Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend And Demerit Points
The Queen’s Birthday (now King’s Birthday) long weekend typically sees a surge in traffic on NSW highways as people travel for holidays. This busy period often brings increased police presence and double demerit points. PK Simpson reminds drivers to stay safe and be aware of the risks.
Due to an increased usage of roads and a spike in accidents over these periods, NSW Police introduced the ‘double demerit points’ campaign back in 1997. This meant that the Police can seek to curb road users from doing the wrong thing on the roads by making penalties harsher. The campaign is known as ‘Double Demerits – Think Twice’ road safety campaign. The campaign aims to encourage safe driving behaviour.
Queen’s Birthday Long Weekend Dates and Specifics
The Queen’s Birthday runs from the midnight Friday 9 to midnight Monday 12 June 2017. Not all penalties are covered by the double points system.
The double demerit point scheme applies to:
- Speeding
- Riding without a helmet
- Not wearing a seat belt
- Illegal use of mobile phones
Before each long weekend holiday you will see more ads on TV, the radio and billboards to make motorists aware that the scheme will come into play soon. More highway patrol and unmarked police cars on the roads help enforce the laws.
The NSW government has implemented this strategy to help reduce road accidents and injuries to people. Last year four people died over the same period. For the first half of last year, 12165 people had been injured on NSW roads compared to 12160 this year. There is a slight improvement but much can still be done to keep the roads safer.
Parts of the Princess Highway along the east coast have been marked as black spots to warn drivers to take extreme caution.
If you have an accident on the roads this weekend make sure you contact 02 9299 1424.
Drive safely and enjoy the weekend.