New South Wales Sees Significant Rise in Holiday Road Fatalities
In a troubling trend, the road toll in New South Wales surged by two-thirds during the recent Christmas and New Year holiday season compared to the same period the previous year. Law enforcement was particularly active, enforcing stringent double demerit penalties on traffic violations.
From 12:01 AM on Friday, December 20, 2024, to 11:59 PM on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, the New South Wales Police conducted Operation Christmas/New Year 2024, targeting infractions such as speeding, mobile phone use, seatbelt violations, and motorcycle helmet non-compliance.
Over this 13-day period, the state recorded 10 fatalities—an increase from the six deaths documented during the final weeks of 2023. Additionally, officers responded to 1,009 significant traffic incidents throughout the operation.
Despite the shorter duration of this year’s double demerit enforcement compared to the previous holiday season, where it spanned December 22 to January 1, the daily average of road deaths increased from 0.55 to 0.77 year-on-year.
The operation concluded with a staggering total of 9,719 speeding infringements, 1,725 positive drug tests, and 720 charges for drink driving, following 438,328 breath analyses.
Acting Assistant Commissioner Tracey Chapman, who oversees Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, expressed concern over the uptick in reckless driving behaviors. "We’ve observed a disturbing rise in dangerous driving, with particularly high
Source:www.carexpert.com.au
