A father-of-two who spent years campaigning for a road safety upgrade outside his northern Sydney home has been killed by an out-of-control driver while collecting his rubbish bins.

Robert Townsend, 50, died instantly when a red hatchback lost control while travelling west in wet weather along Galston Road in Hornsby Heights this morning.

His family said Mr Townsend had helped victims of accidents on the road before and lobbied for years for authorities to fix the sweeping bend, fearing someone would lose their life.

“Robert once said to me ‘what’s it going to take for people to listen and do something about the road? Is it going to take a fatality?’,” his sister Carolyn Kightley told 9NEWS.

“And for him to be that fatality … it’s just not right.

“I said ‘no, you must be dreaming, people don’t get killed bringing their garbage in, that doesn’t happen’.”

The man was hit by a red Hatchback and killed. (9NEWS)

Another of Mr Townsend’s sisters Rosalind Lethbridge said there had been “many accidents” on the stretch of road in the past.

“There’s been so many accidents out here, he’s phoned the council, the police have been here, there’s been a car overturned in the front yard before, and no one’s done anything about it,” Ms Lethbridge said.

Mr Townsend is the 208th person to lose their life on NSW roads this year.

Road fatalities are up 43 people compared to the same time last year.

NSW Police today stressed that people should drive to the conditions.