WELLINGTON, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand Police Minister Stuart Nash on Tuesday extended his sympathies to the families and friends of the 380 people who died in vehicle accidents during 2018.

Nash confirmed that the provisional number of road deaths for 2018 had exceeded the annual toll for 2017, when 378 people lost their lives. It is the worst annual figure since 2009, when 384 people were killed.

The annual figure remains provisional and can be revised upwards or downwards following investigation of the circumstances of each accident. A medical event is not counted in official figures, but a death within 30 days of an accident would be included, the minister said.

"There are far too many families who are missing a loved one these holidays after road accidents this year. It is devastating to know that many of these deaths were preventable," Nash said in a statement.

"Although road deaths as a proportion of our population and in comparison to the number of cars on the road has halved in the past 20 years, we can do much better," he said, adding the main contributing factors are speed, failure to wear a seatbelt, distraction such as using a cellphone, and impairment from drugs, alcohol, or fatigue.

The minister said they had increased the number of frontline police officers to 1,070 nationwide so as to increase police enforcement and visibility on roads.

"Police remain out on the roads working hard to keep everyone safe. But they can't do it alone -- we all need to be responsible every time we get behind the wheel," he added.