Western Bay drivers on best behaviour at Easter

Police are praising driver behaviour in the Western Bay over the Easter Weekend, which saw an influx of people in the region for the National Jazz Festival.

Acting Senior Sergeant Wayne Hunter said his staff had only had to deal with a few minor prangs.

"It's been very good. There have been no major crashes. I'm very impressed with the way people are driving," he said. "People have been pretty patient."

Police had issued a warning before the weekend started that motorists travelling 4km/h over the speed limit would be fined, but most motorists obeyed the rules, Mr Hunter said.

"There's a lot of people who are upset about being pinged for 4km/h over the limit but they know about it and it works."

Traffic was flowing well at about 2pm yesterday but was expected to become heavy by about 4pm.

The national road toll stood at three last night with the official holiday period ending at 6am this morning.

Temuka man Stephen Kirkcaldie, 55, died in a collision with a car just north of Timaru as he was cycling home from work at 6pm on Thursday night.

Anthony King, 53, from Paraparaumu Beach, was killed when the Suzuki vehicle he was a passenger in collided with a BMW on State Highway 5 at Wairakei, north of Taupo at 2am on Saturday.

The same night, Hannah Eaton, 25, was killed when her BMW hit an oncoming Ford Territory SUV at Puriri, south of Thames.