Street racing, disqualified driving and drivers using mobile phones were some of the offences caught by police during a four-day operation targeting driver behaviour in Invercargill this week.

Invercargill Strategic Traffic Unit head Sergeant John Pine said two cars were impounded for street racing, another seven were impounded because the drivers were disqualified or suspended, 10 tickets were issued for drivers using their mobile phones, and many motorists were not wearing seatbelts.

But most of the tickets were handed out for unsafe changing of lanes, running through red lights and failing to stop at stop signs, Mr Pine said.

Southland police had targeted intersections because of the disproportionately high number of accidents at those zones in the city.

"What we noticed was too many drivers were coming to intersections while inattentive or distracted," he said.

Invercargill has had the highest number of intersection crashes per capita in New Zealand for the past four years. There were 242 intersection crashes in the city last year, figures show.

A two-car crash near the intersection of Dalrymple and Ythan streets yesterday highlighted the issue.

Seventeen-year-old Jesse Gush was shaken but uninjured after the car he was driving and another, driven by a woman, collided about 3pm.

The woman had driven through a give way sign, he said.

The impact had shunted his car about 40m.

A resident said the intersection was notorious for people failing to slow at the give way sign.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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