Motorists are urged to take care on the busy roads this holiday weekend, particularly after a spate of road crashes yesterday thought to be caused by wet conditions.

A German woman on holiday in New Zealand to visit her daughter was killed in a crash in Matakana, north of Auckland, yesterday.

One person died after a crash in Matakana and a school bus slid off the road in Manly as five incidents caused traffic chaos in the Auckland region yesterday.

Four people have been taken to hospital following a collision between an articulated truck and three cars waiting for roadworks on SH1 near Hinds this morning.

Just because pohutukawa trees prosper in Auckland's coastal setting is not a reason to treat them as a weed and hack them down when they get in the way of a road builder.

Tree campaigners are vowing to go to court if Auckland's roading authority presses on with plans to chop down six 80-year-old pohutukawa.

More than 640 drivers were stung with fines during a 24-hour, 84-checkpoint police road safety blitz in central Auckland yesterday.

A 23-year-old woman who died in a head-on collision that caused chaos for a main arterial route north of Auckland has been named.

The $1.4 billion Waterview Connection in Auckland - has passed the halfway mark now that two of the traffic ramps for its giant motorway-to-motorway interchange are completed.

It was a grim weekend for several families around the country, after four people - including a 9-year-old boy - died in vehicle-related accidents.

The benefits of city life come at a cost. Ask any ex-Aucklander and you'll hear that things began looking up as the reflection of the city disappeared from the rear-view mirror.

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.

Motorists warned that congestion is building on Auckland's major roads as weekend shapes up to be one of the one of the busiest of the past 12 months.

It's a skier's climate-change nightmare - stabbing your poles at the melting tarseal of a hilly highway, instead of the snowy crust of an alpine trail.

Drivers are being asked to make alternative arrangements as heavy traffic north of Auckland creates chaos and holds up holiday plans.

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

Police are putting their traffic enforcement focus on holiday black spots to keep the annual road toll from surging above 300 deaths.

With the annual summer exodus to the beach about to begin, motorists are being warned to take care while driving this festive season.

Slow-speed streets where pedestrians have the right of way have become a feature of the central city and more streets could become more pedestrian-friendly.

The morning after your Christmas party might be your downfall under new drink drive laws. Police in Hamilton have launched a blitz on drink driving in the city, in the lead-up to the holiday season.

John Key has ruled out an earlier construction date for a second harbour crossing in response to huge traffic jams which brought Auckland roads to a standstill on Saturday.

City leaders question why a crash on the harbour bridge brought Auckland to a standstill. We look at the options for easing congestion if it happened again.

It has been a bad year on the roads, with a sharp increase in deaths compared with this time last year, as well as a big rise in pedestrian fatalities.