Rush-hour drivers call time on mobiles

Drivers are using their mobile phones less during rush hour, figures show. Photo / Stuart Munroe

Drivers are making fewer calls on their mobiles during rush hour since the law banning them from using hand-held cellphones came in, say the three main telecoms firms.

Police are happy with drivers' response but say it will be at least another year before the true level of compliance is known.

Although they will not give call volumes for commercial reasons, 2degrees, Telecom and Vodafone have all noticed changes in phone habits since the change on November 1 - all of them while most people are driving to and from work.

"We saw a noticeable drop in the number of voice minutes between 4pm and 6pm weekdays - the 'driving home time' - in October compared to November," 2degrees' Bryony Hilless said.

"This trend has continued with our customer base using around 5.8 per cent less voice minutes during the driving home time."

Customers were also sending about 5 per cent fewer text messages between 4pm and 6pm on weekdays, she said.

Telecom has noticed a 2.7 per cent drop in the number of rush-hour calls, while Vodafone spokesman Paul Brislen said the company had had a "quite noticeable" 1 per cent drop in call volumes during peak driving times.

"I believe this is the first time we've ever seen a drop in call volumes, which is saying something."

Police cannot confirm how many drivers have been fined $80 and given 20 demerit points since November because the paper ticketing system takes time to process. A more accurate figure on fine rates will be revealed next month.

Officers believe it will take drivers time to adjust to the new rules, just as they had to when seatbelts became compulsory in the 1970s.

"It's far too early to really get any informative data together at this point," said national road policing manager Superintendent Paula Rose. "But over the next 12 months we'll certainly be looking at what's the progress been like, what's the impact on crashes [and] how many fatality and serious-injury crashes have been situations where somebody has been using a cellphone - and we're certainly looking to see those numbers reduced."

Surveys will be carried out over the next year to measure driver compliance.

While fewer people using their phones while driving was good, Ms Rose said: "I'll be satisfied when we don't have any crashes, when nobody dies on our roads."

Meanwhile, a Herald summer survey found that 45.9 per cent of drivers no longer used their cellphones while driving. A total of 27.8 per cent had never used their phone while driving.

Just 10.6 per cent of people still made and received calls or text messages while driving.

RINGING IN CHANGES

FEWER CALLS DURING DRIVING TIME:

2degrees - Down 5.8 per cent
Telecom - Down 2.7 per cent
Vodafone - Down 1 per cent