Police are continuing to investigate the deaths of four teenagers in Invercargill after a deadly Anzac weekend on our roads.
Photo: RNZ
There were 11 people killed in crashes during the long weekend, including the teens.
The high toll has put the spotlight on road safety, and advocates say there is still more work to be done.
Earlier this year, Waka Kotahi the Transport Agency launched its latest video as part of the Road to Zero strategy - a national strategy that kicked off in 2018.
It has set its sights on reducing deaths and serious injuries by 40 percent by 2030, with the hope New Zealanders will end any acceptance of people dying or being seriously injured on the roads.
Road safety charity Brake provides help to those impacted by crashes. Its national director Caroline Perry said road deaths were sudden, often very violent and devastating for communities and whānau.
"We understand how devastating the consequences are for families and friends and wider communities following a death on a road, so it's an absolute tragedy to have this many road deaths over one weekend."
Perry wants to see improvement to road safety education and better road infrastructure.
"That includes having some safer roads with things like median barriers and roadside barriers which we know are proven to reduce crashes and, if a crash does happen [they] reduce the likelihood of someone being killed or seriously injured.
"We need safe speed limits on our roads. We still have a high proportion of roads around the country that don't have a speed limit that actually matches the condition of the road environment."
Last year's provisional figures showed 320 people died and more than 2000 people were injured during crashes.
Waka Kotahi's Road to Zero portfolio manager Tara Macmillan said Aotearoa had been grappling with a road safety for years.
"There's not one silver bullet for solving the set of conditions and circumstances that resulted in this tragic outcome.
"One of our biggest challenges is that we need a system-wide response in order to prevent deaths and serious injuries. So the starting point for that is fundamentally people buying in to the fact that deaths and serious injuries do not need to occur."
The Road to Zero strategy balances infrastructure improvements, vehicle safety, and speed management while encouraging people to make the right choices, she said. But there was more work to do.
National Party transport spokesperson Simeon Brown told Midday Report when it came to road safety, the government needed to get its priorities straight.
Simeon Brown reacts to Anzac road toll
"Our view is that the government is focused too much around putting out its messaging around Road to Zero without actually making the investment in the areas which actually need to be done."
Police Assistant Commissioner Bruce O'Brien said the Road to Zero campaign was looking at infrastructure as part of its strategy.
But he wanted people to take personal responsibility when they were on the road, and said speeding, alcohol and drug use, distractions and not wearing seatbelts were far too common causes for crashes.
Anzac weekend road toll more than double Easter's
"People just stick to those basic four areas and we would see a massive reduction in these tragic and completely preventable deaths."
Road Safety Week is scheduled for 9 to 15 May, with organisers hoping it will help to make the roads safer for all.