Police are warning drivers to keep off their phones and pay attention to their surroundings with Easter weekend and the school holidays starting tomorrow.
Last year's Easter road toll was four, down from seven in 2024.
Inspector Ash Tabb, Canterbury district prevention manager, said: "There's an increased number of vehicles on the roads. A lot of people are unfamiliar, particularly who don't normally drive on the open roads, so the speeds are faster. There is the difference in traffic as well.
"You've got slower vehicles and faster vehicles. So that mix can make it a little bit more dangerous."
So far in 2026, 86 people have died on our roads – the highest figure at this point in the year since 2022.
And as people hit the road, police have advice on how to stay safe.
"Making sure people are wearing seatbelts, people are not impaired and that's not just drugs and alcohol that can be sleep making sure people sleep before a long trip and take rests, speed an obvious one, speed may not cause a crash but the damage is far higher for the higher speed and cellphones, do not use a cellphone put it to one side and forget it during the journey," Tabb said.
He added it's important to keep the focus on the driving.
"Making sure that you're taking good breaks, making sure you're aware of what's going on around you and just focusing on the drive rather than the destination."
Police will be out in force too.
"We have additional staff out on the roading network, particularly at the peak times, the afternoon before the actual long weekend such as today... during this Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and a lot of people will travel on the Monday so we'll have extra staff out on the Monday as well" Tabb said.
While fuel prices might keep people closer to home over the easter break this year, police said shorter trips or fewer cars on the road doesn't eliminate risk.
"It might be just an hour away, but the messaging is still the same. They've just got to make sure they drive safely."
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