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The AA is concerned that the message about cell phone use in cars is not getting through to New Zealanders.
In less than a month, it will be illegal for motorists to use hand-held cellphones.
That has prompted a rush of people switching to handsfree, but the AA is warning that hands-free cellphones can be just as dangerous a distraction as hand held phones.
"At the moment we think people are getting the wrong message: 'Look all I need to do is change to handsfree,' "says Mike Noon, manager of Motoring Affairs for the AA.
Noon says the the government has not done enough to educate the public before the law change next month and says the real message should be if you are driving, do not use your phone at all.
He says drivers need to focus on the road and should get out of the habit of using cell phones at all in cars before the law change comes into effect.
And accident investigators believe a fatal boat collision in Queen Charlotte Sound serves as a lesson for all drivers about driver distraction and using a cellphone.
Investigators have found excessive speed and distraction by a cellphone call are the main factors in a fatal collision between a work boat and moored vessel last year.
Transport Accident Investigation Commission spokesman Tim Burfoot says the tragedy is a lesson for anyone driving any kind of transport vehicle. He says people need to be looking out and keeping an eye on what's around them and anything that distracts you from that is dangerous.
Shuttle driver Mark Fridd says he has learnt using handsfree brings its own hazards.
"I'm holding the wheel more, but I can get more involved in the conversation so it's still a distraction," he says.
But with the law change looming, handsfree popularity is at an all time high with sales more than doubling.
"Really it started the day they announced it. We had people coming in the door going 'hey, I need a handsfree kit,' " says Grant Bennett from T L Parker.
"What we want is that New Zealanders stop using their phone because they understand that it's not safe," says Noon.
With 25 deaths caused by cellphone use in cars over the last five years, police superintendent Paula Rose agrees.
"Our preference would be for people to choose to do one thing at a time, to drive or to use a cellphone," she says.
But transport minister Steven Joyce says the choice will remain.
"We've taken the decision not to ban handsfree use because of the need for people to use them in their vehicles from time to time," he says.
The punishment for being caught talking or texting on a handheld
cellphone come November 1 is an $80 fine and 20 demerit
points.
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