Accidents make for a ‘deeply sad’ Labor weekend

Waikato’s top highway patrol has called this year’s Labor weekend “deeply sad” after the road crashes.

By Monday afternoon, highway tolls across the country had hit six, five more than on Labor weekend in 2019.

And there were several crashes around the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions over the weekend, causing injuries and blocking roads.

Police said twelve people were injured in a three-car accident on State Highway 5 in Ohaaki, northwest of Taupō, on Monday afternoon.

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A motorcyclist was seriously injured and airlifted to Waikato hospital after a single-vehicle accident on Desert Road on Saturday morning.

An accident on State Highway 26, south of Kōpū, blocked the road there and several people suffered serious and minor injuries.

And on Saturday night, three people were injured in a car accident on State Highway 1 in Karapiro, one of them seriously injured.

Inspector Jeff Penno, Waikato’s road safety manager, said it had been a “horrifying and deeply sad” weekend on the roads.

Penno said police continued to see distracted drivers causing “unnecessary and totally preventable” crashes.

He urged people to drive at the proper speed, not necessarily the posted speed limit, if they were returning from vacation.

This was especially the case on Coromandel highways or roads congested by heavy traffic.

Each driver needed to take responsibility for their actions.

“If you’re tired or fatigued, share the ride. If you are affected by drugs or alcohol, do not drive, it is not worth it.

“Other road users deserve to get home to their loved ones safely.”