Tensions are escalating among frustrated motorists as police continue to run traffic stops during Tauranga’s peak rush hours, exacerbating the already gridlocked roads.

With major roadworks causing year-long disruptions, commuters are finding themselves caught in a perfect storm of inconvenience, leading to growing driver discontent.

“I’m really annoyed,” says Anna Feltham, who works as a registered nurse at Tauranga Hospital, and also at a business in Brookfield, travelling daily from Welcome Bay.

“The Tauranga police have been parking on Turret Road. There is one police spotter and then a whole group of police cars parked around the corner ticketing people for being on their phone.

“But people are on their phones because police are causing an hour-and-a-half of gridlock traffic.”

Anna says she has found police have been parking on Turret Road about once a fortnight over the last four months.

“Last week they gridlocked from Tauranga Boys’ College down to the Bethlehem highway and across Cameron Road.  

“It took me an hour-and-a-half to get home. They were ticketing people who were on their phone.

“I had to ring my day care to let them know I’d be late.”

She says with the road works, people are already spending up to 90 minutes a day trying to get from Welcome Bay across to Tauranga city.

“One morning it was gridlocked all the way down Maungatapu Road from the shops, all of State Highway 29A over the Maungatapu Bridge. Congested from the Welcome Bay Dairy and the Maungatapu Dairy.

“I live at the back of Welcome Bay so I can travel via Baypark or Welcome Bay.  But when police are running their stop, it takes an hour to get my daughter to Maungatapu School. I need to get to her school by 8.20am as I know it will take 40 mins getting over the Hairini Bridge to get to work for 9am.”

Other days she is finding that the police stops are being run towards the end of the day, again during rush hour traffic.

“They are there for the 5pm traffic. So, if I didn’t leave work at 4.45pm then I have to sit in the Bethlehem traffic going to 15th Ave for 30 minutes. Its gridlock when the police are there.  When they are not there, the roadworks are still there and that’s bad, without police adding to it.

Police say they understand checkpoints are not always convenient for members of the public.

“However they are part of our routine policing to keep our communities safe,” says Police Area Manager: Prevention Inspector Zane Smith.

“The way times and locations are selected for checkpoints vary, and take into account factors such as the behaviour being targeted, the likelihood of that behaviour being identified at a specific time, and volume of drivers likely to be travelling that route.”

Inspector Smith says checkpoints are run in such a way as to minimise impact on congestion wherever possible.

“The reality is, there is no excuse for using your cell phone while driving.

“Distraction is one of the four main contributors of death and serious injury on our roads.”

Anna says with the traffic congestion already on Cameron Road, “it’s so hard and police are making it so much harder”.

“There are ram raids and areas that need police presence but this is not it. This is so wrong.”

Anna says for law-abiding people trying to get to work at this time it’s like being punished.

“No one is on their phone while driving but they are having to go on their phones calling work to say they’ll be late for work. I can’t get 150 metres in 30 minutes.

“I think it is mucked up that they put police at Turret Road at those times.”

Inspector Smith says the public should expect to see police out anytime, anywhere, keeping our roads safe.

“We are committed to targeting this behaviour until people get the message – please, put your phone away while driving. It’s not worth your life or the life of someone in the car next to you.”

“I think what’s letting this down, is that Inspector Smith states we’re on our phones while driving, or distraction is the main cause of death,” says Anna. “But if you’re at a standstill for 10mins or moving less than 2km per hour for 40 mins, the risk of death is just not a relative comparison.

“And they don’t hold checkpoints at any other time - it’s 9am or 5pm. What criminal activity are you going to get at that time? Nothing. When we are moving at genuine normal speed above 10km per hour then we’re not on our phones - we can continue commuting to work safely.