More police, traffic on Northland roads this Auckland Anniversary Weekend

Inspector Wayne Ewers says high-risk sections of road included State Highway 1 south of Whangārei, Whangārei to Kawakawa and SH10 between Mangonui and Kaeo.

Motorists committing driving indiscretions on Northland roads this Anniversary Weekend can expect to attract police scrutiny.

As people make the most of the great summer weather and a long weekend, traffic flowing into the region is expected to increase as will the number of police patrolling the roads.

Inspector Wayne Ewers said high-risk sections of road included State Highway 1 south of Whangārei, Whangārei to Kawakawa and SH10 between Mangonui and Kaeo.

"These are where we have our most fatal and serious crashes," he said.

The region's road toll stands at two with the death of two motorcyclists in separate crashes so far this year.

Officers in the District Impairment Teams would be out breath-testing drivers on Friday and Saturday nights.

The New Zealand Transport Authority is urging holidaymakers to plan ahead to avoid queues.

The agency said drivers leaving Auckland on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, and those heading back to Auckland on Sunday or Monday are likely to be delayed by heavy traffic volumes.

To help drivers plan ahead to avoid the queues the transport agency has crunched the data from previous Auckland Anniversary weekends to give an insight into expected travel patterns.

"We know that traffic heading north from Auckland will start building from about 11 on Friday morning, with the busiest times between 2pm and 8pm. It's also busy Saturday between 10am and 3pm," Auckland operations manager Rua Pani said.

SH1 is the busy main route north from Auckland, but motorists should consider taking SH16 as an alternative route as far as Wellsford. At busy times, electronic signs on SH1 will display estimated travel times via SH1 and SH16 to give motorists a choice.

Heading back to Auckland on Monday the busiest travel times are from about 11am until 3.30pm.

For drivers travelling northbound today there will be a driver reviver stop on SH1 at Uretiti from noon until 4.30pm.

Tips for safe driving on your anniversary weekend holiday
• Check your car is in good "health" before you head off. Check tyre pressure and tread, windscreen wipers, indicators and lights.
• Take extra care when travelling in holiday periods because of increased traffic volumes, congestion, tiredness and people driving in unfamiliar environments.
• Drive to the conditions - whether it's the weather, the road, the time of day or volume of traffic.
• Avoid fatigue. Take regular breaks to stay alert.
• Keep a safe following distance so you can stop safely.
• Be patient – overtaking is unlikely to make a significant difference to your journey time due to the volume of traffic expected over the weekend.
• Allow plenty of time. Remember you are on holiday, so there's no need to rush.