A 33-year-old man has been arrested by police after a motorist witnessed him driving recklessly on State Highway 2, between Tauranga and Waihi, yesterday.

Hauraki-Piako area response manager Senior Sergeant Rex Knight says police received a call from the concerned motorist after the man nearly ran a woman off the road north of Katikati at about 12.40pm.

Police arrested a 33-year-old man yesterday following a call from a concerned motorists who witnessed him driving recklessly near Katikati on State Highway 2. Photo: File

'Waihi units responded to the call and stopped the car near the intersection with Waihi Beach Rd,” says Rex. 'The 33-year-old male driver initially gave false details to the officers.

"But thanks to modern technology as part of the Police's mobility roll-out, his actual identity was established as that of a suspended driver."

Rex adds: 'The car he was driving was not his and we're working to locate the rightful owner for that and we believe a large television and an iPad recovered in the car may have been stolen.”

Because the man was driving while suspended the car was impounded for 28 Days.

He is due to appear in the Hamilton District Court today on nine active charges.

Rex says yesterday's stop is a very good example of why people who notice something amiss should do something about it and ring 111.

'Generally, people's instincts are pretty accurate,” says Rex, 'and if something doesn't feel right it probably isn't.

'In this case an anti-social driver ended up being a person banned from driving with an extensive criminal history in possession of a vehicle and property that are not his.”

The number of driving complaints from the public across the Waikato has risen dramatically this summer, showing the public's tolerance for bad driving is diminishing.

Rex says the old adage of 'not all people who drive are criminals, but all criminals drive” applies here and reports from the public can be the 'one thing that makes all the difference”.

He adds: 'The member of the public who reported bad driving behaviour… probably had no idea of the outcome of their call.”

'But it highlights the importance of seeing something and doing something about it."