A woman was fined for driving at 15kmh under the speed limit on an Auckland motorway.

An Auckland woman who was fined $150 for driving 85kmh on a motorway says the harsh punishment has left her confused and anxious.

The woman, who Stuff has agreed not to name, was driving home from work on the northern motorway on October 2 when she noticed a police officer behind her.

"I was driving on the right-hand lane and actually trying not to speed ... I usually drive faster hence being in the right lane."

When she reached Northcote, the police car flashed its lights, signalling for her to pull over.

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"I was thinking to myself I must have been speeding, but then I felt like I wasn't over the limit so was really unsure why I was pulled over."

The woman said the officer told her she was driving at 85kmh and blocking two cars, before sternly asking why she didn't pull over earlier.

"There was not much traffic as it was 10pm and all the lanes were open on the North Shore.

"If I was blocking any cars they [could have] easily have gone to other lanes."

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She was fined $150 and was given 20 demerit points – the equivalent demerit points to speeding 10-15kmh over the limit.

"I tried to ask questions as I was tired and confused, [the officer] didn't even listen and walked off."

The reason given on her infringement notice was "slow vehicle or inconsiderate driving, impeded traffic".

Her speed wasn't recorded on the infringement notice and she said the officer didn't show her proof she was travelling excessively slow.

The situation left her feeling unfairly treated and anxious about driving, she said. She planned to dispute the ticket.

There are no set rules around ticketing slow drivers with the decision left to the discretion of the officer.

"There is no fixed point at which action will be taken regarding a driver who is driving slowly," acting road policing boss, Inspector Peter McKennie said.

​"And often that action will be educational rather than issuing an infringement notice."

The New Zealand road code states that on multi-lane roads drivers should keep to the left lane unless passing.

"If you are driving below the speed limit and have traffic building up behind you, pull over and let the other traffic pass when and where it is safe to do so," McKennie said.

But there are times when driving slower than the speed limit is expected, he added.

"Driving up to the speed limit is often not safe for the engineering of the road or the road conditions at the time.

"As such, you should drive at a safe speed within the speed limit, rather than using the speed limit as a target."

Police could not comment specifically on the woman's case as it was under dispute.

However, the AA driving school's general manager Roger Venn said the woman was "absolutely" in the wrong.

"Driving at 85kmh in lane three at night, when there is no other traffic, is inappropriate and discourteous and it is not safe.

"The road code was absolutely clear on it - and we don't do very well in New Zealand - once you have overtaken, you return to the left-hand lane."

He said if the woman had been driving 85kmh on the same stretch of motorway in the left-hand lane, there wouldn't have been a problem.

"Kiwi drivers sometimes lack the experience and etiquette to pull back into the left and allow faster traffic to overtake."

This was because New Zealanders were less exposed to multi-lane roads and high-speed highways, compared to places such as Europe who have had them for over 50 years, he said.

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