Western region roads have accounted for about two-thirds of the state’s increased road toll in 2016.
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As of Friday morning, a total of 280 people had died on NSW roads in 2016, up from 248 by the same time last year.
But in the western region the road toll had increased from about 34 to 54 – a 58.8 per cent rise.
It comes despite repeated appeals for drivers to take more responsibility on the roads, which Western Region Traffic Tactician Inspector Peter McMenamin fears are falling on deaf hears.
“It would appear so. The education and the profile that the police are putting out there, our level of enforcement, if anything we’ve upped our level of enforcement on major highways,” Inspector McMenamin.
More crashes are occurring on major arterial roads, Inspector McMenamin said, which police have responded to by increasing their presence.
Overall NSW has recorded a 17 per cent rise in road deaths since August 2015 – the highest of any state.
Speed remained the main causal factor in the western region, which extends from Lithgow to Broken Hill and from Lightning Ridge to Forbes.