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Mr Campion said police had "very limited tolerance" and anyone using cellphones while driving could expect a $150 fine. He recommended people use hands-free kits or Bluetooth.
"One of the biggest crash causation issues for us in the Western Bay of Plenty, particularly in serious injury or fatal crashes, is distraction," Mr Campion said. "Part of the distraction issue is the use of cellphones.''
Yesterday, the Bay of Plenty Times surveyed northbound traffic at the intersection of 9th Ave and Cameron for 15 minutes, and spotted seven drivers using their cellphones.
Automobile Association Bay of Plenty chairman Terry Molloy said the issue was a "massive problem".
"Texting ... while driving is absolutely lethal," he said. "From my own point of view, anybody caught texting and driving should result in an automatic loss of licence. There shouldn't be any grey area."
Mr Molloy said texting was "incredibly dangerous" and worse than talking on a phone.
Nationally, distracted driving resulted in 22 deaths and 191 serious injuries in 2014, according to the NZ Transport Agency.
The agency listed cellphones as its number one distraction, with drivers engaged in texting 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash than other drivers.
The agency said sending or reading a text took a person's eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. At 90km/h, that was like driving the length of a rugby field blindfolded.
Under the Land Transport (Road User) Rule 2004 drivers cannot use a hand-held mobile phone to make, receive or terminate a telephone call; create, send or read a text message or email; create, send or view a video message; or communicate in a similar or any other way.
Drivers could use a mobile phone to make a call while driving only if it was an emergency situation and unsafe or impracticable to stop the vehicle to make the call.