Rain and busy roads bring crash mayhem

A boat being towed flipped off its trailer, landing upside down on State Highway 1 at Oakleigh.

Emergency services were kept busy with a spate of crashes on Northland roads over the weekend as wet weather continued and holidaymakers headed home.

Seventeen crashes were reported to police on Saturday alone, along with 43 calls made by the public to report traffic offending.

Sergeant Mohammed Atiq of Whangarei Police said most of the crashes were weather-related and many could have been avoided.

"It was cars spinning out or losing control," he said. "People need to be aware of the weather and drive to the conditions."

Three major crashes involved cars flipping, and at least two caused a major backlog of traffic as roads were blocked.

About 11.50am on Saturday a car flipped on its roof on State Highway 1 on the southern side of the Brynderwyn Hills. Three occupants climbed out of the car windows and one person had to be cut out. Mr Atiq said there were no injuries.

The Brynderwyns crash blocked the southbound lane of SH1 and caused a backlog of traffic with many holidaymakers on the road heading home.

Two hours earlier, there was a two-car collision on SH1 south of Kawakawa. The non-injury crash blocked the southbound lane of the highway and caused major delays for motorists.

About 9.45am on Saturday two people were injured following a serious crash on SH1, at Towai near Ruapekapeka Rd. The car had rolled trapping people inside. A male suffered serious injuries and the female suffered moderate injuries.

The crash caused extensive damage to the southbound barrier, police said.

Other crashes on Saturday included one where a car went off road and flipped on to its roof about 3.30pm Saturday on SH1 at Waiomio.

The three occupants of the car sustained minor injuries.

At Oakleigh about 10.15am, a 16ft boat being towed flipped off the trailer, landing upside-down.

It blocked one lane of the highway, causing delays in the area.