One in 30 Auckland motorists caught using their mobile phone while driving

Tuesday, 12 June 2018

A motorist is caught using their mobile phone while driving in a 100km/h zone.

One in every 30 Aucklanders still uses their mobile phone while driving according to a snap survey.

The survey conducted by Australian company One Task, caught 3.5 per cent of Auckland motorists using their mobile phones while driving on a 100km/h stretch of the Southern Motorway.

One motorist was filmed with a dog on their lap.

One Task recorded footage of the Southern Motorway, underneath the East Tamaki overbridge for more than seven hours.

From the 18,651 vehicles observed the company busted 671 motorists touching their mobile phones while driving - an average of one every 39 seconds.

Another motorist was snapped enjoying a salad while using their phone.

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The footage was recorded on specially designed cameras between 8:35am and 4pm on Tuesday May 29, outside peak traffic hours on a fine day.

An AA spokesman said he wasn't surprised by the blatant use of mobile phones.

'Phone use while driving is a big issue - the only part that was a surprise was that people are still checking their phones while going 100km/h.'

He said distraction, often through the act of checking a mobile phone, was one of the most common causes of car crashes.

'According to statistics around 20 per cent of accidents are caused by distraction and inattention but at AA we definitely think that's an under estimate.'

AA believe there needs to be a change to how many Aucklander's are using their mobile phones while driving and the only way that can be done is through education.

'All these people who use their phones while driving aren't doing so because they think it's dangerous, they just aren't realising and recognising the risks.'

One Task Project Manager Alex McCredie said One Task conducted the snap survey as a way to highlight how endemic mobile phone use on the road really is.

'We're hoping this will show that the current measures to combat mobile phone use while driving aren't working and help politicians in New Zealand decide to explore and implement new methods to ensure motorists are behaving in a safe manner on New Zealand roads.'

Motorists caught using their mobile phones while driving have to pay a penalty of $80 as well as receiving 20 demerit points.