Already in 2016, eight people have lost their lives in crashes around our city.

That’s eight people whose potential will never be fulfilled, and eight groups of grieving friends and family left carrying an intolerable burden.

And Bathurst is not alone.

Latest figures from Transport For NSW show 367 people have died on the state’s roads since January 1, 41 more than in 2015.

Worse, this year’s road toll has already passed the 2015 total with almost a full month to go – including the busy Christmas holidays period.

It seems that years of slowly driving down the road toll have finally come to an end and the community is left wondering why.

Perhaps weather conditions have been worse this year; perhaps mobile phones are to blames; or perhaps the road safety message is now falling on deaf ears. Most likely, it’s a combination of all three – and more.

Whatever the case, though, too many families have been left grieving the senseless loss of a loved one.

The impact of a road fatality remains with a family for many years after the crash.

It may be the parents who never come to terms with the loss of a son or daughter, or the children left to grow up without never really knowing their parent.

It could be the partner left to carry on alone through a life they had planned to spend with another.

That’s why the state’s published road toll is nothing more than a headline figure – the real toll runs much, much deeper.

There is the human cost, an economic cost and an ongoing emotional cost that can never be measured. A single road toll figure is just so inadequate when it comes to the real damage being done.

As we approach the holiday season, it’s time for all of us to reflect on our own behaviour on the road and those simple mistakes we’re all capable of making.

A moment’s inattention behind the wheel can lead to a lifetime of suffering, or worse.

The split decision to push on a little further instead of taking time to rest can be one a driver pays for with their life.

So much can go wrong so quickly and so much can change forever.

These are the realities we must all face – and responsibilities we must all accept – when we get behind the wheel.