Road toll

The official Easter holiday period ended at 6am today with three deaths too many, according to the country's top traffic officer.

The increased road toll for 2012 is disappointing given the raft of safety measures that have recently come into force - and the sobering fact most fatal crashes are clearly avoidable.

A record low holiday road toll has been welcomed but more efforts are needed to continue to improve road safety, say police, the Government and the Automobile Association.

Otago's road toll increased to 17 deaths last year, while the national road toll was also up.

Last year New Zealand recorded its second lowest road toll in 50 years, with the deaths of young people significantly stemmed, police say.

The road toll for the year stands at 318 - more than 40 higher than the 2011 tally.

With one day of the long weekend still to go, police warned motorists to be extra vigilant as the road toll had already reached "horrific" proportions.

Last year had the second-lowest annual road toll for the Southern police district in the past 14 years, a result which has pleased the man in charge of policing the South's roads.

The unconfirmed final holiday road toll stands at 18,  up 50 percent on the previous year.

Otago holidaymakers have been advised to be patient and plan for longer driving times when travelling to their destination to avoid adding to the rising national road toll.