What was meant to be a time of joy has ended in tragedy for eight families across NSW.
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Eight people lost their lives during crashes across NSW over the Easter long weekend, including one person in the state's central west.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Command assistant commissioner Brett McFadden said the deaths were avoidable.
"That's eight families coming to terms with the real tragedy that someone's missing from their home, from their relationships," he said.
"The tragedy about this is that these crashes were avoidable over the weekend."
In a major operation over the weekend police saw a "concerning number" of dangerous driving incidents, including excessive speed, high-range drink-driving and reckless driving.
Across the Western Region - which includes Dubbo, Bathurst and Orange - police conducted 19,514 breath tests resulting in 35 charges for drivers exceeding the legal limit. 646 speeding tickets were also issued.
In Dubbo, on Friday, March 29, highway patrol officers stopped a speeding Toyota HiAce. After speaking with the 49-year-old driver, officers searched the vehicle and found 33 kilograms of cannabis.
Assistant commissioner McFadden said dangerous behaviour like this contributed to the high road toll.
"These are all the contributing factors for the death and carnage that takes place on our roads every day," he said.
"The community needs to work with us to ensure that we are doing everything possible to prevent this from happening in the first place."
There were 27 major crashes across the Western Region and one fatal crash.
About 4:15pm on Easter Monday, April 1, emergency services responded to reports of a sedan and a utility colliding at the intersection of the Newell Highway and Ashburnham Road, south of Parkes.
A passenger in the sedan - an 83-year-old woman - died at the scene prior to the arrival of emergency services.
Across the state there were 311 major crashes and eight fatal crashes. Police issued 5709 speeding tickets and charged 295 people with drink-driving. 863 roadside drug tests returned positive results.
"Prior to the start of the operation, I pleaded with all road users to make this long weekend a safe and enjoyable one," assistant commissioner McFadden said.
"Unfortunately, due to the actions of a few, we've had more fatalities and serious injuries in a number of serious crashes that could have been prevented if the warning was heeded.
"Again, we can't accept this irresponsible behaviour and the community shouldn't either. It is time we as a collective worked together to end this carnage on our roads."
