SA govt, RAA, Opposition all ‘open’ to following NSW lead on driver demerits

The state government could consider rewarding drivers on the cusp of losing their licence after a similar scheme was tried in Australia’s east. Have your say.

Drivers who earn demerit points for flouting South Australia’s road rules could earn them back if they behave when behind the wheel, pending a trial’s success in NSW.

The NSW government has been trialling the system in a bid to curb that state’s road toll for the past year, and says it is committed to extending it if it gets results.

And the SA government says it is open to the notion that has the support of the RAA and Opposition.

South Australian open licence holders may be disqualified if they accrue 12 demerit points or more in a three-year period.

Learners or provisional licence holders could also be disqualified if accumulating four or more demerit points, and two points for probationary licence holders.

RAA safety and infrastructure senior manager Charles Mountain said he welcomed the trial and would monitor its results.

TELL US WHY IN THE COMMENTS

“It’s always good to look at strategies for better road safety outcomes,” he said.

“The opportunity to get a demerit point back and take yourself off that precipice is a good way to encourage people to review how they’ve been driving in the past and improve their driving behaviours going forward.”

The NSW trial returned points to 1.24 million of the 1.7 million eligible drivers on January 16, the end of the year-long trial that encouraged drivers to follow the rules.

Mr Mountain said the Safer Driving Agreement allowed a driver “on the cusp of losing their licence” due to demerit point accrual to keep driving on condition they accrue no more in a set period.

“At the end of the day, anything that potentially can improve a road safety outcome is worthy,” he said.

“It is a trial and I note they’re looking at extending the trial.”

SA’s road toll as at Sunday afternoon was two for the year, with 30 serious injuries reported from 23 serious crashes since January 1.

Its 2023 road toll of 109 was the highest since 2019.

Minister for Police Joe Szakacs. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Morgan Sette

Mr Mountain said road safety was a national problem and all jurisdictions were working toward halving the national road toll and reducing serious injury crashes by 30 per cent.

“Schemes like this are worth of serious discussion as we head into 2024,” he said.

SA Police Minister Joe Szakacs said the government would “always consider policy based on merit and expert advice”.

“Our current focus is on supporting strict laws and their enforcement, and upgrades supported by $266m in new road safety funding committed to in the last 12 months,” Mr Szakacs said.

Opposition road safety minister Vincent Tarzia said there was “real merit” in the NSW government’s initiative.

“It is important to acknowledge that sometimes the carrot is better than the stick,” he said.

“That’s why the Liberal Party has put forward a policy that would reward provisional drivers who achieve three years of offence free driving by covering the cost of a full licence renewal in the following year, saving them $71.

“Last year we saw tragedy after tragedy on our roads – one of the worst years for lives lost in two decades – and all options must be on the table to ensure people make it home safe.”