Police say motorists need to stop gambling with their lives when they get behind the wheel.
An elderly man died in hospital this morning from injuries sustained in a car crash last week - taking the road toll to 298.
Fifteen people died alone on the country's roads within the first fortnight of October alone, making it one of the deadliest periods this year to date.
Those killed in the past seven days include four who died in a smash north of Taupo on Tuesday, and the three lives lost in a head-on collision in Southland on Sunday night.
The road toll was 254 at this time last year.