Bay of Plenty has highest road toll in New Zealand, with 31 deaths, Waikato second

Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe. Photo / File

The number of people who have died on Bay of Plenty roads this year has climbed to 31 after a grim few weeks, with road users urged to "stay alert and drive to survive".

Bay of Plenty road policing manager Inspector Brent Crowe is pleading with motorists and other road users to take extreme care as the road toll continues to rise following weeks in lockdown.

Of the 31 deaths, three were in Rotorua, six in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, and nine in the Taupō area, while another 13 people died on the Western Bay of Plenty roads, he said.

Crowe said since June 6 there have been 12 deaths on Bay of Plenty roads from 10 crashes - that's at least one fatality a week between June 6 and August 26.

Two of those crashes involved multiple deaths.

Dave Jarden, 54, and Bibi Farida Ali, 53, both from Auckland, died on July 11 after their car plunged into Lake Rotoma at Otangiwai Point on State Highway 30 east of Rotorua.

Ten days later Yuezhong Wang, 47, and Weiguo Xi, 48, from Auckland, died after a fiery crash involving two cars and light commercial vehicle on SH1 near Tokoroa.

Three other people were seriously injured in the same July 21 crash.

Two of the most recent fatalities involved motorcyclists.

Dairy worker Scott Joseph Sinclair, 23, of Nukuhou died in a motorbike crash near Whakatāne on July 31.

Sinclair was riding with his brother to do the 3pm milking and police believed the handle of his motorbike and his siblings' locked together.

Jarvin Ritai, 28, was killed after his motorbike crashed into a power pole on Wikaraka St in Ngongotahā on August 4.

Crowe said 31 road deaths in the Bay of Plenty police district this year compared to 52 deaths in 2019 and 32 in 2018 but one death was one too many.

He said 2019 was" a particularly nasty year for road deaths in the Bay of Plenty with several crashes involving multiple fatalities".

This included five people killed when a bus carrying Chinese tourists crashed near Rotorua on September 4.

Crowe said every death was a tragedy, particularly when most crashes were preventable.

"The consistent and simple messaging police want all roads users to adhere to are to drive at a safe and appropriate speed, drive to the conditions and drive sober, fresh and distraction-free."

Crowe said it was imperative everyone in a vehicle wore a seatbelt and other road users heeded the road rules and remained alert.

"Adhering to these basic principles greatly reduces the chances of being involved in a serious crash and the lifelong associated consequences.

"Any driver exceeding the speed limit can expect to be stopped," he said.

Inspector Brent Crowe and Fire and Emergency NZ Lakes District assistant manager Hamish Smith. Photo / File

Fire Emergency NZ Lakes District assistant area manager Hamish Smith attended the July 21 crash that killed Wang and Xi and has also urged drivers to take extreme care.

"These incidents are never good. It's the winter months and drivers need to remember the different conditions they can encounter ... Stay alert and drive to survive," he said at the time.

The Bay of Plenty police district now ranks highest of all police districts in the country for the number of road deaths this year. Waikato has recorded 30 deaths.

Ministry of Transport figures show the number of fatal crashes nationwide this year stood at 206 as at September 2, while the 2019 provisional road toll is 352 deaths.