Senior Sergeant Ian Campion
The Western Bay's road toll for 2015 is shaping up to be a shocker.
Last week's fatal crash in Paengaroa saw the toll hit 16 - equal to the number for the whole of last year.
They are 16 people whose lives have been taken away, leaving behind devastated family and friends.
The figure is even more alarming given that the number of road deaths last year was the highest since 2003.
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Western Bay road policing Senior Sergeant Ian Campion says the trend is frustrating, given all the work that is being done to promote road safety messages.
He says alcohol, speed, fatigue, failure to wear restraints, and people being distracted are all contributing factors in local road deaths.
Until New Zealand drivers catch up with the rest of the world and obey the road rules and laws, the road toll will not come down, he says.
Most motorists adhere to the safety messages.
But there is a hardcore group who don't and they put themselves and others at risk.
As has been noted before, the difference between life and death on our country's roads is a fickle business and it's easy to become an innocent victim.
There will always be dangers on the road, but it's important that pressure continues to be applied to improve driver behaviour.
The police are doing the best they can but they can only do so much.
Bringing down the road toll is a collective responsibility and that responsibility rests with every motorist who ventures out on to the nation's roads.
The newly upgraded Waitaha Reserve has been officially opened in Welcome Bay, Tauranga.