Some drivers scoffed burgers and pies with both hands while steering with their knees or elbows.

Others were frantically texting, scrolling Facebook or checking emails from behind the wheel. 

But all were busted by Waikato police during a traffic operation, run throughout Thursday in Hamilton, targeting distraction.

Using a spotter above a stretch of road, a police checkpoint caught 68 people on their phones while behind the wheel and plenty of others eating food. 

It was a concern for police, who see too many crashes as a result of distraction, the operation commander Senior Sergeant Rupert Friend said. 

"We also wrote a ticket for someone who had a burger in each hand and was steering with their knees," Friend said.

But most of those on their phones were texting, messaging or emailing, rather than calling people. 

"That's what we were specifically trying to target, those cell phones below the window line.

"They had phones in their lap texting, checking emails ...We find people on Facebook and all sorts of things."

Earlier this year, staff saw a man swiping left and right on Tinder at a set of traffic lights in Hamilton. 

And it wasn't just young drivers, glued to their phones. 

A 68-year-old woman on her way to a vape store followed by the gym, was one of those caught texting her friends on Thursday. 

Sadly, the results weren't altogether surprising, with 284 people either killed or seriously injured in crashes that resulted from distracted driving in 2017. 

"Experts have proven that you can't multi task. Sending a text takes your eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds at a time."

Travelling at 80kmph - where the operation took place -  that's about 100 metres driven with eyes off the road. 

Another concern for police were the number of people eating while driving. Some clutched pies or sandwiches with both hands, using their elbows or knees to steer. 

"Over the years we've seen people doing make up and people with a bowl of cereal eating on their way to work. Bowl of cereal in one hand, spoon in the other."

Hot food was a concern, because if you spilled something into your lap, drivers wouldn't have time to react to a child running across the road or car pulling out, Friend said. 

For those eating staff focused on educating them on why it was important to be focusing on the road with two hands on the wheel. 

"Put your phone and your pie down and deal with it when you get there or pull over on the side of the road for two minutes and eat or finish your phone call.

"We feel like we have to do everything now, but it's life threatening." 

Too many people's lives are lost changed forever as a result of distraction behind the wheel, Friend said. 

"We don't want anyone else to go through that."