It's the sobering statistic that has been a cause of concern for Hunter police, and testing this long weekend has revealed there is still work to do.
Police across the Newcastle and Hunter region made 27 positive detections from 586 random drug tests on drivers in the first three days of Operation King's Birthday 2026.
Highway patrol police across the Newcastle and Hunter sectors carried out 8898 random breath tests in that same time period and detected 10 drink-driving and driving under the influence offences.
Police nabbed 151 drivers for speeding, 10 for using their mobile phones, one for a seatbelt offence, and detected 263 other traffic infringements on local roads.
"Clearly there are some drivers who have more work to do when it comes to placing the safety of themselves, their families and others ahead of saving a few minutes when it comes to arriving at their destination," Newcastle Hunter highway patrol's Chief Superintendent Thomas Barnes said.
Up to midnight on Sunday, June 7, there were no road deaths in the Newcastle or Hunter areas.
However, emergency services responded to reports of a serious car crash at New Lambton about 10.15am on Saturday, June 6.
Three cars collided and one rolled. Two people were expected to be taken to hospital in a stable condition and paramedics assessed another two at the scene.
Monday morning brought tragedy at the Central Coast, when a man was killed in a head-on crash between a sedan and a ute on the M1 just before 3.30am.
Emergency services rushed to Ourimbah, but the sedan driver died at the scene. The ute driver was taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Police established a crime scene and will prepare a report for the coroner.
Initial inquiries suggested the sedan had been travelling north in the southbound lanes, but investigators were appealing for any witnesses or people with dashcam footage to come forward.
