'Please slow down and focus': Counties Manukau Police post hard-hitting road safety video

Counties Manukau road policing unit Sergeant Andy Heath is shown on the corner of a busy country road holding up cue cards with information about the crashes.

Counties Manukau Police have used a hard-hitting, but touching video to promote road safety over the long weekend.

The video gives the ages, location and causes of crashes that have killed 15 people on the roads in the South Auckland policing area this year.

In the video, which has been watched on Facebook 80,000 times, Counties Manukau road policing unit Sergeant Andy Heath is shown on the corner of a busy country road holding up cue cards with information about the crashes, in the style of Bob Dylan's much imitated Subterranean Homesick Blues music video.

"Friends, aged 22 and 23. Karaka Rd. Driver Distraction," one of the cards reads.

The video, on the Counties Manukau police Facebook page, was posted today with the caption: "Take care on the roads during the long weekend, just one mistake can have tragic consequences. So please look after each other and make smart decisions this Labour Weekend."

The final four cue cars read: "This year 15 families have lost loved ones on Counties Manukau South roads. Last year it was four. Please slow down and focus."