Raw video: Man dies after car hits power pole in Christchurch
The toll increased yesterday when a man who had been thrown from the back of a ute on Boxing Day died from his injuries in hospital.
Westpac rescue helicopter pilot Loren Haisley said the vehicle had gone off an embankment in Raglan.
The man, who had been travelling on the back of the ute, suffered head injuries when he was thrown from the vehicle on to rocks.
His death occurred just hours after a motorcyclist was killed on a South Island mountain pass.
Anthony Clifford Sparrow, 50, of Ashburton, died when his motorbike left the road on State Highway 73, near Dry Stream on Porters Pass, about 5.45pm on Saturday.
Meanwhile, three more holiday road victims have been named.
Martin Cadden, a 22-year-old Irish man who was in New Zealand on a working visa, lost control of his car and hit a tree on Lake Rd at Leeston, near Lake Ellesmere, Canterbury, about 11.20pm on Friday.
Garry Andrew Wendt, 68, of Ngaruawahia, died in a three-vehicle crash at the Dinsdale roundabout in Hamilton shortly after 2pm that day.
Kerikeri man Paul Ruben Kasper Kapica, 24, died after a vehicle rolled on Papamoa Beach on New Year's Day.
The official holiday road toll - the period for which started at 4pm on Christmas Eve and ran until 6am today - has now doubled those of the last two years. Last year, when the official holiday period was three days shorter than this year, there were seven road deaths. Over the period before that, there were six deaths - a dramatic drop from the 19 deaths over the 2011-12 period.
The highest holiday road toll was in 1972-73, when 37 people died.
Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff said this year's toll was disappointing.
"It's devastating that so many people have lost their lives these holidays and due to the same common factors."
Mr Cliff said initial indications showed that alcohol and speed had been factors in at least eight of the deaths.
"It is a bad decision to drive after drinking. It's that simple."
Mr Cliff said police and emergency services around the country had attended numerous crashes this holiday period and unless driving behaviour changed, they would be attending hundreds more this year.
He said police would continue to focus their efforts on reducing the death and trauma from crashes.
"But we all have a role to play, so to all New Zealanders, all family members, all friends, please slow down on our roads."
Smooth road home as holidays come to an end
Motorists heading home would have been relatively pleased yesterday, with traffic authorities reporting minimal holiday traffic delays.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and police had prepared for major congestion on the roads as thousands of holidaymakers wrapped up their Christmas and New Year's vacations.
However, by 7pm road authorities were happy to report there had been no major backlogs. At 5pm a breakdown on Auckland Harbour Bridge caused temporary delays for motorists heading south.
Traffic built up around the Esmonde Rd on-ramp and on the bridge, but was flowing by 6pm.
Earlier in the day, NZTA, which had identified 13 summer holiday congestion hotspots for the 2014/15 festive season, also said there was a small build-up of Auckland-bound traffic north of Pokeno at the junction of State Highways 1 and 2, as well as between Wellsford and the city earlier in the day.
Southbound traffic had also been congested for 5km in Warkworth, but was cleared by the early afternoon, NZTA said.
Drivers travelling to and from the Coromandel would have probably encountered heavy traffic on SH25, however there were no major delays.
Around Wellington, authorities had also been concerned about heavy traffic in and out of the city. Police said traffic remained light throughout the day, with only pockets of congestion affecting southbound traffic around Otaki earlier in the day.
NZTA's spokesman Andy Knackstedt said the holiday traffic seemed to be spread out over the weekend, with the roads being very busy on Saturday.
Yesterday's congestion was not as bad as had been anticipated. "We're pleased that people have taken the message on board and planned ahead."
Grim tally
Jan 4:
A passenger who was thrown from the back of a utility vehicle onto rocks in Raglan on Boxing Day died in hospital.
Jan 3: Anthony Clifford Sparrow, 50, of Ashburton, died when his motorbike left the road on SH73.
Jan 2: Garry Andrew Wendt, 68, from Ngaruawahia, died in Hamilton after three vehicles crashed.
Jan 2: Martin Cadden, 22, died after he lost control of his car and hit a tree in Canterbury.
Jan 1: Paul Ruben Kasper Kapica, 24, from Kerikeri, died after the vehicle he was driving rolled on Papamoa Beach, Bay of Plenty.
Jan 1: Lavi Taimani, 22, was a passenger in a car that crashed into a pole on Auckland's Southern Motorway. She died at the scene.
Dec 31: A 50-year-old man died after crashing his motorbike in sand dunes at Port Waikato.
Dec 30: Chilyoung Kim and Young-Mo Sang, both 59, from Seoul, South Korea, died after their car crashed off a single-lane bridge in Westland.
Dec 29: A 61-year-old woman was killed when a car and a truck collided on SH1 at Greta Valley in Canterbury.
Dec 28: Two people died after a collision between a car and milk tanker in the Bay of Plenty.
Dec 28: A 56-year-old motorcyclist died after a crash near Hurunui.
Dec 27: Jamie Shane Webb, 25, was electrocuted after a car crashed into a power pole on a rural road in Glentui, Canterbury.
Dec 26: Kevin Keane of Timaru died after the rental car he was driving collided with another car in the Bay of Plenty.
Dec 26: Pengxiao Tao, 22, known as Jessica, died after a campervan and car collided on the Athol Five Rivers Highway in Southland.
