Bay of Plenty parents whose teenagers are driving to this year's Mountain Mardi Gras are being asked to prepare their teen before they hit the roads.

NZTA acting state highway manager Bryce Carter says the cold has arrived and with snow blanketing many parts of the country motorists are being urged to travel safely.

The Mountain Mardi Gras at Ohakune today is the first festival for the season and it's likely a large number of young people will be travelling by road from the Waikato and the Bay of Plenty regions to attend it, says Bryce.

'Whether it's this weekend's event or others on the winter season festival schedule, it's time for you as parent of teenagers to start thinking about how you can help your teen drivers prepare for a safe journey to and from their festival destination.

'Remember, it is not just advice for when they arrive at the event that is useful – guidance for the drive there and back is vital too.”

He says for some teens, this will be their first experience of driving long distances in potentially wet and icy conditions – a stressful experience for both the driver and the parent waiting at home.

NZTA has created a dedicated website to help parents with teen drivers – www.safeteendriver.co.nz – which offers a set of practical skills and free tools to encourage parents to work alongside their teens to help identify and manage risk situations, when driving by themselves.

Bryce says it's always important for all drivers, not just teens, to focus on keeping speeds down, driving to the conditions, taking note of road signage and keeping an eye out for contractor vehicles operating on the roads during their journeys.

'This is vital to remember when travelling to these winter festivals, as the weather at this time of year can make driving conditions even more challenging.

'The Safe Teen Driver website not only provides useful festival hazard advice to discuss with your teen, it also suggests some different ways to talk about the risks so they don't think you're over-reacting.”