National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally said there were lots of reasons the crashes had happened, including speeding, driving with alcohol and motorists answering text messages.
"Crashes do not happen if you're paying attention. It's as simple as that."
Police Commissioner Mike Bush, who spent much of his Christmas Day at work supporting frontline staff across Auckland, said; "My message to everyone is take care of your family, look after each other whether you're on the road or at home and take care of yourselves."
Earlier yesterday, a driver was critically injured and a front-seat passenger was seriously hurt in a two-car crash near Rotorua.
The crash happened on Ngongotaha Rd about 4.30pm. The driver of one car was initially trapped but was freed and taken to Rotorua Hospital. The sole occupant of the other car received a serious arm injury.
In West Auckland, one person was critically injured in a crash at Ranui.
St John Ambulance attended the scene about 2.30pm and took the person to Auckland City Hospital.
The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and AA are urging Kiwis hitting the roads after Christmas Day celebrations are over to plan well and take extra care.
Thousands will today be preparing to swap suburbia for sand and bush - but escaping the city can be slow.
NZTA's Summer Journeys website can help take the pain out of the outbound journey.
Expected congestion hotspots, predicted by the agency based on travel patterns of previous festive seasons, include northbound on State Highway 1 between Puhoi and Wellsford and eastbound on SH2 at Maramarua, which is the main route for Aucklanders making their way to the beaches of the Coromandel.
Congestion is expected to be worst at both between 10am and 1.30pm today, and it will be slow-going at Maramarua between 9am and 2.30pm tomorrow.
New Year's revellers are expected to again clog up SH1 between Puhoi and Wellsford on New Year's Day, with 11am to 12.30pm expected to be most congested, and on January 2 between 9.30am and 2.30pm.
Other hotspots include eastbound lanes on State Highway 2 between Paeroa and Tauranga, where motorists may face delays between 10am and 4pm today and tomorrow, between noon and 5.30pm on New Year's Eve and between 11.30am and 2pm on January 2.
The website also includes airport journey times and roadworks, which includes a string of overnight shutdowns on Auckland motorways' on- and off-ramps. Elsewhere, speed restrictions remain on SH1 between Ohinewai and Huntly, the northern side of the Brynderwyn Hills and between Kawakawa and Whangarei.
AA spokesman Dylan Thomsen warned highways would be extra busy and motorists should watch their following distances, drive to conditions, let faster vehicles pass and avoid driving while tired.
"With fuel prices low, Christmas falling on a Friday and record numbers of tourists coming to our shores the conditions are lined up for huge numbers of holidaymakers to head away on the roads," he said.
"A lot of people are going to be ... driving on unfamiliar roads that are carrying much more traffic than usual."
