THE COMMANDER of the Police Traffic and Highway Patrol has delivered an unprecedented swipe at the numerous incidents of motoring madness on NSW roads since the beginning of Operation Safe Arrival.

Assistant Commissioner John Hartley did not mince words when describing the bad behaviour of a small group of lawbreakers.

"While the vast majority people using our roads do so safely and responsibly, we continue to be dismayed by the small number of reckless drivers who seem intent on destruction," he said.

"It beggars belief that some of those arrested are still alive.

"Their antics are absolutely deplorable."

Police are continuing to see irresponsible motorists putting lives at risk, as the festive season continues.

As with every day of the operation so far, police are seeing a number of reckless motorists breaking the road rules.

On Saturday alone they caught 966 speeding motorists, up from 763 on the same day in the 2013-14 operation.

Many of the infringement notices handed out were on the Pacific Highway in the Mid North Coast and Coffs-Clarence Local Area Commands where heavy rain and unexpectedly heavy traffic flows created lengthy delays and treacherous driving conditions.