04/08/2026
Winter frost and ice can make roads slippery. Adjust your speed: Slow down and avoid sudden braking or turning.
We're due for overnight temperatures at or below 0ºC across most of the country on Wednesday and Thursday – the perfect conditions for slippery roads in the morning.
Watch out especially if the temperature has been below freezing overnight. Black ice forms when temperatures are at or below freezing (0ºC) and light rain falls on the road, and it can also form when water already on the road freezes when temperatures fall below freezing point.
You can't easily see black ice, but what you can do is travel to the conditions:
• Slow down. Adjust your speed to suit the conditions.
• Increase your following distance to people ahead of you.
• Avoid sudden braking or turning to reduce the risk of sliding.
• Be careful in areas shaded from the sun – they'll stay slippery for longer.
Watch out also when you're travelling over bridges – they get icy before the normal road around them, and they stay icier for longer than the rest of the road.
Turn your headlights on dipped if it's raining, snowing, or foggy. Many of us have silver, grey, or white vehicles which easily blend into the road, grey sky, and snow. Having your headlights on dipped activates your rear position lights. Together your lights make you much more visible to people behind you and people coming towards you.
When the weather is bad, always check our pages to see if state highways are affected before you travel. Follow us if you aren’t already.
We have 9 regional pages where we publish updates about state highways ahead of forecasted severe weather, and live updates as weather or other unexpected events (such as crashes) affect travel. Follow the page/s that’re relevant to you:
• Auckland: https://www.facebook.com/nztaakl
• Canterbury & West Coast: https://www.facebook.com/nztacwc
• Hawke's Bay & Gisborne: https://www.facebook.com/nztahbg
• Manawatū-Whanganui & Taranaki: https://www.facebook.com/nztamwt
• Nelson, Tasman & Marlborough: https://www.facebook.com/nztantm
• Northland: https://www.facebook.com/nztanorthland
• Otago & Southland: https://www.facebook.com/nztaos
• Waikato & Bay of Plenty: https://www.facebook.com/nztawbop
• Wellington: https://www.facebook.com/nztawgtn
