AAP


A motorcyclist has been killed in a collision with a four-wheel-drive in NSW's Hunter region, taking the state's holiday road toll to 13 and the national toll to 48.


Police said the man, aged in his 60s, died at the scene following the crash on the Putty Road at Howes Valley about 50km south of Singleton about 5.15pm (AEDT) on Thursday.


The cause of the crash is being investigated and police will prepare a report for the coroner.


Police, meanwhile, have launched an internal investigation into the death of another motorcyclist after a police chase at Heatherbrae, north of Newcastle, on Boxing Day.


Officers stopped the 40-year-old man at an RBT station at Fern Bay and found he did not hold a current rider's licence.


Police said that when the man sped away, officers pursued him for about 15km before his bike crashed into a metal pole on Masonite Road.


The rider was taken to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle in a critical condition and died on Thursday morning.


* The national road toll period runs from 0001 December 23, 2012, until 2359 January 3, 2013, local times, in line with the Australia New Zealand Policing Advisory Board.