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Source: ONE News -
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It is over 72 hours since the holiday road toll period began and there has only been one fatal accident, the lowest on record for this time of year.
A Ngaruawahia man died after being thrown out of his car in the early hours of Christmas Day, on State Highway One in the Waikato.
Paul McLaughlin was found thrown from his vehicle in a critical condition when emergency services arrived.
He was taken to Waikato Hospital where he died about two hours
later.
On the road north of Wellington on Sunday four cars were involved
in a nose to tail collision. One woman was taken to hospital
suffering whiplash but the others managed to escape unscathed.
Accidents caused by cars following to close to one another are a common occurrence in New Zealand which is why police are trying to get the message through to motorists to not follow too close as the gridlock is expected to get worse around the New Year.
Traffic in the Wellington region has been nose to tail all day. It usually takes about an hour to get from Wellington to Otaki but on Sunday it is taking two to three times longer which has been frustrating holiday makers.
Last year 25 people were killed on the roads during the Christmas holiday period and police say that although fatalities are well down this year they are still receiving a lot of reports of bad driving.
Road Policing Manager Superintendent Paula Rose says it is remarkable the toll is as low as it is.
She is hoping more people are taking note of road safety messages and drivers are being more alert.
This time last year five people had been killed on the roads and 24 died in total for the whole of the period.
The holiday road toll period begins at 4pm on Christmas Eve and
runs until 6am on January 5th.
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