Inner-city Auckland traffic was brought to a virtual standstill after a motorway crash - gridlock that the Automobile Association described as the worst it had seen.

A rockfall at Ruamahunga Bay on the Thames Coast Road SH25 has closed the road overnight and another large slip has disrupted traffic on the Karangahake Gorge road SH2. Video / Facebook - Thames-Coromandel District Council

The number of people dobbing in dodgy drivers has decreased since cellphone use while driving was banned three years ago.

Two young girls in trouble last week after crashing their parents' cars are unlikely to face charges.

Parents are being urged to hide their car keys after two young sisters took their parents' cars and crashed into each other.

Overseas drivers were involved in more than 400 crashes on New Zealand roads last year, and failure to keep left, poor handling and fatigue the leading causes of deadly crashes.

Fatal accidents, breakdowns and huge traffic backlogs have plagued the first four days of the official Christmas road toll period.

A motorist travelling at 135km/h in the central North Island is among bad drivers caught by a police "eye in the sky".

A tourist route where an American honeymooner died has been identified as one of the country's riskiest roads to drive on.

A multimillion-dollar advertising campaign aimed at reducing the number of fatigued drivers involved in serious or fatal crashes is failing to make any difference.