A Coroner is urging New Zealanders who don't live close to nightlife to make plans to get home safely

23-year-old Kane Stephan Evans died when he crashed his car on the Wanaka-Luggate Highway, in November 2019.

He was heading to his home more than 40km from where the pub he had been drinking at.

Coroner Alexandra Cunninghame says many locals in the Wanaka-Cromwell area do not live close to the nightlife and there is no public transport available.

She says if walking home or a taxi is not an option, then a plan to get home should always be made, preferably before a night out starts.