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The death of an elderly man after a Boxing Day accident has pushed the provisional road toll for the Christmas-New Year holiday period to 24.
The toll is six more than last year.
An 87-year-old man injured in a crash in the Waitaki district, North Otago, had died from his injuries, said police national headquarters senior media adviser Grant Ogilvie.
Another elderly man who was injured in an accident in Hawkes Bay on Christmas Day died on Saturday.
Mr Ogilvie said the holiday road toll was still provisional and more people could die from injuries they received from accidents that happened between 4pm on Christmas Eve and 6am yesterday.
Of the 24 deaths, 16 were in the North Island, representing 67 per cent of the toll.
There was an even spread of ages for the victims, ranging from children to the elderly.
Three females died and 18 males, and three people are yet to be identified. National road policing manager Superintendent Paula Rose said the toll was a bad start to the year.
Poor decision-making by drivers was the main cause of many of the accidents, she told Radio New Zealand.
"At the end of the day it's not the police officer, it's not the trafficengineer, sitting behind the wheel, it's the individual driver and the choices start and finish with them."
- NZPA
