Easter long weekend 2018: When do double demerits start
ALMOST 100 people have died on NSW roads this year alone and police say they’re taking a hard line approach to speeding and drink drivers this Easter long weekend.
NSW
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ALMOST 100 people have died on NSW roads this year alone and police say they’re taking a hard line approach to speeding and drink drivers this Easter long weekend.
Double demerits will be in force from midnight Thursday through to 11.59pm on Monday and extra police will be out in force as part of the Easter long weekend road blitz.
Only 83 days into 2018, NSW has already recorded 94 fatal crashes — overtaking last year’s March 27 record of 68 fatalities — and police say they are determined to change driver attitudes.
“Ninety-four people have already lost their lives on NSW roads this year. That is more than one person every day,” NSW Police Force Deputy Commissioner Catherine Burn said.
“If people think our approach to road safety this year is extreme, I make no apologies. What is extreme is the pain those 94 families who have lost a loved one are going through.”
NSW Police Force officers have already kicked off Operation Merret, which is aimed at educating drivers about bad behaviour and encouraging those who do the right thing.
“Every police officer in the state has been tasked with speaking to drivers, riders, passengers and pedestrians about their responsibilities and safe choices on and around our roads,” Deputy Commissioner Burn said.
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“Driving is a privilege not a right and motorists, passengers and pedestrians need to be accountable for the decisions they make that impact other road users.”
The stern warning from police comes after a string of deaths on NSW roads this week.
A pedestrian was killed after being struck by a car in Bexley North, in Sydney’s south last night while a bike died in Centennial Park after a collision with a car this morning.
A motorcyclist was also killed yesterday afternoon after losing control of his bike in Auburn. Police and paramedics described the crash as horrific, saying the 30-year-old suffered “massive trauma” and left pieces of his bike scattered across the street.
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the message this Easter was to slow down and think about your actions.
“Crashes don’t just impact the drivers or motorcyclists involved — they tear families apart and cause unimaginable grief among our communities,” she said at the site of the fiery Boxing Day crash that wiped out the entire Falkholt family on the state’s South Coast.
“Please slow down, think of others and the impact you could have on their lives.”
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Home and Away actor Jessica Falkholt, 28, her sister Annabelle, 21, and their parents Lars and Vivian died after their car was hit head-on by a four-wheel- drive on December 26.
Lars and Vivian died immediately while both sisters were pulled from the burning wreckage, with Annabelle dying three days later and Jessica dying three weeks later.