"Together we help ensure the road toll continues its overall decline."
The 2013 road toll, the lowest in 60 years, was reduced by one to 253 following a recent coroner's ruling.
The death of a woman whose car crashed into a power pole on the southern motorway in Auckland this morning has brought the provisional holiday road toll up to 11.
The official holiday road period starts at 4pm on Christmas Eve, and runs until 6am on Monday, January 5.
Last year's Christmas-New Year road toll was seven, from a total of 193 reported injury crashes. But the official holiday period was three days shorter than this year.
"Each number in the road toll represents a lost life - someone who will forever be missed by their family, friends and community. That's the real impact of crashes on our roads," Mr Foss says.
"Let's also not forget that for every fatality, there are dozens more people hurt - many of them seriously, leaving them and their families to cope with life-long and debilitating injuries."
Assistant Commissioner Dave Cliff said that while New Zealand has "come a long way" since the worst recorded death toll in 1973 when 843 people were killed, any death on a New Zealand road is one too many.
"At the end of the year, 297 people have lost their lives and families have been left without loved ones," he said.
He said that while most Kiwis wear seatbelts, stay alert, drive within the speed limits, and ensure they are well rested and sober, drivers still make everyday mistakes.
Around 11,500 people are injured in crashes each year.
"We have hundreds of families dealing with the devastating loss of a loved one and many more supporting family members with ongoing and in some cases lifelong disabilities," said Mr Cliff.
Long term road toll trends are positive, police say, and the number of deaths has been reducing over time.
However, international comparisons show that there is still room to substantially reduce road death even further.
"There is no room for complacency - police want fewer crashes, fatalities and serious injuries," said Mr Cliff.
New Zealand has adopted a 'Safe System' approach which aims to make roads and roadsides safer; manage safe speeds; encourage people to buy the safest vehicle they can afford; and to have safe road users who comply with road rules and drive or ride to take account of the conditions.
"The goal is to have all families travelling safely and reaching their destinations together," said Mr Cliff.
"One of the hardest jobs a police officer will do is to tell a family that one of their members has died as a result of a car crash."
