With rain on the horizon, motorists are being urged to keep an eye out for potentially dangerous ‘summer ice' on the roads.

The Metservice are forecasting the occasional spell of rain or drizzle coupled with warm temperatures across Tauranga from tomorrow night following a lengthy run of hot summer days.

A car on the roadside after rolling into a bank along Tairua Whitianga Road yesterday. Photo: Autumn Champion.

'We all know that snow, ice and heavy rain can make the roads slippery and dangerous,” says NZTA chief safety adviser Colin Brodie.

'But after a long period of hot, dry weather like we've just had, even light rain can make road surfaces slippery, with the potential for serious crashes if drivers don't adjust to the conditions,”

Colin says that the light rain forecast in many parts of the country could create unusual and potentially dangerous driving conditions known as ‘summer ice'.

'Light rain can seem innocuous,” he adds, 'but after a dry spell, it can be more dangerous than heavy rain.

'When we have an extended run of warm dry weather, the tiny particles emitted by your vehicle's exhaust and other fine dust particles gradually build up on the road surface because they're not being washed away by rainfall.

'When we get light rain after several dry days, the amount of rain isn't intense enough to quickly wash away all of that built-up grime, so it sits on the road surface, creating a very slippery film.”

The warning cold be seen as timely after a number of crashes in the Coromandel on Wednesday.

SunLive knows of three crashes that required the emergency services, including a car rolling into a bank along Tairua Whitianga Rd. It is not yet know what the cause of the crashes were but light rain did hit the area throughout the day.

Colin advises anyone driving in the rain or on a damp or wet road over the next few days to take extreme care and assume that there is an invisible, slippery film on the road surface that will increase their stopping distances and make it easier to lose control.

'We're urging drivers to keep safe by reducing their speeds, increasing their following distances and taking extra care,” he says.

Drivers should also check the tread level and air pressure on their tyres.

Colin adds: 'Properly inflated tyres with good treads are always a must for safe travel, but even more so in wet or slippery conditions.”