One person has died and two people are in a critical condition following a crash in Levin on Sunday morning. It comes as New Zealand's road toll sits at a four-year-high.
At around 4:00am a car crashed in Levin which resulted in one person's death and life-threatening injuries for two others.
"It's hugely, hugely sad," AA road safety spokesperson Dylan Thomsen told Newshub.
While the circumstances of the collision are being investigated by police, the crash adds to what's already been a horror year on our roads.
"In a year where we've had the highest fuel prices that we've ever seen, you'd normally see a drop in road deaths but you're just not seeing that this year in New Zealand," Thomsen said.
With nearly two weeks still to go, Ministry of Transport figures show this year's provisional road toll sits at 358 deaths.
That's 59 more deaths than all of last year and more than any year since 2018 when 360 people died.
The grim figures come as Aotearoa aims for no road deaths under the ambitious Road to Zero campaign.
"It's not just a number, each person that's killed on the road had a family, a life that's been lost, and we see all the devastating consequences that their loved ones will be going through," Brake NZ spokesperson Caroline Perry told Newshub.
With the Christmas and New Year road toll set to begin at 4:00pm next Friday, road safety advocates are urging people to take care on the roads.
"Every time you get in your vehicle just think about the fact that you are driving and it requires 100 percent of your concentration, 100 percent of the time," Perry said
Thomsen said: "Give yourself a little bit more time on your journey because if something goes wrong, that's going to be the key factor in whether you can stop, or take evasive action."
A desperate plea to make this holiday season a safe one.
