Speaking before the latest death was added to the toll, director of road policing Superintendent Steven Greally said while the decrease was described as encouraging, it was still seven deaths too many.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeven families have lost loved ones, for no good reason, and instead of being able to celebrate during this holiday season, their lives have been changed forever.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are many contributing factors to lowering road trauma<\/a>. Under Operation Open Roads, there has been an immense lift in police enforcement over the last three years, to address those areas of the network that have higher speeds and those others that have high risk.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is likely to have played a part in the success over these years.\u201d<\/p>\n The Christmas holiday period officially began at 4pm on December 24 and ran until 6am yesterday.<\/p>\n The last death recorded over the period occurred during a single-vehicle crash on Puhinui Rd, Papatoetoe late Monday.<\/p>\n The sole occupant was critically injured and transported to hospital, but died soon after.<\/p>\n Shortly after midnight on New Year\u2019s Day, a vehicle crashed at the intersection of State Highway 26 and Cadman Rd, in Tirohia, killing the sole occupant<\/a>.<\/p>\n Another person died in a suspected hit-and-run on Kaipara Coast Highway<\/a> that morning, with police appealing for footage and information from anyone travelling in the area between midnight and 5.30am.<\/p>\n On December 31<\/a>, a person died in a single-vehicle crash at the intersection of Orini Rd and McConnell Rd, in Orini, about 12.30am.<\/p>\n Later that morning, a two-vehicle crash on SH1, near Kaik\u014dura, shortly after 9.30am killed one person.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, another road death was recorded on December 30 after a car plunged off SH2 into a bank<\/a> in Tangoio, Hawke\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n