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.
Lower South Island motorists have, so far, managed to avoid being among the New Zealand holiday road toll of 18, but a growing list of road crashes and accidents around Otago shows there is little room for complacency.
Central Otago Highway Patrol Senior Constable Graeme Buttar said the behaviour of most holiday motorists around the region had been good and put the prevalence of road crashes down to the "sheer volume" of traffic on southern roads.
The official holiday period ended at 6am today, with the most recent fatality taking place in a two-car head-on collision on SH1 at Hunterville, in the central North Island.
Two recent crashes, on State Highway 8 near Lake Tekapo on Monday night and on SH8 beside Millers Flat yesterday, have added to a number of accidents on southern roads during the past week, Snr Const Buttar said.
Six people were injured in a head-on collision between two vehicles about 15km east of Lake Tekapo which closed State Highway 8 for two hours early yesterday.
Senior Constable Brent Swanson, of Lake Tekapo, said a car being driven west on SH8 by a 27-year-old Timaru woman had crossed the centre line and collided with a 4WD vehicle carrying five occupants.
"Alcohol and speed are factors which are being considered as part of an investigation into the crash," Const Swanson said.
The 27-year-old female driver was transported by ambulance to Timaru Hospital where she was treated for "severe leg injuries", he said.
The five occupants in the 4WD, who are all from Ashburton, were also taken by ambulance to Timaru Hospital with minor to serious injuries sustained in the crash.
SH8 between Burkes Pass and Fairlie was closed for about two hours, from about midnight on Monday, as emergency services treated the injured victims and also cleaned up the road, Snr Const Swanson said.
Charges may be laid against the female driver of the westbound car, once investigations into the cause of the crash were complete, Snr Const Swanson said.
Roxburgh police last night said a crash about noon at Millers Flat yesterday involved two oncoming cars clipping each other, while travelling on SH8 and had then veering towards the Clutha River and rolling off the road.
The driver of the northbound Honda sustained a suspected broken right foot, but three children in the car were not injured.
A female passenger in the southbound Toyota received a deep cut and abrasions to her left arm. The male driver was not injured.
Const Buttar said the amount of motorists on the roads made for longer travel times and drivers needed to take this into account.
