The first few days of summer were marked by a deadly weekend on NSW roads, with police urging motorists to stop taking risks.
Between Thursday and Sunday, eight deaths occurred in motor accidents across the state.
Among the victims were three teenagers, with police attributing mobile phone use, fatigue and road rule disobedience as the most common causes of the accidents.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy said police are disturbed about the potential road toll for the full year, as the Christmas holiday period has yet to begin.
With 365 road deaths so far this year, the number of fatalities has already surpassed last year's total by 40.
The assistant commissioner said police were seeing increasing incidents of risk-taking behaviour and "distracted driving".
In the latest example of risky driving, a P-plater was allegedly caught street racing on Saturday night on the Great Western Highway at Kingswood, doing 120km/h in an 80km/h zone with a toddler and baby unrestrained in his car.
No one was injured, but the man was charged with dangerous driving offences.
"With the amount of people dying on our roads, with the amount of communication we do on all this, how a sensible person could even think to do that is just beyond me," the assistant commissioner said.
On Thursday evening, 27-year-old Mel Bray died in the state's central west when she was thrown from a truck when it rolled. The driver was taken to Forbes Hospital with minor injuries, and was subject to a mandatory blood and urine test.
In the early hours of Friday morning, 18-year-old Jayke Robinson was killed after the car in which he was a passenger crashed into a tree and caught alight near Dapto, in the Illawarra region. Local residents were able to rescue the driver from the burning car, but were unable to free Mr Robinson.
In a similar incident on early Sunday morning at Bringelly, a driver died after their car crashed into a tree and caught alight.
A 75-year-old man died on the Central Coast on Friday afternoon, after his car collided with another car travelling the opposite direction on the Motorway Link Road.
Investigations are continuing on a double fatality in a crash involving a speeding motorbike and a car in Lane Cove shortly before 1am on Saturday. The driver Dr Vincent Wong, 76, died at the scene, while the 26-year-old rider was taken to hospital where he later passed away. Police said the motorcycle rider had gone through a red light at "excessive speed", where it smashed into Dr Wong's vehicle, sending it spinning 180 degrees.
The tragic weekend also saw the death of a 17-year-old male on the south coast, following a head-on collision between two cars on the Princes Highway near Wandandian on Saturday afternoon. The driver of the other vehicle remains in St George Hospital in a serious but stable condition.
In Seven Hills, an 18-year-old pedestrian died in hospital, after he was hit by truck about 2.30am on Sunday.
NSW Police have planned targeted road patrols all through December to the end of January, and are urging drivers to stop taking risks.
"We are really throwing every officer we can at this," the assistant commissioner said.
"We are not going to drop the ball on this."
