Police are warning motorcyclists on Northland roads to slow down after a spate of fatal crashes.
Photo: AFP
Four of the seven people killed on the region's roads this year were riding bikes.
Northland's Road Policing Manager Murray Hodson said speed was a factor in the crashes, and two of the four motorbike victims were not wearing helmets.
"We can't blame the road or weather as all the crashes have occurred when conditions were favourable."
Two of the motorcyclists were men in their fifties, who collided with cars.
A woman died when her moped ran off the road at Omapere and hit a tree, and a young man was killed when he came off his bike on the highway north of Whangarei.
Inspector Hodson said motorcylists had the speed of cars but none of the protections, and far less room for error.
"If you make a mistake on motorcycle you are highly likely to be killed or seriously injured, as the forces of a collision are taken up by the rider and the bike."
Northland's Motorcycle road deaths to date this year
- January 5, a 50-year-old man died after his motorcycle collided with a car on Murrays Road in Tangowahine Valley.
- February 12, a 42-year-old woman died after her moped left the road at Omapere and hit a tree.
- March 30, a 23-year-old man died after he came off his motorcycle on State Highway One north of Whangarei
- April 9, a 53-year-old man died after his motorcycle collided with a car on the intersection of Riverside Drive and Mackesy Road.
