Southern police are calling on motorists to take care as they hit the district’s roads for the long weekend. Labour Weekend’s official road toll period officially starts at 4pm today and ends at 6am on Tuesday. Last year, five people died and 21 were seriously injured on New Zealand’s roads during the long weekend. "If you are involved in a crash, regardless of the cause, speed is the single factor that most affects the outcome. "Nationally, the crash risk for fatal and serious crashes is 14% higher over Labour Day weekend, so we’re asking all drivers to plan ahead to help make their holiday travel safer and to be patient drivers."

Source: Otago Daily Times October 20, 2016 17:03 UTC