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It's a common sight on roads across the country but now the use of mobile phones while driving is to be banned.
From November it will be illegal to talk or send texts while behind the steering wheel. And those who break the law will face an $80 fine and 20 demerit points.
Transport Minister Steven Joyce says that driver distraction - particularly through the use of cellphones - is a real issue on our roads .
"There are a lot of other distractions while driving but handheld mobile phone use has grown to become a significant problem. The reality is we need to send a strong signal to all road users that it's not on," says Joyce.
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"I think the prevalence of cellphones and people thinking they can text when they're doing a whole million other things, it is really at the point where we have to say we need to make a road rule and say you shouldn't be doing this," says Transport Minister Steven Joyce.
The Automobile Association has campaigned for the change for a long time and wants the new rules to be backed up by an education programme.
"What we'd really like to see is people making that decision not to use the phone when they're driving because they understand that it's not safe. That's why we'd like to see some advertising and some awareness raising before the ban comes into play," says spokesman Mike Noon.
Between 2003 and 2008 there were 482 crashes causing injury and 25 fatal crashes resulting from someone using a mobile phone or other telecommunications device. And police are delighted with the move.
"It will reduce road trauma. We had people who died last year needlessly through driver distraction and this will target driver distraction," says Superintendent Paula Rose, national manager road policing.
Joyce says that driver distraction, particularly through the use of cellphones, is a real issue on our roads.
"There are a lot of other distractions while driving but hand-held mobile phone use has grown to become a significant problem. The reality is we need to send a strong signal to all road users that it's not on.
"Texting and driving, in particular, is a total no brainer.
"We've just got to take a breath and say look at the number of accidents we've got as the result of inattention and let's just pull ourselves up a bit...because when we're in the car driving, it's a car not a phone booth," the Transport Minister says.
Drivers will still be able to use hands-free devices and two-way radio under the ban. There would also be an exemption for 111 calls made for genuine emergencies.
Joyce says hands-free phones are less distracting to operate than handheld phones but he is still urging hands-free users to pull over to make or respond to calls whenever possible.
The Labour Party began work on the issue a year ago but transport spokesman Darien Fenton suspects they would have been accused of "nanny statism" had they moved on it. She says it seems National can do things that would have had Labour facing all sorts of silly accusations.
However Fenton says the ban is a good thing and something her party fully supports. Act and the Greens are also endorsing the ban.
The new regulations also include a requirement for motorcyclists and moped riders to operate headlights during daylight hours.
Add a Comment:
Post new commentswimmerd said on 2011-05-28 @ 10:06 NZDT: Report abusive post
I do not think they go far enough. The police should be given the powers to confiscate the mobile phone from the driver if thay are caught using it.
tomolly said on 2011-05-28 @ 08:22 NZDT: Report abusive post
Great ideal.The number of people talking on cellphones is amazing in Remuera. They drive their expensive cars but dont invest in something for hands free. Does this include the police as twice this week I have seen them on celllphones????
Alex said on 2009-11-02 @ 07:45 NZDT: Report abusive post
Mobile phone usage while driving hasn't caused that many road deaths. But just because it hasn't doesn't mean that it is right. It's a big distraction and drivers ought to wait until they pull over to answer the call or text. Or simply do it later if it is not important
blacksky said on 2009-10-26 @ 19:08 NZDT: Report abusive post
I guess this helps but there are so many other distractions what is the point. It would be better to put the time and effort in to better driver training than to pass new laws. I think distractions that are just as bad if not worse that I regularly see drivers doing include, kids, eating, MP3 players, stereos. Its not like we can ban these. Kids must be the biggest distraction, e.g. if your baby starts crying your natural reaction is to take your eyes off the road and look...cont next post...
mouthguard said on 2009-08-26 @ 10:09 NZDT: Report abusive post
The hard science shows us that there is no difference in risk between hands-free and normal phones while driving. Yet hands-free is still going to be OK. Another example of legislation missing the point. It is the distraction that is the problem, not the communication method as it turns out. Our cell-phone addiction is actually killing Kiwis on the road.