Update: 1:03PM NEW Zealand road deaths today stands at 297 this year.
And Police have confirmed that 13 of those road deaths took place over the last week alone.
NZ Police Commissioner Mike Bush said too many people were dying on our roads.
He said those people were parents, children, sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, friends, and colleagues, and each one had left people behind who were grieving for their loss.
“Our staff work relentlessly to be visible on the roads and to target risky behaviours and locations. We also partner with other agencies to help keep our roads safe and to educate people on how to drive safely,” Mr Bush said.
“So, please take your time, drive to the conditions and keep yourselves, friends, and families safe.”
Mr Bush also acknowledged the huge impact that attending to those crashes had on their own people and other emergency services.
He said it was extremely difficult for staff investigating crashes, members of the public who were often first on the scene, and other emergency services that attended and responded to those tragedies. “Please ask for help if you need it. While it’s unrealistic to expect we won’t suffer further tragedies, we can all take steps to reduce the number of people who die on our roads.”