Taranaki police have ramped up their highway patrol as motorists flout the coronavirus lockdown rules.

Despite the rules being made abundantly clear, Sergeant Pat Duffy, of the Central District highway patrol, said there were still "too many" cars on the road.

"People are just taking the mickey," he said on Saturday, day three of the lockdown.

New Zealand went into alert level four on Wednesday night, and for the next four weeks everyone but essential workers must stay at home.

While on lockdown people are able to exercise in their neighbourhood or travel to essential services such as supermarkets or pharmacies. All other activities, including driving, have been prohibited.

Duffy was surprised and disappointed that not all Taranaki motorists had heeded the rules.

He said police have been out in force, stopping cars to check why people were on the road.

"So many of them don't have any excuse at all. It's daft. We've got a serious problem going on.

"We're getting all the excuses under the sun like they're going shopping or they're doing this and that and the other. But we both know they're not going shopping."

Among the rule-breakers, Duffy said police have stopped cars packed out with "young people".

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They were not self-isolating, he believed.

"I'm stuck in a position where I'm having to stop and speak with people and that's putting me and my family at risk.

"They should be thinking exactly the same."

At the moment, motorists driving without a legitimate reason would not receive a ticket and police were just "having that conversation" with them.

Meanwhile, a number of Taranaki surfers have been equally reckless.

Official advice has been that people refrain from surfing during the lockdown period as it would put pressure on medical staff if anything went awry while out in the waves. 

But on Saturday a lineup of about 20 surfers was seen between East End and Fitzroy beaches.

There were about five off of Belt Rd, and around the coast off Paora Rd, south of Okato, a smaller group were seen out on the breaks.

Some of these surfers have claimed on social media that while in the water, police had put notices on their car windows warning them against surfing.

Duffy was unable to confirm the notes came from police and said it was more likely to have been put there by locals.  

Government Controller John Ombler advised people to phone 105 if they saw anyone ignoring the rules.