The Minns Government is appealing for motorists to drive safely this ANZAC Day long weekend, with New South Wales Police strictly enforcing double demerits on roads across the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With ANZAC Day falling on Saturday, motorists are being reminded there is an additional public holiday on Monday this year and double demerits will apply for the entire long weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Double demerits will be in place from midnight tonight until 11:59pm Monday 27 April, targeting high-risk behaviours including speeding, illegal mobile phone use, improper seatbelt use and motorcycle helmet offences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Police will also be conducting random breath testing and mobile drug testing across the state, with an increased enforcement presence expected on major highways and key regional routes as traffic volumes are expected to rise over the Anzac Day long weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year almost 40% of deaths on NSW roads involved speeding, while drug driving, drink driving and fatigue each contribute to about 16-24% of fatalities every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The calls to slow down and drive responsibly come as the number of lives lost on NSW roads this year exceeds 107, which is 6 more than the same time last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Double demerits are a proven measure designed to deter unsafe and illegal behaviour before it leads to tragedy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Yasmin Catley said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLet there be no doubt: NSW Police officers will be out in force this long weekend and they will be targeting the behaviours we know put lives at risk on our roads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a high-visibility operation, and drivers can expect to see police on highways, in regional areas and across our metropolitan road network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere is no excuse for speeding, using your mobile phone, or incorrectly wearing a seatbelt. These are not just offences, they are choices \u2013 and they could cost you your life. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you make the wrong decision behind the wheel, you will be caught and you will face the consequences. Double demerits are there to deter risky behaviour and encourage safer driving when our roads are at their busiest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Roads, Jenny Aitchison said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTragically, 107 lives have already been lost on our roads this year, which is 6 more than this time last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese aren\u2019t just statistics. They are people, and every single death represents a family, a community and a life cut short.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know the biggest risks are speeding, fatigue, distraction and driving under the influence, and these behaviours continue to have devastating consequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis long weekend, there will be more people on the road, more families travelling and more pressure on the network, which is why it\u2019s so important that every driver takes responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSlow down, put your phone away, wear your seatbelt properly and never drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Minns Government is appealing for motorists to drive safely this ANZAC Day long weekend, with New South Wales Police strictly enforcing double demerits on roads across the state. With ANZAC Day falling on Saturday, motorists are being reminded there is an additional public holiday on Monday this year and double demerits will apply for … Continue reading “Minns Government issues road safety and speeding plea: Double demerits in effect this long weekend”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38556","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38557,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38556\/revisions\/38557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}