Some companies are taking a pro-active approach to the government's proposal to ban hand held cellphones while driving.
Vodafone, Shell and trucking company Linfox already forbid their staff to use hand held mobiles while driving.
The government is considering amending the land transport rules to make the practice illegal.
Between 2002 and 2007 there were 411 injury crashes and 26 fatal crashes where the use of cellphones or other telecommunication devices were identified as a contributing factor.
Drivers would still be able to use hands-free devices, but the use of PDA's and Blackberry's would be included in the ban.
However the proposal is also being criticised for not going far enough.
Living Streets Aotearoa president and Wellington city councillor Celia Wade-Brown says hands-free phones are just as dangerous.
She says it's not just the physical distraction, it's the sense of the driver being absent from the real driving situation.
Wade-Brown says a UK survey from 2002 shows drivers reaction times were severally impaired while using cellphones, and were as bad as being drunk.
A cellphone ban would fit with a recent survey of Automobile Association members which shows 76% of respondents want cell phones banned in cars.
It would also bring New Zealand into line with at least 45 countries, including Australia and the UK, where legislation to ban the use of mobile phones while driving is already in force.
If you are caught by the police the proposed penalty is a fine of $50 and 25 demerit points.
If you get 100 or more demerit points within 2 years, you would be suspended from driving for 3 months.
The public will be able to have its say on the proposed amendment to cellphone usage in cars as early as August.
It is expected the ban will come into force in July next year, after a round of public consultation beginning in August.
