Motorists urged to drive to the treacherous wet conditions

WRECKED: The aftermath of a head-on crash on Pungaere Rd near Waipapa. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

After a spate of wet-weather crashes Northlanders are being urged to make sure they can spend Christmas with their families by driving to the conditions.

Heavy rain on long-dry roads has triggered a large number of accidents around the district, several of them with serious consequences, and more foul weather is in store for today and tomorrow.

Yesterday's incidents included a three-car crash near the intersection of Pungaere and Ngapuhi roads in Waipapa which saw a 17-year-old woman taken to Bay of Islands Hospital with moderate head and chest injuries. It was not clear at edition time whether she would remain in Kawakawa or be transferred to Whangarei Hospital.

Police say it appeared one driver had lost control, clipped an oncoming car and then collided with a third vehicle.

An emergency worker said it was lucky she was the only person in the car because any passengers "would have been history".

Pungaere Rd was closed for several hours due to oil leaking from the vehicles. It was hosed down by Kerikeri firefighters.

The smash came a day after a fatal head-on collision on SH1 at Moerewa which police believe was caused by a vehicle veering across the centre line. The victim was an Auckland woman, thought to be in her 50s, who was a passenger in the other car.

Weather was not thought to have been a factor in that crash, but Kawakawa firefighter Alistair Leitch said the brigade had been called out to a series of crashes on roads made greasy by rain. Rain after a long dry spell brought oil to the surface, making roads slippery.

He urged drivers to adapt to the conditions and ensure they were able to spend Christmas with their families.

On Ngunguru Rd on Thursday morning three vehicles were written off in two crashes within half an hour at the same spot.

A French tourist heading toward Whangarei from Ngunguru about 11am lost control when the brakes locked as the driver came over a hill and around a bend with a 45km/h advisory sign. The car skidded into an oncoming van.

While police were still at the scene another vehicle did the same thing, Sergeant Paul Nicholas said. With brakes locked, it slid through the initial crash scene and plunged several metres over a bank.

While no one was hurt in the first incident, the second driver suffered moderate injuries.

The wet road and motorists failing to drive to the conditions led to several other prangs on the same day, Mr Nicholas said