Wairarapa driver at wheel, on laptop

Senior Sergeant Gordon Crawley said the laptop-using driver was the "quirkiest" of all those caught by Wairarapa police during a crackdown in the region. FILE PHOTO

A Wairarapa driver has been caught using a laptop during a two-week police crackdown on distracted driving.

Police ran the nationwide blitz to educate road users about the dangers of driving when distracted.

Using mobile phones while driving became illegal in November 2009, but Ministry of Transport data shows that in 2014 "diverted attention" was a factor in 12 per cent of all crashes. As a result, 22 people died and 191 received serious injuries.

Senior Sergeant Gordon Crawley said the laptop-using driver was the "quirkiest" of all those caught by Wairarapa police during the crackdown.

More common was people putting their mobiles on to speakerphone and holding them in their hand, rather than putting them to their ear.

It was disappointing to see people had still not changed their behaviour, he said.

"This is not a new law. This has been around for a while now.

"People seem to be taking a long time to get used to the idea that they can't talk and drive at the same time."

Wairarapa police ran several checkpoints every day during the two-week crackdown, and used covert techniques to nab drivers breaking the rules, Mr Crawley said.

People needed to realise that talking on the phone, or using other devices, posed a serious risk to other road users, he said.

"You've got a responsibility to yourself and other people to make sure you are paying attention to what you are doing."