A fatal smash which claimed the lives of three foreign tourists is the latest multiple-fatality crash in a horror year on Southern roads.
Three Hong Kong nationals died in the smash near Luggate this week, bringing the road toll for Otago and Southland to 25 deaths for the year to date.
That compares with 16 for 2013, with nearly two months of the official toll period remaining.
''Any fatality is one too many'', Senior Sergeant Tania Baron, acting road policing manager, said.
Police were ''concerned'' about the number of crashes, particularly ''the high number of multiple fatalities that have occurred and the impact that this has had on the families involved and the wider community''.
Fatal crashes where two or more people died accounted for 10 of the 25 fatalities.
Those included the death of three Southland men on April 24, two Mosgiel siblings on May 18, a Gore husband and wife on October 19, and the Hong Kong nationals who died near Luggate this week.
It was difficult to determine what caused multiple fatality crashes as there were potentially many contributing factors. Some investigations were still ongoing, Snr Sgt Baron, of Dunedin, said.
''It's a tragic reality that too many people have died on Southern roads in the past year and these losses have an enormous impact on families, friends and our communities,'' she said.
Of the deaths, 14 were in Otago and 11 in Southland.
The Southland road toll, which was only two last year, was the highest since 2010.
And of the 19 fatal crashes, four - including this week's Wanaka crash - involved foreign tourists.
New Zealand Transport Agency spokesman Andy Knackstedt said it was not appropriate to speculate on the cause of this week's crash while a police investigation was continuing.
NZTA was working with other agencies, including the Tourism Industry Association and the Rental Vehicle Association, ''to support overseas and visiting drivers and reduce crashes''.
