Last Easter five people died on the roads during the holiday period.
National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally hoped this year no one would be killed and the would be a significantly greater police presence, particularly on open roads.
Easter was a particularly dangerous time both because there were more people on the road, and there was a greater likelihood of drink-drivers.
Police are asking drivers to make sure everyone in their vehicle wears a seatbelt, to not drive under the influence, to remove distractions and to slow down.
The official Easter holiday period began at 4pm on Thursday, April 6 and ends at 6am on Tuesday, April 11.
Frosty start in South
It was a chilly start for the South Island with many areas cold and frosty on Good Friday, with Wanaka recorded a temperature of 2degC and Alexander recorded 0degC at 7am.
“It was a pretty cold and frosty start to the morning down there. A good part of the South Island is pretty cold,” MetService meteorologist Clare O’Connor said.
A southeasterly flow will result in sunshine for the West Coast, while cloud and some drizzle across the rest of the South Island was expected to clear throughout Friday.
The South Island would begin to see showers and rain on Sunday and Monday.
Care urged in cyclone-hit areas, heavy rain for Gisborne
MetService said heavy rain was expected for northern and eastern parts of the North Island over Easter.
Waka Kotahi journey manager Andre Taylor said with the road damage and heavy rain expected in areas still recovering from February's Cyclone Gabrielle, driving to the conditions had never been more important.
Road users should be patient, allow extra travel time and take regular breaks.
An orange heavy rain warning for the Gisborne region has been in place since 6am today and remains until midnight on Saturday.
Hastings recorded 10mm of rain in an hour about 6.30am today, while near Gisborne, Hicks Bay recorded 20mm and Tolaga Bay recorded 10mm of rain since midnight.
“Gisborne itself hasn’t recorded any rain yet but it’s on the way for them and we’re expecting some heavy falls over the region," O’Connor said.
MetService said the ranges could see between 100 to 140mm of rain while the coast would see lesser amounts. Peak rates of 15 to 25 mm/h of rainfall is expected.
Gisborne Mayor Rehette Stoltz said the area's road network was still very fragile, and she asked drivers to travel with care over the Easter weekend.y.
Moving through the long weekend, rain for the North Island - especially in the east - won’t begin to clear until late on Saturday.
On Sunday, the rain will start to move away from the east of the North Island and start to track south across the rest of the country.
Plan for road works
Waka Kotahi warned it was expecting traffic congestion on key road routes, and warned travellers to plan ahead.
Most road work projects would be packed up over Easter, but some places would still be disrupted by ongoing projects.
Among them were roads across Hawke's Bay and Tairāwhiti that were badly damaged by Cyclone Gabrielle in February, and could still have speed restrictions or traffic management in place.
A single lane site north of Kaikōura on State Highway 1 will remain in place during the long weekend, as well as a single lane section of highway at the Central Otago Beaumont Bridge.
Drivers were encouraged to use the agency's holiday journey planner tool, especially if they were heading to the Tasman District, Queenstown Lakes District or Canterbury.
- RNZ and NZ Herald
