The Courier Mail reported more than 1700 people were seriously injured in crashes across the holiday period, an increase of more than 200 on the same period last year.

RACQ spokesperson Lauren Ritchie said the rising road toll was a reminder to drivers to make a conscious effort do the right thing.

“Just last week drivers were warned to take extra care to avoid any more tragedies on our roads, and since then sadly another four lives have been lost,” Ms Ritchie said.

“We’ve already had 33 lives lost in the first six weeks of the year, 15 more than the same time last year – something needs to change.

“People really need to have a think about how their driving can not only put their own lives at risk, but everyone on the road - we all need to survive the drive.”

Ms Ritchie said speed, drugs and alcohol continued to be a major problem.

“During the summer holidays almost 140,000 drivers were caught speeding, with infringements up by 31 percent compared to last year,” she said.

“Speed is a major factor in serious and fatal crashes. Speeds of just 5km/h over the limit are enough to double the risk of a deadly crash.”