Shortly after 7.30am on Saturday, a southbound Holden sedan and a northbound truck collided on the Newell Highway just north of Gurley, about 20km out of Moree.

The man and woman inside the car died at the scene.

The truck driver, a 42-year-old man, was taken to Moree District Hospital for mandatory testing. He wasn’t injured, police said.

Investigations into the moments leading up to the crash are still continuing.

Meanwhile, emergency services were called to a second serious head-on collision on the Newell Highway, approximately 15km south of Boggabilla, shortly after 10pm on Saturday.

The male driver of one of the vehicles was taken to hospital in a critical condition, while the driver of the second vehicle was taken to hospital for mandatory testing.

All other occupants of the vehicles suffered only minor injuries, police said.

Barwon duty officer Inspector Martin Burke said speed, fatigue, distractions, road works, livestock and native animals are all factors that motorists should be aware of, particularly over the school holiday period.

“School holidays always bring with it increased traffic on our roadways ... it’s during this time that drivers need to be more vigilant than ever to the risks of long distance driving,” he said.

“Too often motorists take unnecessary risks in order to get from A to B despite the significant attention given to the ever increasing road toll.

“Responsibility for road safety must be put back on the drivers; drive to the road conditions, obey speed limits and above all exercise extreme caution.”