The statewide Operation Easter 2024 will launch on March 28 and run to April 1, focusing on extra police presence on the roads and reducing road fatalities across the long weekend with double demerits in place for speeding, seatbelt, mobile phone and helmet offences.

Officers will also be targeting other high-risk behaviour, including drink and drug-driving, as well as distracted driving or other dangerous behaviours.

A spokesperson for the Murrumbidgee Police District said that rural areas had almost twice the number of serious injuries on the roads than metropolitan areas.

"Rural road crashes contribute substantially to the overall road toll in Australia, accounting for 65 per cent of all fatal road crashes. In NSW, country residents are four times more likely to be killed in a road crash than metropolitan residents," he said.

"There is a commonly held belief that it is city people or tourists unfamiliar with regional roads who are most at risk on country roads. The fact is most rural crashes involve local residents, with only a very small proportion of crashes involving drivers from outside the area."

Over the 2023 Easter long weekend, seven people were killed on the roads while over 14,500 drivers were issued with fines for speeding. Another 326 people were charged with drink-driving, while 311 were fined for using phones while driving.

Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Assistant Commissioner Brett McFadden, criticised 'selfish individuals' breaking the road laws.

"We are asking every person who gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle or hops on a motorcycle, to be responsible and do everything they can to keep themselves, their passengers and other road users safe," he said.

"Those selfish individuals who think they can blatantly disregard the road rules and put the broader community at risk are on notice."