Operation Safe Arrival began this morning and will run until midnight Monday.

Wollongong and Lake Illawarra highway patrol officers will be out in force keeping a close eye on the region's roads.

Acting Commissioner Nick Kaldas said roads across the state would be busy over the weekend, and warned drivers that extra police had been rostered.

"The summer is a time to be spent with friends and family, not in the back of an ambulance, an intensive care ward, a police cell or a morgue," he said.

"We want to make sure families travelling to and from holiday locations this weekend get to their destinations safely.

"Rest assured, there will be a large police presence on the roads."

Highway patrol officers will be targeting speeding, drink and drug-impaired driving, seatbelt offences and fatigue.

"Officers will be ready to catch and book rogue drivers before they destroy their own lives or, worse yet, the lives of other innocent road users," he said.

NSW Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, Acting Assistant Commissioner Stuart Smith, said families driving back from school holidays would need to be extra vigilant this weekend.

"Parents driving the family home from school holidays should make sure they stick to the speed limit, drive to the conditions and take plenty of breaks," he said.

"There is nothing more precious than one's family - ensure you get them back from school holidays safely."