Motorcyclist death brings long weekend road toll to three

Emergency services were called to the fatal accident in Flat Bush, Auckland, where a motorbike and vehicle crashed. Photo / File

The death of a motorcyclist this afternoon has brought the long weekend road toll to three in just 24 hours.

Emergency services are at the scene of the fatal accident in Flat Bush, Auckland, after a motorbike and vehicle crashed at about 4.06pm.

Counties-Manukau Police Senior Sergeant Kylie Newton said one person had died in the crash on Castlebane Drive.

"There has been a serious motor vehicle crash and a person is deceased at the scene," he said. "Road closures are in place and further details will be released later."

National road policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally said there was now three families that would be "broken forever".

"Every person is so important and that is just tragic," he said.

"There is nothing that can replace that person. That's a family broken forever.

"The crashes that we are having are needless, more often than not these crashes are happening because someone has made a mistake."

Mr Greally said safety messages were not getting through to road users. Everyone needed to think of these people and their families and drive the same as the day they passed their licence test, he said.

"Don't we sound like a stuck record at times, it's Bill Murray in Groundhog Day. We have to hope for the best every long weekend, or every day that we wake up, that someone hasn't died, but because of the culture on our roads the reality is that people will die.

"If you're good enough to understand the safety rules [when you're sitting your licence] then you should be good enough to practise those rules every day. We are picking up the trauma and it's the hardest thing in the world to tell a person their family member is dead.

"We just want people to do the right thing."