Well, imagine being given the task of knocking on a door to let someone know their loved one has died in a car crash.

Suddenly your day might not seem so bad.

Central West police have opened up to us today to talk through some of the strategies being employed to bring down the the road toll, but also the ripple effect of every death on our roads.

Beyond the wasted life and wasted potential that comes with every fatality there is the impact on the grieving friends and family who are left behind (and some of them will never fully recover) and also the impact on communities, particularly small communities where everyone knows everyone.

And then there is the sometimes forgotten impact on emergency workers called to the devastating scene of these crashes.

As they rush to the scene of a crash they do not know what, or who, awaits them.

Once there they are invariably confronted by a scene of mangled vehicles, mangled bodies and desperate witnesses.

But as horrific as that all sounds, it is not even the worst of it.

"Whatever I've seen [at a crash] is always overshadowed by what follows," Chifley Police District Inspector Adam Beard said.

"Informing someone their loved one isn't coming home is the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Think about that for a moment ... anyone still want to criticise police?

Given what officers must go through as a result of road fatalities, it's no wonder our force is constantly looking for new ways to bring down the road toll.

We've also taken a look inside a state-of-the-art Highway Patrol vehicle fitted out its own computer terminal, in-car video system and automatic number plate recognition system - not to mention hand-held speed check devices and an Automatic Number Plate Recognition system that can check up to six number plates in a second looking for unregistered, stolen or suspect vehicles.

Then there are the mobile alcohol and drug-testing units that give police more tools than ever to ensure people are doing the right thing on the road.

In the end, though, it all comes down to drivers making good decisions.

Police do their best to care for the community, but the community must also care for itself.