Harold Scruby, CEO of the Pedestrian Council of Australia has decried the “insanity” of a new move by the Minns Labor Government which will make bad drivers rewarded by the state.

Scruby wrote a scathing editorial of the move by the Labor Government where he slammed the lack of enforcement to punish bad drivers.

On 17 February 2024, the NSW Government will quietly dump the decades old “Fair Go for Safe Drivers” scheme, which rewarded motorists with $180 (50%) off the cost of a licence renewal for having no demerit points in 5 years. This will penalise the unlucky 3.8 million law abiding NSW drivers (65% of all fully licenced drivers), while Treasury will gross around $135 million each year.

But in a move that would make Monty Python blush, they have also introduced a “frequent merit points” system. This will reward drivers who have points, by expunging one demerit point, each year, if they drive for a year without any further points.

Under their Towards Zero campaign, the NSW Government is committed to reducing deaths on our roads by 50% by 2030. Today, the total deaths are up 30% on last year where speed is the main factor in over 40% of crashes.

So ask ChatGPT (AI or Artificial Intelligence): What are the best proven methods for reducing the road toll?

ChatGPT: Reducing the road toll is a critical public safety issue. The best-proven methods for reducing road tolls involve a combination of strategies, including: Strict enforcement of traffic laws, including speed limits, drink-driving laws, and seatbelt usage, is essential.

Then consider this: NSW is the only state or territory in Australia where:

Point-to-Point or Average Speed Cameras can only book heavy vehicles. Most are situated in black-spot locations in regional areas. People in the bush are five times more likely to be killed or seriously injured in a crash than those living in cities. P2P cameras have reduced deaths and serious injuries by between 50% and 85% in places like Great Britain. Yet in the recently published Audit Office report on Regional Road Safety under “Specific road safety initiatives targeted to regional areas have not been implemented or expanded”, the entire section has been removed “in compliance with the issuance of a Premier’s certificate preventing the publication of this information.”
All Mobile Speed Cameras are lit up like Luna Park and now have two signs in front of them, including one well in front of the beam giving motorists time to slow down: because of this they can only operate in one direction, not bi-directionally, as intended.

A parking meter penalty is $120. Low range speeding is $130 plus one demerit point. Using a mobile phone while driving is $360 and five demerit points. While mobile speed cameras are seriously overt, the mobile phone detecting cameras are completely covert: there are no warning signs approaching these cameras, nor are they lit up like Las Vegas.
In NSW drivers have to get 13 Demerit Points before they lose their licences – all other jurisdictions are 12.

The claim “Anywhere Anytime” pertaining to the Mobile Speed Cameras is misleading. They can only be used in locations determined by a committee and published on the Transport for NSW website. And in total, they can only operate for a maximum of 21,000 hours per month.

The Demerit Point system is supposed to operate nationally under the Australian Road Rules. NSW drivers attracting demerit points in other jurisdictions will now be able to have these points expunged.

For consistency, why aren’t NSW Police required to place warning signs preceding drink and drug driving operations? And why aren’t they rewarding all drivers who don’t get a drink/drug drive conviction for a year, with a credit, so they can drive drunk or drugged, just once, the following year?

There’s no fairness or consistency. It’s a legal and lethal farce. It’s everyone’s responsibility to obey all laws all the time. The reward is safer roads and fewer deaths and injuries.

While they will talk underwater about gambling and COVID, it is beyond belief, with the road toll going through the roof, that not one member of the entire NSW Parliament has spoken up about the NSW “soft-on-speed” policies. The word “enforcement” is banned. It’s all about “education”. The irrefutable evidence proves that by getting tough on speeding and road safety generally, scores of deaths and thousands of serious injuries could be avoided, each year.

Revenue from mobile speed cameras has fallen 88% this year. Deaths have increased 30%. You don’t need to be Einstein to join the dots.

Fourteen people died on NSW roads over the June long weekend. Ten in a horrific bus crash. The other four barely rated a mention, while every day, on average, another human being will die on NSW roads.

Normally, following mass tragedies like these, responsible governments are forced to take dramatic action. Not this Parliament. They are all far more interested in their heated seats.

Equally to blame is the NRMA, the government’s puppet. Within minutes of the “merit point” system being announced, their spokesperson was lauding the idea, without any data or evidence, that rewarding people who break the law has worked anywhere in the world.

Apart from the pain, grief and suffering, road trauma also costs NSW over $9 billion per annum.

If the carnage and costs are to be significantly reduced, we must get the politics out of Road Safety. The only way is to appoint a truly independent and powerful Road Safety Commissioner, answerable to the Parliament.

In the meantime, we should change our number-plates to: “NSW – State of Insanity”.

Harold Scruby, CEO of Pedestrian Council of Australia.

Hear more highlights from Ben Fordham Live in the playlist below and give us a follow on Apple Podcasts: