Three people died on NSW roads in the Northern Region, which includes the Northern Rivers, over the Christmas / New Year Holiday period.
The figure represents more than a quarter of the state’s total road deaths in the same period, which is eight.
Double demerits started across NSW on Friday 19 December and finished on Sunday 4 January, with police targeting drink and drug driving, fatigue, mobile phone use, speeding and seat belt and helmet offences.
‘Concerning’ increase in drug driving, say police
Police say they carried out more than 29,000 random drug tests across the seventeen days, detecting 2,415 drug-driving offences.
Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander Assistant Commissioner David Driver says most drivers were well behaved but police have noticed a concerning increase in the number of drug detections.
‘Our message remains clear and simple,’ Assistant Commissioner Driver says, ‘if you choose to consume alcohol or drugs, do not drive’.
Nearly 600,000 breath tests revealed 939 alleged drink-driving offences.
All up, more than 40,000 traffic infringement notices have been issued across the state, including more than 12,000 speed-related offences, 1,200 mobile phone offences, and nearly 700 seatbelt/helmet-related offences.
Nearly 300 major crashes in Northern Region
There were 287 major crashes recorded in the Northern Region, which includes the Tweed Byron and Richmond Police Districts.
Other stats reported by police for the Northern Region include more than 11,500 traffic infringement notices issued, with more than 4,000 speeding fines issued.
Officers carried out more than 116,000 breath tests across the region, leading to 289 drink driving charges, while 729 positive drug-driving test results were recorded.
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