Story: Road accidents

Cellphones in cars

Cellphones in cars

By 2008, a significant number of road deaths and injuries had been attributed to text messaging or talking on cellphones while driving, and the issue had become political, with many people backing a ban on cellphone use by drivers. In this cartoon the Minister of Transport, Annette King, and the Transport Safety Officer, Harry Duynhoven, are shown crashing while on their way to a meeting to discuss the issue. Using cellphones while driving became illegal in 2009.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: DCDL-0006834
Cartoon by Trace Hodgson

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Nancy Swarbrick, 'Road accidents - The cost of road accidents', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/cartoon/20896/cellphones-in-cars (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 11 Mar 2010, updated 1 Dec 2014