Safety First

As of November 1, it is an offence in New Zealand to use hand-held cellphones while driving. The ban on making or receiving calls from a cellphone, texting and e-mailing is one of a raft of new road rules under the Land Transport (Road User) Amendment Rule 29. Motorists can make calls legally if they have a fully voice activated phone, or the device is secured in a fixed mounting. Genuine emergency calls are also allowed. Those caught breaking the law may be given an $8 infringement ticket and 2 demerit points. And you won’t get away with the creative methods the Americans are employing to avoid cellphone bans, like wrapping giant rubber band around your head and sliding a hand-held phone underneath. The ban is being introduced here after years of disquiet about mobile phone use by drivers. From 23ñ8 there were 482 injury crashes and 25 fatal crashes on New Zealand roads where use of a mobile phone was a factor.