Police will be on the lookout for distracted driving across the territory throughout June as part of an continuing effort to promote road safety and reduce the number of serious crashes.

Road Safety Operations Team Sergeant Stuart Howes said a driver travelling at 80 km/h who took their eyes off the road for three seconds to send a text or change the radio station would cover about 60 metres of road "effectively blind-folded".

''It comes down to everything you do in the car, from yelling at the kids, playing with your dog, leaning over to get that CD that you dropped, leaning over to pick up your phone if you dropped it, is enough to cause a serious collision.

''Driving is so dangerous in itself, you need 100 per cent concentration.''

Here's what grinds their gears:

1. Texting while driving

Drivers who try to type, read or reply to a text message in the car are the most common, and most frustrating, type of distracted motorist police deal with.

Sergeant Howes said a glance at a mobile phone which lasted a few seconds was enough to cause a crash.

''There is absolutely no excuse to look at your phone while driving, either have a passenger in the car check the phone for you or simply pull over.''

Sergeant Howes said tech-savvy members of Gen Y found it particularly difficult to leave their mobile phone alone in the car.

''That phone might be your lifeline, but it could be the end of someone's life,'' he said. ''The younger generation tends to use their phones for absolutely everything. They've just got to realise that although they're really good at texting, they're not good at doing two things at once.

''And that's when the car becomes a deadly missile, because no one's paying attention.''

Drivers caught using their mobile phone face a fine of $337 and three demerit points.

2. Noisy children and passengers

Traffic conditions often compete with crying children, bickering partners and noisy passengers for a driver's attention.

''Generally children will do child-like things in the car, they'll drop their teddy and parents will lean over to grab their teddy,'' Sergeant Howes said. ''Apart from you taking your attention off the road, you're taking your eyes off the road as well.

Sergeant Howes advised parents who had to deal with an upset baby, fighting siblings or a hungry toddler in the car, to pull over.

''That might be a good idea for your mental health as well, to just stop and take five minutes to calm down.''

Road Safety Operations Sergeant Rod Anderson said: ''I would say, just stop and think what their most important role and responsibility is, and that's to control the vehicle.''

Adult passengers also had a responsibility not to distract the driver, Sergeant Anderson said.

3. Ice, ice baby

Canberra residents might be used to the cold, but police said they weren't so good at planning ahead for that thick layer of ice that often settled on their windscreen overnight.

Drivers who didn't allow for an extra five minutes in the morning to melt the ice on their windscreen posed a serious risk on the roads.

''Ice in Canberra in winter is a big distraction,'' Sergeant Howes said. ''It's all your windows that need to be clear – front, back and side windows – not just a 20-centimetre periscope shape for you to see out of on your windscreen.''

Motorists who drive with obscured vision in the ACT could cop a $135 fine.

4. Food and drink

Sergeant Anderson often tells a story of a man he caught driving with a windscreen that had frosted up, a cup of coffee in one hand and a smoke in the other. He couldn't understand why police were concerned.

Sergeant Howes said: ''I know everyone's busy these days, everyone's time is precious and they're trying to get from one place to another and they're grabbing lunch on the way, but it doesn't help.

''Having your burger or drinking your milkshake while you're driving isn't illegal, but the problem is the distraction's illegal.''

5. Makeup and manscaping

Despite the relatively short commute time in the capital, police said women who applied makeup and men who had a shave in the car of a morning were not uncommon.

''The danger with that is you're pulling the sun visor down so you're obscuring your vision, and then you're looking in the mirror at yourself,'' Sergeant Howes said. ''Makeup and manscaping is best left for the big mirror at home.''

The police effort to reduce distracted driving this month comes off the back of last month's police campaign to crack down on drivers who got behind the wheel under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Police nabbed 131 drunk drivers and 41 motorists under the influence of illicit drugs in May.

They carried out 14,500 random breath tests and 252 roadside drug tests.

Sergeant Anderson said drugs and alcohol had a serious impact on a driver's ability to control their vehicle.

He said territory police had expanded its roadside drug screening capabilities and carried out almost 5000 more breath tests during May, compared with the same month last year.

''Drivers who are affected by drink and who take drugs, which is a very dangerous decision to make, will be apprehended,'' Sergeant Anderson said.