Motorists in NSW who were well-behaved on the roads for the last 12 months will soon have one demerit point wiped from their driving record.
It normally takes three years for a demerit point to disappear, but a state initiative trialling an incentive-based approach to road safety, which closed on Wednesday, will reward drivers who steered clear of an offence.
Anyone without a driving offence recorded between January 17, 2023 and January 17, 2024, who holds an unrestricted or professional licence, is eligible for the Demerit Point Return Scheme.
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They’ll just need an active demerit point previously recorded against them to have it wiped.
More than 1.7 million motorists were eligible for the scheme when it was announced last year.
But in the six months that followed, almost 400,000 motorists committed an offence that incurred at least one demerit point.
The NSW Government estimated in December that 1.3 motorists were still eligible.
But the exact number of motorists able to maintain a spotless record won’t be clear for some time, as court processes and appeals are finalised in coming months.
That’s why demerit points won’t start disappearing from driving records until April 2024.
“Learner and provisional licence holders are not included in the trial, given they are subject to strict conditions of the Graduated Licensing Scheme,” Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Roads John Graham previously said in a joint statement in June.
The trial had been slated to start on July 1, last year, but it was brought forward and a snapshot of the demerit point register as it stood on January 17 last year was captured, allowing the benefits of the scheme to be felt sooner by responsible drivers.
Graham used the carrot and the stick analogy to introduce the rewards-based approach to encouraging road safety.
“Drivers in NSW are very much used to the stick approach, so this demerit trial is an important carrot for them to maintain a clean record over a 12-month period to the benefit of all motorists, pedestrians, and communities,” he said.
“Under the previous government, there were almost a million demerit points on records, yet the road toll was rising. Now is the time to try the carrot approach and reward good behaviour.”
In the last 12 months to the trial’s close, the state’s road death climbed to 357.
“Sadly, the fatality rate per head of population for country residents of NSW is almost 5 times that of metropolitan residents,” Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison said while speaking about the scheme in December.
“If all 1.3 million motorists drive safely and within the speed limit, then we will see fewer deaths at a time when we must focus on turning the road toll around.”
Drivers can check their demerit points by logging onto their MyServiceNSW account.
