Police figures show that in 2010 about $37,000 in fines was brought in for 463 offences in the Southern district.
The figures have since ballooned, with about $244,000 being gathered from about 2000 Southern drivers last year.
Nationally about $700,000 was netted from around 8000 offenders in 2010; compared to nearly $5 million from around 33,000 drivers in 2021.
This year, Southern police have already exceeded last year’s efforts, with $254,100 in fines being given to 1714 offenders, as of September.
Southern district road policing manager Inspector James Ure said there were still "areas of opportunity" to identify more drivers who were choosing to use cellphones while driving or not use seatbelts.
The number of tickets given out for restraints in Southern has been increasing since a low of about 1700 in 2020, with about 2600 being given last year.
Insp Ure was "quietly hopeful" about reaching 2009 levels, when almost 7000 infringements were issued in the South.
The lower number of tickets was not because the message was getting through.
"As I drive around the district, I still see frequent offending [around] restraints," Insp Ure said.
Figures from Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency showed failure to use seatbelts was the district’s second biggest cause of death and serious injury, which showed interventions were not revenue gathering exercises, Insp Ure said.
While it was harder to prove that cellphone use had contributed to a crash, they were no less lethal.
The value of the fine was being reviewed, and it was likely to go up, Insp Ure said.
"I’d expect that there’s likely to be significant increases coming in the New Year," Insp Ure said.
His message to drivers was to put their phones in the glovebox and concentrate on the road.
Most apprehensions for cell phones and restraints were in metro areas where drivers could be identified at checkpoints, but Insp Ure hoped that would change with plans for a three-person mobile team who would deploy around the district, including to rural areas, Insp Ure said.
It would be comprised of officers who were experts at identifying infractions around seatbelts and mobile phone use, Insp Ure said.
Safety cameras, which can pick up on restraint and mobile phone use, are being trialled in Auckland but there were no immediate plans to roll them out down south.
However, point-to-point cameras were being discussed with Waka Kotahi for Dunedin’s motorways and police were being consulted on appropriate sites.
The cameras tracked vehicle speed from the moment of entry to exit and were in operation across Australia.
New mobile speed cameras being used by officers in the South could also pinpoint speeding drivers with far more accuracy than older models.
The message for drivers as holidays fast approached was to slow down, be patient and overtake safely, Insp Ure said.
