Northland road toll now six

Northland police road policing manager Inspector Wayne Ewers wants motorists to heed safety messages with the region's road toll rising to six.

Northland's 2018 road toll stands at six after the death of two men in hospital days after their separate crashes on the region's roads.

Northland police road policing manager Inspector Wayne Ewers said in just over one month into the year six families have had to deal with the trauma of a road fatality with the latest death on Monday.

A 24-year-old man, from Kensington, was the driver and only person in a car that crashed on Maunu Rd near Silverstream last Thursday. It was only a few hundred metres from Whangarei Hospital where he was taken by ambulance and later died.

Ewers said initial investigations had shown speed was considered a major factor in the fatality but that would be confirmed as the investigation was completed.

It appeared the man had been driving towards Whangarei when he collided with two cars travelling in the opposite direction on Maunu Hill which resulted in his vehicle spinning on to the wrong side of the road. It then collided with a third vehicle.

The man was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died four days later. Police have not yet released his name.

A Dargaville man died 26 days after a crash on State Highway 12 near Turiwiri, Dargaville.

William Harold Ball was the front seat passenger in a vehicle that left the road and went into a ditch.

He was wearing a seatbelt but it is suspected his head struck the windscreen. He was taken to Whangarei Hospital but his condition deteriorated.

Ewers said police were still piecing together all the evidence to establish what may have caused the crash.

He was concerned last year's horror road toll in which 40 people died in accidents on the region's roads would be exceeded this year after the bad start to the year.

Ewers earlier said one of the most frustrating things about the road toll was most deaths could be prevented if motorists stuck to basic safety rules.

"The messages are the same as last year and the years before that, watch your speed, drive to the conditions, wear your seat belts and don't drink and drive," he said.