The public is being asked to report bad drivers to maintain road safety. With the national road toll having already surpassed last year's total number of deaths, it's a key aspect of the road safety operation across the country. The wet conditions today means an increased warning to those returning home from the long weekend.
Sergeant Mark Brown is a manager of the Whangarei and Northland Highway Patrol, "The weather can have a big impact on driving. Drivers need to be aware of the conditions and the roads. So they need to slow down and moderate their behaviour for the conditions and for the roads if they're not familiar with the roads."
The public is being urged to report any bad drivers.
Sergeant Brown says, "We would like them to ring *555 to report any bad driving that they see. So we have patrol cars set up at a number of areas along the way to make sure we have good coverage and we just want the public to help us to clamp down on the bad drivers."
With the number of deaths on the road this year having already surpassed the total road toll for last year the key messages to the public are to use restraints, don't speed, don't drink and drive or use cell phones and do not to attempt any dangerous overtaking.
Sergeant Brown has some good advice for motorists, "Plan your journey to make sure you leave enough time to get there safely and leave enough time to have regular breaks so we don't have any issues with fatigue."
The official holiday period ends at 6am tomorrow morning.