More than 7,000 drivers will face enforcement action following a statewide traffic operation conducted by police over the weekend.
Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers) commenced at 12am on Thursday (3 September 2026) and concluded at 4am on Sunday (6 September 2026), targeting people driving while affected by alcohol, drugs, and fatigue.
During the operation, police conducted 6,420 drug tests with 774 people returning positive samples and conducted more than 162,027 breath tests with 212 drink driving offences detected.
While the operation focused on detecting drivers operating a vehicle impaired by alcohol, drugs or fatigue, the high-visibility operation saw police across the state issue more than 7,113 traffic infringement notices, including 2,251 for speed-related offences, 344 for mobile phone use, and 106 restraint-related offences.
Two people lost their lives on NSW roads.
No excuse for driving impaired
Acting Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Paul Scully said these numbers represent potential lives saved. ‘Operation RAID is about finding impaired drivers and getting them off the roads.
‘There is simply no excuse for driving impaired. It is selfish, it is dangerous and the consequences can last a life time. Road safety is everyone’s responsibility, and NSW Police are doing their part every day to keep people safe.’
Assistant Commissioner David Driver, Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, said officers were prominent stopping thousands of vehicles across the weekend. ‘Concerningly, we found 212 drivers to be driving well beyond the legal blood alcohol limit and 774 who tested positive to roadside drug tests,’ he said.
‘Those drivers could have gone on to cause tragedies in their communities. The message is simple: People need to understand their legal and moral obligation when they get behind the wheel and not put others at risk.
‘We’re not just apprehending drivers impacted by drugs, alcohol, or fatigue during this operation, our officers will continue to be out there every day and night working to prevent deaths and serious injury on NSW roads.’
Locally
At about 9.30am on Friday 4 September 2026, emergency services were called to a crash on Angels Beach Drive, Ballina.
Upon arrival, officers attached to Tweed/Byron Highway Patrol breath tested the driver – a 47-year-old woman – of one of the vehicles, allegedly returning a positive result.
The woman was taken to Ballina Police Station where she underwent further testing, allegedly returning a result of 0.240. The woman was issued a Future Court Attendance Notice for drive with high range PCA and drive, licence suspended under s 66 Fines Act.
She is due to appear in Ballina Local Court on Thursday 1 October 2026. Her licence was also suspended.
Across the Northern Region of NSW there were 1,781 infringements and 69 major crashes over the weekend.
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