to stay very aware," said Mr Joyce.

"There are too many times when you are following someone and it is quite obvious that they are texting, because they are weaving over the road."

Mr Joyce described driving as "a job" and people needed to stay focused. "A moment's inattention can lead to a big accident."

Between 2003 and 2008 there were 482 injury crashes and 25 fatal crashes where the use of a mobile phone or other telecommunications device was a contributing factor.

Between November last year - when the cellphone ban was introduced - and April 30, police issued more than 3300 tickets to drivers who were using a mobile phone.

Though 468 tickets were issued in the month after the law changed in November, the monthly total jumped to 696 by March before dropping to 613 in April.

Motorists are fined $80 and lose 20 demerit points.

Mr Kearns said he had caught several people driving with cellphones placed on their knees and with the speaker phone on.

Other motorists had pulled over on the motorway to take calls, thinking that was safer option.

"They think they're doing the right thing stopping and taking the call, but you can't stop on the motorway unless it's for an emergency or breakdown because of the danger associated with getting back up to motorway speed."

Police had attended a number of crashes involving stationary and broken-down vehicles being rear-ended on the side of the motorway over the years, Mr Kearns said.

An AA Insurance survey of New Zealand drivers released last month found that drivers using mobile phones was the number one frustration for other road users.

The survey - which questioned 3270 New Zealanders aged 18 to 65 - ranked drivers who did not pay full attention as the second-biggest concern, followed by drivers who crossed the centreline on corners.

As the Herald observed yesterday, some drivers noticed the photographer's long lens and threw their phones to the passenger seat.

Another driver held his phone up to his face - looking at it to push buttons and then listen to a voice message.

Another man held his arm out over his passenger seat and looked away from the road as he punched out a message.

Other drivers read maps and booklets and a couple of women applied lipstick.

DRIVERS AND PHONES

In one hour yesterday, the Herald observed:

* 33 motorists texting (27 men, 6 women).

* 17 motorists talking (15 men, 2 women).

This was double the number snapped in another unscientific survey in November.