Kissing couple lose control of car

File photo / Supplied.

A couple who decided to share a kiss instead of watching the road rolled their car on the East Coast.

The couple, in their 20s, were travelling north of Wairoa on Thursday when the driver leaned over to kiss his partner, police said.

The car appeared to veer, slid into a drain, and rolled, Senior Sergeant Tony Bates said. The woman was taken to hospital for x-rays, and the driver was not injured.

Mr Bates had a message to drivers who had to take their eyes off the road - "pull over and stop".