People are being reminded not to get distracted as they head away for long weekends

Roughly half the population have Monday off, for their respective anniversary days.

One police officer, sitting in a visible marked car in Queenstown, issued 23 infringements for drivers using cellphones in just eight hours.

A spokesperson for road safety group, Brake, Caroline Perry says the rules around cellphones should be obvious.

She says it's frustrating to see so many people not following the rules and putting themselves and others at risk.