Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi
The official Labour Day weekend holiday period is over and no one died on New Zealand roads, police say.
It is a new record for the period, with the previous lowest being in 2013 when one person died and 109 people were injured.
The worst Labour Day holiday weekend for deaths and serious injuries was in 1983 when 13 people died and 248 were injured.
Last year, there were six deaths, 2022 saw five deaths, 2021 saw six deaths and in 2020, eight people died, according to the Ministry of Transport.
National road policing centre Superintendent Steve Greal told Morning Report the zero deaths was "an amazing result".
Greal said it was a combination of a huge effort by many people, but there was still a lot of work to do in terms of road safety.
"We need to be looking at a systems level to properly understand it for the long-term game, certainly in terms of sustainability.
"From a policing perspective, the police effort is a part of that system and from our point-of-view for the last two years, we've done a lot, quite a significant change in the way we deploy our people."
Greal said 73 percent of accidents occured on open and rural roads so it made sense for people to be in those areas, where the greatest harm was occurring.
The enforcement of such areas had doubled in the last couple of years, contributing to "general deterrence", he said.
Greal told Morning Report the weather warnings could have made an impact, with some people choosing to stay home instead of being out on the roads.
But that did not deter everyone, and he said he saw some people doing "horrendous speeds" on Transmission Gully in Wellington in "teaming rain", which was not a good look.
Earlier, New Zealand Transport Agency spokesperson Andy Knackstedt warned people not to be complacent on the roads.
He said even if there were no deaths, those who are seriously injured in crashes can have lifelong impacts.
"We're just asking people to do the basics - drive and travel at a safe speed, to share the driving, make sure you're well rested, and just take the the time that you need to to get home safely."
In earlier holiday road tolls this year, the ministry said seven people died during Easter, four died during King's Birthday, and one died during Matariki.
