Police are urging Tauranga drivers to be their eyes and ears this summer by dobbing in dodgy holiday driving.
As Kiwis prepare for their summer holidays, drivers are being warned of a police campaign penalising drivers caught exceeding speed limits by more than 4km/h.
But speed isn't the only thing to watch.
Hazards on the road and dodgy driving can be reported via a *555 traffic safety line.
The *555 service was introduced in 1991 to let cellphone users alert the Traffic Safety Service (TSS) to road hazards, breakdowns and problems with driver behaviour.
Police fielded 250,697 calls on the line last year.
During Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Sergeant Wayne Hunter of Tauranga road policing said police fielded several calls from the traffic safety line from motorists concerned about people being too tired to drive.
Mr Hunter said there had not been any issues with speeding, likely because the roads were too congested to speed.
"We're very pleased with the way people have been behaving. I was out all day [yesterday] and struggled to see anyone that was speeding.
"We had a few phone calls we checked out of people who were driving a bit tired, so we gave them the message about having a 15-minute rest. That's the only issue we've had."
Bay of Plenty road policing manager Kevin Taylor said the *555 line was "invaluable".
Most of the calls were about speeding, followed by careless and dangerous driving.
"That incorporates a multitude of different behaviours including overtaking in dangerous or dumb places."
A smaller number of complaints came in about unrestrained children, drivers talking on cellphones and cars going through stop signs.
Vehicles travelling too slowly and carrying animals in a way that "wasn't quite right" were other causes for concern, he said.
"In the Bay of Plenty we take a proactive approach. So the attitude is, if somebody has seen something significant enough to prompt them to call us - and we've asked them to be our eyes and ears - it's incumbent upon us to act on it.
"As a direct result of members of the public phoning in, [we've] prevented serious crashes from occurring."
Giving drivers the opportunity to inform on one another helped deter dangerous behaviour on the roads, Mr Taylor said.
"Call us, because we will respond to it."
At the time *555 was brought in, New Zealand had only 65,000 cellphone users. The number of cellphones in use jumped to four million by 2006.
Calls range from traffic congestion to faulty traffic signals, drunk drivers, insecure loads and surface flooding.
Police communications operations manager Inspector Mal Schwartfeger said *555 calls were lower urgency than 111 calls.
"[*555] is a handy, short-dial system for members of the public to report non-urgent issues of concern about New Zealand roads and members of the public that drive on them who put other road users at risk."
Police can use the tipoffs to intervene, and have the power to prosecute if a witness is willing to make a statement.
Fines can be issued on the spot if the driver admits the offence.
New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) road safety director Ernst Zollner said too many Kiwi families had their holidays marred by avoidable road tragedies.
"Drivers can do their part by planning ahead to share the driving and avoid fatigue, being patient and keeping to safe speeds, driving sober, avoiding distractions and checking their tyres, indicators and lights before heading off."
Nationally the 2012/13 Christmas holiday period recorded six deaths, 70 serious injuries and 283 minor injuries
In the previous summer there had been 19 deaths.
The official holiday period runs from 4pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on January 3.
The highest Christmas holiday road toll on record was in 1972/73 when 37 people died.
The most commonly cited contributing factors for holiday crashes include losing control, travelling too fast for conditions, alcohol, inexperience and fatigue.