$50 cellphone fine 'might be too low'

Transport Minister Steven Joyce. Photo / Mark Mitchell

A suggested fine of $50 for using a cellphone while driving may not be enough, says Transport Minister Steven Joyce.

Mr Joyce said he was still waiting on advice but there was "every chance" a ban on cellphone use in cars would be imposed this year. Officials were to report back to him this week.

"I think around October this year we should hopefully have that through," Mr Joyce told Radio New Zealand.

"I can't see an argument for texting while you drive, that seems like an absolute no-brainer from my perspective, and then handheld phones, partly because people look down, they look around while they're finding a call, that's all distracting as well."

Mr Joyce said opponents of the law change would say it was an unnecessary move, and that there were lots of other distractions.

"But I think we do need to underline it for people that this is really behaviour you can't have while you're driving a car." Mr Joyce said hands-free phone use would still be acceptable under a new law, but any handheld phone use would not be.

"If a police officer sees you doing it ... they would be able to give you an infringement notice with a fine," Mr Joyce said. "A big part will be advertising it, making sure that people are aware, and really trying to shift the balance so that when someone's phone rings in their car they think, 'I shouldn't do that'."

The previous government had suggested the $50 fine.

Anecdotal evidence from the Insurance Council this week showed more and more people were making claims in which a driver was either talking on a cellphone or texting. Police have blamed a sharp rise in fatal crashes on Auckland roads on cellphone use as the city's road toll stood at 55 this year, equal to the whole of 2008.

- NZPA