A fatal smash following a police pursuit and a campervan crash in Auckland overnight have pushed the holiday road toll to 13, the third lowest since records began to be kept in 1980.
The official holiday road toll period started at 4pm on Christmas Eve and ended at 6am today. Last year, 13 people also died on the roads during the same period.
National road policing manager Superintendent Paula Rose today said she was saddened by the deaths but heartened that many motorists had heeded warnings on speed and alcohol, putting the toll amongst the lowest in the last 30 years.
"But that is still 13 people who are not going home at the end of the day. That is 13 funerals that we are going to have around the country in the past week and the next few days... not good enough," she said.
"We all need to be pulling together a bit more in 2011 to make sure the people who celebrated New Year's Day this year will be around for next year's New Year."
Ms Rose was pleased that "so many motorists showed restraint and good judgement and abided by the road rules".
The toll this festive season was made up of 10 men, three women, five drivers, two motorcyclists, five passengers, one pedestrian and six people between the ages of 15 and 24.
Alcohol and speed appeared to be factors in more than half the crashes.
"The faster you go, straight physics, the bigger the mess," Ms Rose said.
"If we can all just drop those speeds just a little bit, it makes such a difference."
In the latest crash, a 19-year-old man died when the campervan he was a passenger in crashed down a 25m cliff face in Pinewoods Motor Camp at Red Beach, just north of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, shortly before 1am. The van's driver had left the scene by the time police arrived.
Ms Rose said the man's death had been included in the holiday road toll despite occurring on a private road.
That decision may be reviewed by the Ministry of Transport, she said.
Also overnight, a 15-year-old boy was killed and another person seriously injured when their vehicle slammed into a power pole near the Market Road off ramp on the Southern Motorway about 12.50am.
The pair had been attempting to flee police, a pursuit was abandoned prior to the crash.
"The vehicle reached an unacceptable speed and the chase was abandoned," police said in a statement.
On January 2, two people were killed in separate crashes.
Wayne William Anderson, a machine operator from Blenheim, died when he lost control of his vehicle and rolled on State Highway 6 at Canvastown, 51km north-west of Blenheim, shortly before 9pm.
Havelock police Senior Constable Maurice Horne said the crash could be attributed to "the three evils" -- speed, alcohol and no seatbelt.
Mark Gerard Egbers, 48, of Auckland, was killed when his Honda motorcycle collided with a Suzuki motorcycle about 12.55pm on the winding SH25 which crosses the Coromandel Peninsula.
The police serious crash unit was still investigating but it appeared the Suzuki, ridden by a 31-year-old Auckland man, crossed the centre line on a corner, hitting Mr Egbers head-on, Waikato police communications manager Andrew McAlley said.
The Suzuki rider was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
Another man, 20-year-old Sean Coe, died the same day in Waikato Hospital following a collision between a car and a van just north of Hamilton on New Year's Day.
Mr Coe was a passenger in the car which crossed the centre line and collided with the van carrying five disabled children on SH1 at Horotiu about 8.30am, Waikato acting road policing manager Senior Sergeant Jeff Penno said.
Speed, alcohol and driver fatigue all appeared to be factors, he said.
Another man in the car was badly hurt but the children in the van escaped injury.
Tanisha Morris, 13, died after the car she was in and a truck collided on SH2 at Whirinaki, 14km north of Napier, about 3pm on December 31.
Tamataia Pera Maurangi, 35, from Point England in Auckland, was killed in a single car crash just south of Hastings about 1.45pm on January 1.
Also on New Year's Day, a man died after he went through a vehicle windscreen when two cars collided in the Bay of Plenty, about 5pm, police northern communications Inspector Matt Sillars said.
Three other people were taken to hospital with minor to moderate injuries.
The first victim of the holiday period was Gayle Jean Anderson, 44, who died in a crash near Dunedin on Christmas Eve.
Just minutes into Christmas Day, 40-year-old Vineshwar Singh died in a hit-and-run in Pukekoe, south Auckland.
On December 28, Mary-Lee Huata, 17, died after a crash south of Wairoa in northern Hawke's Bay. A 13-year-old boy was driving the Toyota Hilux she was a passenger in.
Sebastian Hirling, 16, was killed about 1.30pm on December 29 after a ute rolled onto him at Reporoa, 47km northeast of Taupo.
Hirling and a 15-year-old boy had been sitting on the rear of the utility tray.
The 15-year-old suffered back and spinal injuries.
Police were investigating and said charges were likely.
The same day, 38-year-old Te Reimana Mathew Peina, of Wanganui, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding and a car collided on a gravel road off SH4, north of Wanganui.
An elderly man who died after crashing his car in Papakura yesterday was excluded from the official road toll because he was thought to have died from medical causes.
