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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Worst example of driver distraction

By Kiri Gillespie
Bay of Plenty Times·
16 May, 2013 09:24 PM2 mins to read

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A woman who drove through a red light because she was focusing on flossing her teeth at the same time is one of the worst examples of driver distraction police have seen.

The woman, in her 40s, was travelling down Cameron Rd as Sergeant Wayne Hunter followed in a plain police car.

"I noticed she was weaving in between the lanes around 18th Ave. I thought 'oh, we've got a drunk driver already'. I followed her for probably another 200m to 300m and she was still weaving and we pulled up beside her and she was flossing her teeth.

"This lady was using her elbows and her knees to guide the steering wheel with the mirror down and flossing her teeth."

Mr Hunter said the woman then went through a red light at 13th Ave and she was pulled over and given a $150 ticket for the offence.

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When Mr Hunter asked about the flossing "she didn't think it was that bad, doing that".

"I said if there was a pedestrian crossing the road she wouldn't have seen that, or even if there was a car stopped, she didn't seem to care."

Mr Hunter said the incident was one of the worst examples of driver distraction he had encountered.

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"You get your lipsticks, brushing the teeth and shaving at the lights, but this is the first time someone's been [seen] flossing."

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