Patiki Rd, Pihama, was cordoned off on Sunday after a car crashed into a tree killing a passenger.

A horror start to the year on Taranaki's roads has police concerned and warning drivers to take care as winter approaches.

Seven people have died on the region's roads so far in 2016 compared with just eight for all of 2015.

The warning comes after Komene Hetaraka, a 37-year-old from Eltham died when the car he was a passenger in hit a tree on Patiki Rd, Pihama about 2.30pm on Sunday.

Police said the driver of the Ford Falcon saloon suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

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The police Serious Crash Unit, from Palmerston North, is investigating the fatality and the road was closed while they examined the scene.

Area commander Inspector Keith Borrell said it had been a disappointing start to the year.

"It's a concern if there is a single death on our roads, if we could prevent a single death then we would be happy," Borrell said.

"Our priority is reducing and preventing road related trauma, any road crash is disappointing and any road fatality is a tragedy."

Borrell encouraged motorists to take extra care on the roads as winter approached.

"Especially around our weather conditions, we know our roads get icy over winter, we know we are a province that can be very wet and in some parts of our province very icy and sometimes snow and we have to drive to the conditions."

Police have recently run operations targeting unsafe driving practices including speeding, drunk driving, the use of cellphones, distracted drivers and Borrell said the focus would continue.

"We know that speed, alcohol and distractions are all contributing to road crashes.

"All we can do is continue to police the road and continue to put the messages out there to the motorists in relation to driving to the conditions, keeping your speed down and eliminating distractions."

He said police were unapologetic in taking a hardline against law breakers because their actions were contributing to the road deaths.

"It does, you just need to look at what the road toll was, compared to now.

"We can't be everywhere but we are out there and it's all about reducing and preventing road related trauma."

Roadsafe Taranaki co-ordinator Marion Webby agreed it had not been a good start to the year.

"It's really tough especially when you are getting out there and trying to educate people," Webby said.

"It's certainly a very disappointing start to the year."

Taranaki was a small region, seven road deaths were a lot even for a full year and the impact affected the entire community, she said.

"It just means every time that there is a serious injury or fatal crash in Taranaki there are so many people that are affected by that."

Webby urged motorists to take extra care as the cold weather began.

"Take your time and don't be in such a rush, my tagline is 'life's not a race, you don't want to finish first, you want to actually live a good life.'

"A lot of the time it's people driving too fast for the conditions, not too fast as in exceeding the speed limit but too fast for what is safe in those conditions."