Senior Constable Graeme Buttar, of Cromwell, has spearheaded a pilot project aimed at introducing cameras and fast telephoto lenses to the road policing arsenal.
He had used the equipment largely in Central Otago but also on SH1 around the Balclutha area, and had "great success", snapping drivers talking on their cellphones, crossing the centre line and not wearing a seat belt.
An advantage of the large-aperture telephoto lens was that plainclothes officers could be up to 400m away taking photos of unsuspecting motorists.
One truck driver driving past Barry Ave, Cromwell, was snapped several times eating a pie while steering with his knees.
"Unfortunately, it is not an offence at this stage."
The cameras and lenses were not for revenue-gathering, but were tools to catch offenders, and were supplied to each police district as a result of his initial work, he said.
"We get arguments from people saying they weren't talking on their cellphones and doing something else, but the camera helps us remove that out of the equation by saying: `Here is the photograph'."
The reaction from the public was mixed, but "people don't realise what a distraction talking on a cellphone is ... they could drive over the top of someone and not even see them".
Snr Const Buttar was also amazed to see parents not wearing their seat belts in front of their children in the back seat.
"What sort of message does that send?" he asked.
His own survey, based on 350 photos of people crossing the centreline, showed the average age of the driver was 45, they were predominantly male (86%), and between them they had amassed 30,000 demerit points in their driver histories.
The statistics and pictures showed that despite claims to the contrary, it was New Zealanders and not foreign drivers who were the problem on the country's roads, he said.
Snr Const Buttar's project began in 2005 after he read about Blenheim police using a digital camera to record images of people crossing the centre line, and decided to try with his own "point and shoot" camera.
An acquaintance recommended Snr Const Buttar use a Canon EOS 400D with a 300mm zoom lens.
However, that proved to be less than ideal in low-light.
Trialling a faster 400mm lens was "as different as night and day", but he had to make a case to justify its $3000 price-tag.
Following support for his project from national road policing manager Superintendent Paula Rose and ACC, better lenses were supplied to each district.
A letter and photo were sent to registered owners of vehicles snapped infringing traffic laws, requesting the identity of driver of the vehicle at the time and place the photo was taken.
