The triple fatality in Southland on Sunday took the road toll for the Southern region, which includes Otago and Southland, to 27 for the year to date.
It has continued the trend of rising road tolls in the district in recent years.
Last year's toll in the Southern Region was the worst since 2001, with 20 people dying on roads in Otago and 16 in Southland.
There were 26 deaths to October 2 in the region last year, compared with 16 in the corresponding period the previous year.
Police have pleaded for drivers to take more responsibility on the nation's roads.
Thirteen people have died on New Zealand roads between Friday and Tuesday, bringing the road toll to 296 for 2017, up 45 on the corresponding period last year.
Road policing assistant commissioner Sandra Venables said the fatalities left families devastated.
''Every death is reported as a number, but each number has a face, a name and a family. They leave behind loved ones whose lives have been changed forever.''
Those who were seriously injured could face months if not years of rehabilitation and treatment, she said.
''We cannot continue to tolerate the loss.''
Police were committed to reducing death and injury on New Zealand roads, but could only do so much, she said.
''Ultimately, safe journeys start and end with driver behaviour.
''Every time you get behind the wheel you hold your life and the lives of your passengers and your fellow road users in your hands.
''Please take this responsibility seriously. wear your seatbelt, make sure your passengers are wearing seatbelts, watch your speed and drive to the conditions.''
In the latest crash, four people died and eight were hurt on Tuesday afternoon after a two-car collision near Taupo.
The crash, described by one witness as the most serious he's seen in 20 years, happened at the intersection of State Highway 1 and Tutukau Rd about 3.15pm.
A 15-year-old boy named Morocco Tai, of Otara, died yesterday about 6am when he crashed a stolen car into a tree while fleeing from police
Two female passengers were taken to hospital, one with serious injuries.
Morocco had previously been caught on camera as a passenger of a stolen car which was travelling at speeds of up 120kmh in the wrong direction on Auckland's Southern Motorway on September 22.
A motorcycle rider died after a crash with a car in Motueka this morning.
Mother and daughter Gaylene Bell (34) and Chanelle King (17) died in a head-on crash in Te Kuiti on Sunday afternoon.
A 20-year-old man named Jordan Bruce Young died on Saturday on State Highway 1 at Tamahere, Waikato.
The driver of a truck died on Friday when his vehicle collided with a train on a level crossing.
- additional reporting NZME
