Just metres from a pole on Lawrence Hargrave Drive bearing a 60km/h speed sign, an electronic sign posting the limit as 50km/h had been parked on the roadside.

Further south, traffic remained heavy at Albion Park Rail and the Kiama bends as holidaymakers continued the journey down the South Coast.

MORE: Thirty years of safer Illawarra roads

Lake Illawarra police said no accidents had been reported on the route south of Dapto.

However, the sheer volume of traffic was leading to bottlenecks. By late afternoon there was a two-kilometre queue of vehicles at Berry.

Daytime holiday traffic on the main trail south has been at a snail's pace since Boxing Day.

Meanwhile, police are continuing to target speeding, drink-driving, seatbelt and other traffic offences across the state.

Operation Safe Arrival is nearly half over and by last night, seven people had died on NSW roads, with five of those deaths on Boxing Day.

Last year, 13 people had died halfway through the same holiday road-toll period.

Traffic and Highway Patrol commander Bob Ryan said more people would die in the lead-up to the new year and as people returned home after holidays.

"The sad reality is it will probably happen," Superintendent Ryan said. "It's heartbreaking really when you look into a mother's eyes and tell her that their son or daughter has been killed in a car accident."