Police have noticed an increase in people speeding during lockdown, both in the city and on the highways, Senior Sergeant Nik Leigh said.
"There’s a general sense of complacency We’re detecting a lot more high speeds than we ought to be."
On Wednesday, two people in the Dunedin area had their licences suspended for 28 days for excessive speed.
Police would be targeting speeders during lockdown, he said.
While roads might be
relatively empty because most people were staying off them and were at
home, there were plenty of people out and about walking and cycling, Snr Sgt Leigh said.
There were also a lot of children out and about during home-schooling breaks.
As well as an increasing number of pedestrians, there also seemed to be people travelling unnecessarily.
Police were concerned not only about the risk to the public, but how a crash could affect resourcing should the Covid-19 situation escalate, Snr Sgt Leigh said.
"If this pandemic goes south, we’re going to need hospital beds.
"We don’t want people in hospital generally, but particularly for preventable stuff like having a crash, not wearing your seatbelt, etc."
