Police are praising motorists for their "slow and careful" driving over the long weekend, which looked set to be the lowest Queen's Birthday road toll in 50 years.

Police plan to crack down on speeding motorists doing as little as 4km over the limit this weekend.

Holidaymakers making an early break out of Auckland this afternoon face added disruption on the main road north, from opponents of the Super City.

Among OECD countries, New Zealand tied with Greece and Poland in having the worst road fatalities of zero- to 14-year-olds per capita.

Rapidly rising floodwaters last night forced Bay of Plenty residents from their homes and trapped motorists.

Police are stunned after an undercover photo-shoot snapped 54 drivers on the wrong side of the road in five hours.

Heavy rain has caused widespread flooding in Auckland, Coromandel and the Bay of Plenty with one family trapped in their car having to be rescued by firefighters.

While driving from Hastings to Tokoroa a driver filmed a car performing shocking overtake of three cars, almost colliding with a van on the opposite side of the road. Source - YouTube/Matt Buckler