Road crashes do not discriminate. They claim the lives of children, the elderly, mothers-to-be, teenagers, tourists, drunks, speedsters and sometimes whole families.

The man who mentored a friend of the Maori King's son says the teenager's death in a Boxing Day crash in Raglan is devastating.

Responses that promise an immediate and apparently ready-made solution to a problem have a seductive appeal.

Tourism leaders are appealing for Kiwis not to come down too hard on overseas drivers as police investigate a crash which has left two French visitors seriously injured.

The teen killed in a Boxing Day ute crash in Raglan was a friend of the Maori King's son, and a man who mentored him says the death is devastating.

A French woman is in a critical condition after a crash in Waikato yesterday in which six people were injured.

Three people were critically injured in two road crashes in the North Island last night.

The Kaimai Ranges road is closed following a head-on crash between a truck and van.

Police will continue their crackdown on speed and alcohol after a holiday period in which 17 people died on the country's roads.

The death of a man in Christchurch overnight has brought the holiday road toll to 17 - more than double those of the last two years.

A logging truck driver suffered serious leg injuries when he fell from his truck this morning.

The holiday road toll has climbed to 16 after a passenger injured in a crash on Boxing Day died in hospital this morning.

Police say alcohol and speed are coming through as significant contributors to the holiday road.

Holiday road toll rises to 14 as family and friends mourn vibrant young woman who became first road death of 2015.

The number of people who died on New Zealand roads rose sharply last year to 297 - up 43 on 2013.

With a hot sun gleaming off the water on Manukau Harbour, it seemed the perfect summer's day to go fishing, but the holiday fishing trip was to end in tragedy.

Three stricken boaties spent up to two hours treading water after their 5m vessel was swamped by a freak wave while crossing the treacherous Manukau Harbour bar, killing two other crew members.

A Chinese student who died in a Boxing Day smash in Southland has been named by police as the holiday road toll rises to seven.

A young Auckland man is facing charges after he allegedly drove through a stop sign and hit a police car, causing a pile-up that wrote off three vehicles in Gisborne.

Motorists have been urged to take extra care on the roads after a man died and three others were critically injured in a crash in the Bay of Plenty this morning.

An elderly couple remain in a serious condition in Tauranga Hospital, following a crash in the Bay of Plenty yesterday.

A man has died and two others have been seriously injured in the first fatal crash of New Zealand's Christmas and New Year road toll period.

The two children killed in a Northland crash which also killed two men were high achievers who often won awards.

The four people who died in a horrific crash on State Highway One yesterday when a Range Rover did a U-turn into the path of a logging truck have been named.

Police are urging care on the roads over the holidays as a four-car crash leaves one person critically injured.