More than 1.7 million drivers will be eligible to have a demerit point scrubbed from their licence record as the NSW Government’s trial to encourage safer driving comes into effect.

While in an ideal world, no vehicle drivers would engage in actions that are against the law, unfortunately this is not the case. For many years demerit points have acted as a deterrent to potential law breakers, especially if the numbers add up and they get close to the demerit point limit where loss of license is the outcome.

Now a reprieve is in the wind for those teetering on the edge of losing their licence.

In NSW, demerit point limits depends on the type of licence you have: unrestricted licence – 13 points, professional drivers – 14 points, provisional P2 licence – 7 points.

Removal of one demerit point will be available for those drivers who have maintained a clean record since January 17 this year and continue that spotless behaviour until January 17 next year. Normally, it takes three years to wipe demerit points from a driving record from the date of the offence.

While a point may not seem much, if you’re sitting on 11 or 12 demerit points - on the cusp of license disqualification - and have a long wait of up to three years to get your points back, the return of one point could provide some important breathing space.

Western Plains motorists are not exempt from poor driving, for example, statistics from Transport NSW show there are currently 77 suspended driving licenses in the Coonamble LGA, 68 in Gilgandra LGA and 119 in Warrumbungle LGA. As for those sitting on the edge of maximum demerit points and loss of license, there is no statistics, but they may be looking at this new government initiative very closely!

Transport for NSW will take a ‘snapshot’ of the demerit point register as it stood on January 17 this year – the day the initiative was announced – to identify all unrestricted and professional licence holders with active demerit points recorded against them.

Under the 12-month trial, eligible motorists who have at least one demerit point on their record from January 17 but remain offence-free for 12 months to January 17, 2024, will have one demerit point removed from their driving record. It is expected to take about three months to finalise offences, so eligible driver will start seeing one demerit point removed from their records starting in mid-April 2024.

Minister for Roads, John Graham, said it was time for the "carrot" approach to driver 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," Mr Graham said.

Learner and provisional licence holders are not included in the trial given they are subject to strict conditions of the Graduated Licensing Scheme.

"Now is the time to try the carrot approach and reward good behaviour,” Mr Graham said.

“We need everyone to work together to create a safer driving environment and ultimately push road trauma to zero. The 12-month trial will be closely examined to assess its impact on road safety and the effectiveness of the demerit point changes."

You can find out how many demerits you have by accessing either your MyServiceNSW Account or the Service NSW app on your phone. Further information is available from the Service NSW website

(https://www.service.nsw.gov.au).