It has already been a long morning for at least four Dunedin drivers today, the shortest day of the year.
Police were urging people to take care on the roads this morning after four minor crashes around the city before 9am, including three on the Northern Motorway.
A police spokeswoman said icy conditions had created dangerous driving conditions.
None of this morning’s crashes had resulted in injuries, the spokeswoman said.
There were two similar crashes in short succession after two separate incidents of a car hitting a bank near Leith Valley after 7.40am.
Another crash happened on the Northern Motorway when a driver lost control after hitting ice near the Leith Saddle.
On Otago Peninsula, a vehicle hit a bank on Highcliff Rd, reducing traffic to one lane, she said.
‘‘The driver looked a bit shocked and dazed, but otherwise not injured, and a tow was required,’’ she said.
An Otago Daily Times photographer said the road surface was very slippery in the area of the crash.
