The days of the distracted driver are over.
The days of the distracted driver are over. ?I like it, it?s the best thing since sliced bread,? says Lower Hutt traffic sergeant Bob Jones. Talking and texting while driving has been banned and drivers face an $80 fine and 20 demerit points if they are caught. Mr Jones says it will be difficult to gauge the effectiveness of the ban because in the past people involved in crashes rarely admit that they had been using a phone. ?That?s why it?s so hard to document. ?The last one I recall was a fatal on Waddington Drive in Naenae about a year ago,? he says. Despite the statistical difficulties, Mr Jones is confident the ban will have positive spin-offs. Keeping an eye out for offenders will become part and parcel of checking that drivers are wearing seat-belts. ?It has been a long time coming. ?The use of cell phones is a key factor and a major cause of many crashes,? Mr Jones says. Drivers will be given around ?a month of leniency? before the police start to crack down and launch specific initiatives to cover it. Kapi-Mana strategic traffic unit sergeant Mike George says ?it?s now the law and a great idea?. ?People are not concentrating when they have their hands off the wheel. ?People will have to get used to it, either get a hands-free or pull over, common sense,? Mr George says. A law banning cell phone use while driving has been in effect in Australia for a couple of years, and Mr George says it has worked over there to bring crash statistics down. ?We will take note of people with a phone to their ears. ?It?s quite common, and it needs to stop,? he says. Hand-free cell phone kit sales at Noel Leeming Connect Queensgate have ?gone up hugely?, said a spokesperson at the store. ?Since the powers that be passed the rule, they have been selling like crazy,? they said. The store used to sell around one kit every six months, and is now turning over around four to five per day.
