Tourists are continuing to ignore New Zealand road conditions and rules throughout Central Otago, frustrating local police.

Senior Sergeant Graham Perkins said usually it was campervan drivers holding up traffic, but lately it has been more the other way with many speeding offences.

“And, we’re getting a large number of complaints coming through.”

He said highway patrol on State Highway 85 around Ranfurly were writing out tickets flat stick and the Lindis Pass was another problem area.

“They’re not allowing enough time to get to places and then they expect us to just give them a warning.

“It’s become quite noticeable and they seem to have no regard for our conditions,” he said.

Four young men from Bluff, Gore and Invercargill kept highway patrols busy last weekend after two reckless driving incidents around the Devils Staircase.

The driver was clocked going 147km/hr heading towards Queenstown, but the patrol car couldn’t locate him, and then later in the day the same carload of men swapped their driver and returned south, and he was eventually caught speeding at 158km/hr.

Police radioed ahead to Lumsden where the police officer managed to put out road spikes by the bridge to stop them.

One driver was arrested and charged with reckless driving and failing to stop and the second driver was charged with dangerous driving and was breath tested.

Snr Const Perkins said the other passengers were released, but then proceeded to start smashing letterboxes around Lumsden.

Alexandra Police are also reminding motorists to drive to the winter conditions now that it was frosty, and make sure your windows are all defrosted.

“Leave a couple of minutes earlier, it’s an offence to drive with a lack of vision.”

Driving with lights on automatic could also be a problem because they don’t switch on in foggy conditions, he said.

Southern road policing manager Craig Brown said a lot of the crashes they see in winter involved people driving like it was still summer.

“Rain, snow and ice make it challenging to stop quickly if required so it's important to allow a little bit more distance between yourself and the vehicle ahead."

Inspector Brown urged drivers to consider ‘what would happen if…’, and put themselves in the shoes of the motorists around them.

"Anticipating how you would react if something were to happen can help readjust your driving behaviour."

He said that included asking yourself: Can other drivers see me? Can I stop in time if the car in front slams on the brakes? Is there likely to be ice on this patch of road?

"Black ice is particularly terrifying for any driver that hits it.

"If a patch of road looks wet or damp, assume it’s black ice; let your car slow down on its own, and brake gently before you get to a curve."

That’s why it’s so important to drive to the conditions and anticipate what’s in front of you, he said.

"If you’re unsure, drive slower; we’re not going to ticket you for driving to the conditions.

"But if you’re driving like an idiot, don’t expect an apology when we pull you over."

Before getting on the road this winter, check out conditions via The Central App's Weather & Reports link.