The number of calls to the police’s *555 poor driving line have dropped almost 17% during the past year.
New Zealand Police are at a loss as to why the number of calls to the service have dropped so dramatically during the past year.
Police received more than 307,000 calls to the line during the July 2014 to June 2015 financial year.
But in the most recently concluded financial year that number plummeted by more than 44,000 to 263,045 — marking the lowest number of calls to the line since the 2012-13 financial year.
Communications centres national operations manager Inspector Mal Schwartfeger said police did not know why the number of calls had dropped.
"We cannot provide rationale for why the numbers of *555 calls have dropped off," Insp Schwartfeger said.
"A percentage, 10%, of the reduced number of calls relate to calls which are being presented to the NZTA in the first instance through the use of an interactive voice recording.
"Police continue to receive calls regarding traffic offending on our 111 lines, and 111 continues to be an option for driving behaviour which may be dangerous and unfolding at the time. Each call on the 111 and *555 service is assessed individually to determine the severity of offending and, therefore, the appropriate police response.
"There are also a number of calls that come in via the *555 line about issues to do with State Highways as opposed to driving behaviour. Police have worked with the New Zealand Transport Authority (NZTA) to launch an interactive voice recording on the *555 line so that calls about a specific State Highway issue can go directly to the NZTA who manage these roading concerns."
Despite the decline in use, the line still provided an important service to the public and police, he said.
"Anything which deters drivers from endangering themselves or others is a positive thing," he said.
"So long as members of the public continue to report all incidents of unsafe driving behaviour, we do not have immediate concerns about the number of *555 calls.
"We would continue to encourage people to continue using the *555 service to report any concerning driver behaviour. This includes non-injury crashes, erratic driving, traffic congestion, breakdowns and obstructions on the highway. Emergencies, as always, should be reported to 111."
New Zealand Police continued to call on road users to contact them on the service to report any matters of dangerous driving.
"Police would encourage anyone who sees concerning driving behaviour and manages to get a number plate or a good description of the vehicle to call *555 free of charge," Insp Schwart-feger said.
"If the driving behaviour is ongoing and continues to pose a risk to the public, 111 is an alternative to *555. Calls to either number will be assessed and given the appropriate priority and police response.
"When reporting unsafe driving behaviour to police, the call taker may ask you to fill out a community roadwatch form on the police website. We strongly encourage this.
"A letter will be sent to the driver and your identity is not disclosed, but the driver will be made aware that there has been a concern about their driving behaviour raised with police.
"This may improve their behaviour in the future, which helps keep our roads safer."
