Shania McNeill, 21, died instantly in the crash, and another four people were hospitalised following the head-on collision at Berkshire Park, Sydney, just after 1am Sunday.

Brook Lynch, a former highway patrol officer with 22 years on the job, and now a driving instructor at P-Ready said the crash is a stark reminder how quickly things can go wrong when a a driver is distracted.

As a driving instructor he said he easily sees 10 drivers a day on their phone while they are driving. Of those he estimates about half are either red or green P-platers.

"The other day I was driving along Durham Street and there was a girl behind me texting and driving. I saw her in the mirror, eventually I pulled over and let her pass, so she didn't run up the back of my car.

"I see it all the time."

He said drivers face many distractions when they get behind the wheel, everything from the radio to other passengers to mobile phones and now social media.

He talks to his driving students all the time about the dangers, and said they all know they shouldn't do it.

But across the state, he doesn't think the message is getting through.

"They've done the advertising, made the fines bigger increased the demerit points, but it doesn't seem to be working.

"[Statistics from the Department of State Revenue show] from June last year until March this year over 25,650 tickets have been issued for phone offences."

He said while P-platers are highly represented in the group, many other age groups are as well.

"My thought is it basically comes down to personal responsibility, don't drive and use your phone, it really is that simple."

He said parents also have a role, leading by example.

"If you're in the car with your kids don't be on the phone, don't have it on. Parents really need to be a bit more conscientious, kids really watch what you do, even if it's talking on blue tooth, it is still a distraction.

Mr Lynch said prior to mobile phones there were other distractions, and he vividly recalls three fatalities where drivers were killed changing a cassette or CD in their car.

"The technology changes but the distractions are still there."

He said having seen so much trauma as a police officer it was frustrating to see people doing stupid things, putting themselves and others in danger and has frank discussions with his students about how quickly things can go wrong.