From today, more than 1.1 million motorists will begin to see a demerit point scrubbed from their licence as reward for maintaining good driver behaviour during the first year of the NSW Government’s demerit point trial that promotes safer roads.
The 12-month demerit point trial, which ended on January 16, provided an incentive for drivers to follow the rules and those who remained offence-free will now benefit with a demerit point removed.
The scheme gave 1.7 million motorists the chance to have a demerit point erased, with about 65 per cent of those to benefit from Sunday.
The trial has been extended for another 12-months as the NSW Government sharpens its focus on road safety in 2024.
Anyone with a NSW unrestricted licence, including professional drivers, and a demerit point on their record, has another opportunity to have a point scrapped if they remain offence-free between 17 January 2024 and 16 January 2025.
The vast majority of eligible motorists will see their demerit points removed immediately, but a small cohort will need to wait until offence notifications are finalised and court settlements processed.
To find out more about the Demerit Point Trial Scheme, visit https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/topics-tips/demerit-points.
Minister for Roads John Graham said:
“Thanks to the drivers who followed the rules over the twelve month trial we are all safer as a result.
“The NSW Government believes in encouraging safety and the demerit point trial is part of our carrot-and-stick approach to reward good driving behaviour as well as appropriately penalising poor behaviour on the roads.
“I urge all motorists to renew their commitment to safe driving in 2024. The demerit point trial can provide further incentive to do so.
Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said:
“Many people in regional NSW depend on driving for their livelihood or just to get around and do not have the public transport alternatives of other more populated areas. The reward of a demerit point being removed will be a meaningful one to many of those people.
“This trial is unapologetically about encouraging safer driving and that’s exactly what we need in the regions where we have a third of the state’s population but more than two-thirds of all road fatalities.”
Minister for Customer Service and Digital Government Jihad Dib said:
“Eligible drivers will not have to do anything as they will automatically have their demerit point returned. Drivers will be able to check this in their demerit point summary of the Service NSW app or by logging into their MyServiceNSW account via the Service NSW website.”
“Customers can also check their demerit points balance at their local Service NSW Centre by showing their NSW driver licence or people can contact Service NSW on 13 77 88 if they have any questions.”