Labour Weekend: Road death north of Auckland

One person has died after a a car and truck collided north of Auckland. It is the first road death of the long weekend.

Police said the collision occurred on the corner of Horseshoe Bush Rd and Dairy Flat Highway, shortly before 4.30pm.

Another person involved in the incident was taken to North Shore Hospital with minor injuries.

Police said diversions were in place at Kahikatea Flat Rd, Dairy Flat Highway, Wilks Rd and Dairy Flat Highway.

Fire Communucations says the patient was in critical condition when emergency servivces arrived and died at the scene.

The Labour Weekend official holiday period kicked off at 4pm today and will run until 6am on Tuesday.

Before the collision police said traffic coming in and out of major cities across the country was normal.

The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) had tweeted that northland-bound traffic south of Warkworth in Auckland was beginning to pick up and motorists could expect delays after the tunnels.

Earlier today police reminded drivers to follow basic road safety advice. National Manager of Road Policing Superintendent Carey Griffiths said: "We all want our friends and whanau to reach their destinations safely. There are very simple things you can say and do to help each other stay safe on roads at a busy and high risk time of year."

Mr Griffiths encouraged drivers to keep to the speed limit, not to drive under the influence of alcohol, to wear seatbelts and take breaks when driving long distances.

"These are all road safety basics. I urge motorists to turn their brains on when they set off, and keep them on until they get there. "We all make mistakes, but not thinking clearly when driving, including driving while tired or distracted can have terrible consequences."

One person was killed on the roads last Labour Day weekend, 2013, police said.This was the lowest number of road deaths recorded over a Labour Day weekend since records began. There were however, 83 reported injury crashes which left 20 other people with serious injuries, police said.