Police say they are disappointed by “bad decision making” behind the wheel during this holiday period, in which nine people have been killed so far.
Officers have also attended many other serious injury crashes on the roads during this time.
Director of Road Policing Superintendent Steve Greally said the high holiday road toll figure was “incredibly frustrating”.
“Over the Christmas period last year, 21 lives were tragically lost in road crashes, and sadly as of December 29 this year we have lost nine people on our roads this holiday period,” he said.
Greally said there was “no excuse for any driver to be endangering their lives and those of others with unsafe behaviours”.
“There are many families that have been affected by bad decision making from behind the wheel so far this holiday.”
“Drivers must be clear that if they are driving distracted, speeding or driving impaired by alcohol or drugs, they may cause a crash and possibly cut someone’s life short,” he said.
Greally said police and road safety partners were “very disappointed in this figure” and highlighted that road deaths and serious injuries were preventable.
“We will continue to have a co-ordinated, highly visible police presence at high-risk locations including State Highways and rural areas, during peak travel periods right throughout the country.”
“If you are caught putting other people’s lives at risk, you can expect to be dealt with and don’t expect a warning.”
“We should all play our part to be safe on our roads, because so far, too many families have received tragic news this holiday period.”
The official Christmas/New Year holiday period is from 4pm on Tuesday, December 24 to 6am on Friday, January 3, 2025.
The Ministry of Transport would provide updates on holiday road toll data throughout the break, and historical crash data for the holiday period could be found online.
