Victoria Police are trialling a new long-range camera that can catch people who are not wearing seatbelts or who are texting whilst driving from 700 metres away.

The Ranger video camera is set up on a tripod and allows officers to record up to eight seconds of video before stopping any driver who is found to be breaking the road rules.

Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Robert Hill says it is the first time the technology has been used in Australia.

"The new technology allows our police members to zoom in on drivers approaching a static location, [to see] whether they're concentrating behind the wheel, whether they're wearing their seat belt," he said.

"We'll test the equipment and we'll see whether this is an effective way to influence driver behaviour, [to] encourage people to get off their mobile phones and wear their seatbelts."

Sorry, this video has expired The new long-range camera in action ( Victoria Police )

Police are refusing to say how many of the cameras will be operational during the Easter and Anzac day holiday period in Melbourne and in country Victoria.

"This year alone, if we look at similar holiday periods, the Australia Day weekend, the Labor Day weekend, we saw significant numbers of people killed and seriously injured on the roads," he said.

"My concern is that Easter will again continue that trend."

Assistant Commissioner Hill says driver distraction, not wearing seatbelts, speeding and drink driving contribute to most of the road deaths.

Police will also be out in force over the holiday period, starting on Saturday as part of Operation Unite, targeting alcohol abuse, drink driving and anti-social behaviour.