Only have five weeks of ’good’ driving for 1.1 million motorists to get demerit points back

Almost 1.1 million drivers have less than five weeks of offence-free driving left before the NSW government scrubs demerit points from their licence. Search our suburb-by-suburb guide.

A suburb breakdown has been released of where motorists are on track to have a point wiped in a bid to encourage safe driving over the notorious Christmas and New Year period. Picture: NewsWire/ Monique Harmer

Exclusive: Almost 1.1 million drivers across the state have less than five weeks of offence-free driving left before the NSW government will scrub a demerit point from their licence.

In response to the state’s worrying road toll, the Minns government introduced a trial to reward good driver behaviour with a demerit point wiped for offence-free driving over a 12 month period.

Drivers in NSW can obtain up to 13 demerits before having their unrestricted licence cancelled.

As the second year of the scheme comes to end on January 16, the government has released a suburb breakdown of where motorists are on track to have a point wiped in a bid to encourage safe driving over the notorious Christmas and New Year period.

While some suburbs have thousands of drivers on track to have a point scrubbed, others have just one.

And drivers in some of the most car-reliant parts of NSW have been among the most to benefit.

Central Coast was the single biggest beneficiary, with 54,971 drivers having a demerit point removed. Five of the top ten LGAs were in Sydney’s west where workers and families rely heavily on their cars.

The LGAs of Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Liverpool, Parramatta, The Hills, Penrith and Fairfield, have seen a total of 290,287 demerit points wiped.

The data release comes at a critical time for road safety, with 321 deaths so far on NSW roads this year as of Thursday – two more than at the same point in 2023.

The government has decided to continue the scheme next year in response to the positive reception among drivers, as well as having a counterbalance to fines, enforcement and double demerits usually relied upon to change driver behaviour.

Central Coast was the single biggest beneficiary of the Minns government trial to reward good driver behaviour, with 54,971 drivers having a demerit point removed. Picture: NewsWire / Damian Shaw

The demerit point scheme is open to eligible unrestricted and professional licence holders with active demerit points.

Roads Minister John Graham said a single point could make the difference between being able to remain on the road or not.

“If you drive for a living then the reward for safe driving could be the difference between ongoing employment and losing your livelihood,” he said.

“These are very personal incentives to drive safely, but the broader effect is that safety on our roads is enhanced overall when people are making the right decisions to remain within the speed limit and within the law.

“People are used to the stick of enforcement and double demerits, but this is the carrot of reward for good behaviour.”

Regional Transport and Roads Minister Jenny Aitchison said regional road deaths accounted for over two thirds of all NSW deaths despite only a third of our population living in the regions.