Two people have died and more than a dozen injured during another grisly weekend on New Zealand's roads.

Just after 4am on Sunday morning one person died in a two-car crash on State Highway 12 near Paparoa, Northland.

About seven hours later one man died and a second person was seriously injured in a crash in Whanganui after a car hit a power pole.

The deaths add to what is shaping up to be New Zealand's worst year on the roads in over a decade.

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The latest Ministry of Transport figures for road deaths for the year to November 22 of 337 were six above the same time last year.

Last year 378 people died on New Zealand roads, the highest since 2009, when 384 people lost their lives. The next worst toll was in 2007 with 421 dead.

In the 12 months to November 22, 384 people had died on New Zealand roads, compared to 370 in the previous 12 months.

The weekend also included more than a dozen injuries, many serious.

Yesterday afternoon seven people were injured- one seriously - in a two-car crash near Taupari, north of Hamilton SH1 was closed for a time.

On Saturday in a crash on SH1 between Foxton and Levin in the lower North Island another seven people were injured, including one seriously who had to be helicoptered to Palmerston North Hospital.