Road toll steady on 19 as holidaymakers return home

Holidaymakers heading home this afternoon are being urged to take care, as bad weather and heavy traffic volumes are expected to lead to long delays.

For the second day in a row, there were no fatalities reported on the country's roads.

The road toll so far this holiday period stands at 19 -- almost twice as many as at the same time last year, when there were 11 people killed on the roads for the whole holiday period.

The official holiday period finishes tomorrow at 6am.

Police national road safety officer Inspector John Kelly said today and tomorrow were "traditionally heavy flow days".

"We're expecting a lot of congestion, especially at choke points around major cities," he told National Radio this morning.

It was feared bad weather over much of the country could add to the traffic chaos.

The MetService is forecasting heavy rain for Buller, northwest Nelson, Canterbury, Otago headwaters and the Tararuas, with more strong winds expected tonight in the Marlborough Sounds, Wellington, Wairarapa, and parts of Hawke's Bay.

Mr Kelly said people would have to factor the weather into their driving and watch their following distances.

"Just make sure you give yourself plenty of time for your journey, don't put yourself under any pressure," he said.

"Everyone wants to stay at their holiday destination as long as they can and then leave at the last second."

Those towing caravans and boats should "keep an eye on their rear view mirrors" and pull over to let faster traffic pass where possible, he said.

"That means people behind them won't get so frustrated and do something stupid, and also means they spend less time on the wrong side of the road, which is a critical problem at this time of year."

A major arterial route in the Waikato was blocked for some hours this morning after a truck jack-knifed.

Inspector Barry Smalley of the police communications centre said diversions were in place while a crane was brought in to move the truck from State Highway 27 south of Pateatonga, Tahuna.

Meanwhile, police are still appealing for witnesses to a crash south of Taupo on New Year's Eve, in which a 12-year-old boy was killed while crossing the road.

Bill Manihera Wall, of Waitahanui, south of Taupo on the shores of the lake was killed in the crash on State Highway 1 about 6pm.

Sergeant Dave Fraser of Taupo said police had impounded two cars, which had stopped after the crash.

It did appear they had been going faster than the speed limit but not by a "gross amount", he said.

- NZPA