Southern police have slammed the ''hugely disappointing'' behaviour of motorists after a two-week sting resulted in more than 400 fines being issued.
Operation Habit targeted poor driver behaviour between July 25 and August 7.
Southern district road policing manager Inspector Tania Baron said 286 people were issued infringement notices for not wearing seatbelts and 115 motorists were fined for using mobile phones in the district.
''The results from the Southern policing district during this two-week long operation are hugely disappointing,'' she said.
''People still aren't taking seriously the real risks associated with failing to wear a seatbelt and using their phone while driving.
''These people are endangering not only their own lives but the lives of other people travelling on our roads.''
Nationally, close to 4000 tickets were issued during the operation, with 2727 fined for not wearing a seatbelt and 1162 motorists caught using their mobile phones.
''While many of the thousands of drivers stopped by police across the country were found doing the right thing, which is fantastic, offsetting this was a significant and disappointing number of drivers still not doing the basics to keep themselves and others safe,'' national road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally said.
''Putting on your seatbelt and removing the distraction of your mobile phone only takes seconds and could save yours and someone else's life, so really should be a no-brainer.''
From January to July this year, 50 people killed in crashes in New Zealand were not wearing a seatbelt.
''That's a shocking statistic but this isn't about numbers, it's about people,'' Supt Greally said. ''It takes two seconds to put on a seatbelt and that simple act can save your life.''
Nationally, 213 people have been killed on New Zealand's roads this year - 11 in Otago and nine in Southland - a more than 5% increase on the 202 people killed in the same period last year.
Insp Baron called on all motorists and road-users to assess their behaviour to improve road safety.
''We want our roads to be a safe place for every user, so let's all work together on this and make a habit of putting our seatbelts on and mobile phones away,'' she said.
