Queenstown police deal with hundreds of bad driving complaints a week

Southern District police are receiving between 70 and 90 driving complaints a day from the public.

Queenstown Sergeant Keith Newell said along with the reports of bad driving there was also some "good camera footage" from motorists' dash cameras.

He encouraged the public to continue reporting bad driving they encountered.

His call comes as a man arrested for dangerous driving on the Gibbston Highway near Queenstown told police he was rushing to find a toilet because he had eaten too many cherries in Cromwell.

The 29-year-old foreign national was driving towards the resort about 7pm on Wednesday when he overtook two cars in front of an oncoming vehicle.

The two cars were forced to pull to the left to avoid a head-on crash, and at one point there were "three cars abreast" on the highway.

"The man claimed he needed to get to the toilet after eating some cherries in Cromwell," Newell said.

"He needed to find a toilet as soon as possible."

The man, who is holidaying in the area with his family, will appear in the Queenstown District Court on Monday.