Drivers have been urged to slow down and take more care on the roads after the number of deaths this year hit 46.
Police said the toll so far this year is 18 more than during the same period last year.
There were 28 road deaths to August 16 in 2022, and 27 to August 16 in 2021, according to PSNI statistics.
May of this year saw the most deaths on the roads, with 14 recorded in that month alone, compared to two in May 2022 and one in May 2021.
The warning came on Thursday following the death of a man in his 20s in a collision involving a motorcycle and a lorry on the Blackpark Road in Toomebridge.
A man has sadly died following a collision this morning. pic.twitter.com/jU50E73m1a
— Police Service NI (@PoliceServiceNI) August 17, 2023
Chief Inspector Graham Dodds said a lack of attention, excessive speed for the conditions, and drink or drug-driving are behind most collisions.
The PSNI’s head of road policing revealed that on one day alone – August 12 – one driver was arrested after being caught speeding at 104mph while under the influence of alcohol, and a restricted driver was prosecuted for driving at 96mph when they should have stayed below their 45mph limit.
Mr Dodds described the rocketing number of road deaths as “quite shocking”.
He also pointed out that crashes also leave others with serious, and sometimes life-changing, injuries.
“Every time you hear about a fatal or serious collision on the news, there is a family, a circle of friends, a community plunged into mourning,” he said.
“These figures show that we as a society, we are still not taking road safety seriously enough. The responsibility for making our roads a safer place remains one that we all share.
“Inattention and speed, or more accurately excessive speed for the conditions, and drink or drug-driving are consistently the principal causes of the most serious road traffic collisions in which people are killed or seriously injured on roads in Northern Ireland.”
Mr Dodds warned of the danger of speeding, describing it as “dangerous” and a “serious threat to other road users”.
He added: “Speeding causes crashes. In a crash the most vulnerable thing on the road is you.
“Removing excess speed from the road safety equation should be the easiest thing that every road user can do.
“If we all stop speeding, more people live. If we all stop speeding, fewer people have to contend with life-changing injuries.
“Reducing deaths and serious injury on our roads is a policing priority and we will continue to target the small minority of people who continue to disregard the laws, whether speeding, driving without due care and attention, not wearing seatbelts, driving after taking drink or drugs, or driving while using a mobile telephone.
“We all share the responsibility to prevent deaths and serious injuries on our roads.”
