Distractions

Reduce the risk of crashes while driving by putting your phone away on the roads in Lower Hutt.

Best practice when driving

  • Don’t use a phone at all.
  • Let calls go to voicemail and don’t respond to any messages you receive.
  • Only use your phone once you’ve pulled over and parked safely. This is the safest choice and it allows you to respond fully once you’re parked.
  • Have an app or function like ‘Do not disturb while driving’ mode activated on your phone. Text messages and other notifications are silenced or limited, but you can still play music and get navigation assistance.

If you decide to use your phone legally:

  • use it on a hands-free device/mounting – while this is practical, it still carries risk
  • use it only for navigation (enter the destination before you drive) or as a music source (set it up before you drive).

Hands-free

If you’re talking hands-free, you’re still more at risk of having a crash than if you’re not talking on the phone at all. This is because a driver using a phone can be distracted by concentrating on the conversation rather than on the road.

If you’re talking hands-free, you should:

  • keep the conversion short
  • don’t engage in complex or emotional conversations
  • tell the person on the other end of the phone that you’re driving and may have to end the call abruptly
  • end the call if it's distracting you from driving.

Legal mobile phone use in the car

ONLY if the phone is either:

  • secured in a mounting fixed to the vehicle, that doesn’t obstruct the driver’s view, and you touch the phone infrequently and briefly,
    or
  • able to be operated without touching any part of the phone (eg by Bluetooth, voice activation or the controls to answer the phone are part of the car steering wheel or dashboard).

ONLY if the phone is either:

  • secured in a mounting fixed to the vehicle, that doesn't obstruct the driver’s view, and you touch the phone infrequently and briefly,
    or
  • able to be operated without touching any part of the phone (eg by Bluetooth or voice activation).

ONLY if the phone is either:

  • secured in a mounting fixed to the vehicle and doesn’t obstruct the driver’s view of the road. Drivers are encouraged to set their destination before driving and to rely on the GPS spoken directions rather than looking at the phone,
    or
  • able to be operated without touching any part of the phone (eg by Bluetooth or voice activation).

Illegal device use in a car

It's illegal for a driver to:

  • hold and use a mobile phone at any time while driving or waiting in a queue of traffic, at an intersection, or at traffic lights
  • create, send or read any type of message while driving
  • email, use social media, video call, browse the internet, play games and take photos/video while driving
  • perform any other activity not specifically listed while holding a mobile phone and driving, including use of the phone for navigation or to play music.

You can only do these thing when your vehicle is stopped safely out of the flow of traffic.

Note: The penalty for using a hand-held mobile phone while driving is $150 and 20 demerit points.

Best practice when contacting a driver

If you need to contact someone who’s driving, help keep them safe by considering the following:

  • Do you need to contact them right now? If you’re aware someone is driving, it’s safest not to call or text them.
  • If you call someone and you suspect they’re driving, offer to call them back.
  • It’s best to avoid complex or emotional conversations when someone’s driving a car. If the conversation is likely to be complex or emotional, ask them to call you back or offer to call them back.
  • If you talk to someone who’s driving, keep the call brief.

Note: a driver can legally make a 111 or *555 call if isn’t safe or practical to stop the car and make the call.

For more information