Established by Peter Frazer after his daughter was tragically killed on the Hume Highway in 2012, the initiative seeks to honour those who have lost their lives or been injured on Australian roads, highlight the impact of road trauma, and ultimately reduce the number of crashes due to unsafe roads and driving.

Manning Great Lakes Police District acting superintendent, Paul Fuller, believed National Road Safety Week was an opportune time for all motorists to take the time to reflect on their own behaviour behind the wheel.

"We want people to exercise patience, common sense, sound judgement and make wise decisions on our roads," he said.

Police stats from the Easter Holiday period in the Manning Great Lakes show a lot of drivers are still engaging in unsafe behaviour, with police responding to a number of accidents and hundreds of people being charged with driving offences.

The worst incident involved a multi-car crash on the Pacific Highway at Nerong on Sunday, April 14, which resulted in the death of a 23-year-old man and serious injuries to five others.

A 54-year-old man was charged with numerous serious driving offences and will appear before Forster Local Court on June 18.

"It's a poignant reminder of how quickly situations and lives can change," Mr Fuller said.

He also expressed disappointment at the fact that 32 drivers were charged with drink driving over this period and a number of people tested positive to illegal substances while behind the wheel.

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A number of Facebook posts have drawn attention to the irresponsible conduct of drivers around the Great Lakes of late, with tail-gating and reckless driving being among the chief complaints.

Ex-police officer and co-ordinator of the Aspire Traffic Offender Course in Forster, Andrew McDonald, said people need to remember that driving is a privilege, not a right.

He believed the majority of drivers that came through his course had relaxed their knowledge of the road rules and initiatives such as National Road Safety Week were good opportunities to remind people of the consequences of dangerous driving.

More than 1200 people are killed on Australian roads each year and around 35,000 are injured, with the death toll for 2019 sadly on track to once again reach that number after 326 people died in the first three months of this year.

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