KEY POINTS:
The police will be using planes to track bad drivers over the Christmas break.
Inspector Leo Tooman said the Ministry of Transport used planes in the mid-eighties to monitor speed by measuring the distance drivers had travelled in time from the air.
But he said since the advent of speed cameras, planes had not really been used by police for traffic monitoring.
Mr Tooman said the planes would be used to check areas choked by traffic at busy times.
He said they would also be used to track bad drivers reported through the traffic report line on *555.
"With the proliferation of cell phones, everyone calls our comms centre to report, you know, someone overtaking on yellow lines and we should be able to - with a plane in the area - pick the person out while the caller stays on the cell phone," Mr Tooman said.
He said the location of the offending driver would then be relayed to a patrol car on the ground who can follow-up on the incident.
Mr Tooman said the planes would also be able to relay traffic information back to police communications who would send it out to various channels to let people know of congested areas or accidents.
Meanwhile police across the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and the central North Island will "saturate the regions with booze buses".
"We want to send a reminder to people that with the holiday period rapidly approaching it's just not worth the risk drinking and driving. With the run up to Christmas we ask those planning work place functions to plan how everyone will return home safely. At the end of the day, better the cost of a cab than a fine or even worse, a death or horrific injury," Mr Tooman said.
He said as of last Thursday, 33 people had died on state highways in the Bay of Plenty, 18 in the Central District, 16 in the Waikato and 12 in the Eastern District. Mr Tooman said those figures were too high.
"The objective is to arrive alive. To do that drivers should plan their trips giving themselves plenty of time, make sure they take rest breaks, have something to keep the kids occupied during the journey and have their air conditioning working.
"Those intending towing boats and caravans should already be getting them checked out, it's no use finding your brakes or tail lights are shot the day you plan to set off."
