Road toll already on par with last season
Four people died on our roads after just 48 hours of the Christmas and New Year holiday break, already equalling the road toll over the entire festive season the previous year.
On Christmas Day, two people died after a car crashed into a power pole in South Auckland.
Two more people died in the early hours of Boxing Day when their car hit a bridge in West Auckland.
In a statement, Inspector Jason Homan said investigations were ongoing into the causes of both crashes, but high speeds appeared to be a factor.
Figures from the Ministry of Transport showed four people died for the entire Christmas/ New Year holiday death toll in 2019-20.
The previous year, nine people died while driving during the festive period.
The official period started at 4pm on Christmas Eve and extends until 6am on Tuesday, January 5, 2021.
The total number of deaths on New Zealand roads in 2020 up to December 26 stands at 315. The road toll for 2019 was 349.
Meanwhile, motorists faced heavy traffic as holidaymakers escaped Auckland and Wellington for the new year’s break.
Long queues of cars could be seen on Auckland’s southern motorway, from Greenlane to the foot of the Bombay Hills, as people left the city yesterday.
In Wellington, Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency said congestion was building in the northbound sections of State Highway 1 between Peka Peka and O¯ taki.
Road traffic had also slowed between Pukerua Bay and Paeka¯ ka¯ riki.
The transport agency urged motorists to check its holiday journey hot spots tool to work out when and where delays were expected across the entire state highway network.