NSW drivers with good record to skip fines
Drivers with a three-year clean driving record could dodge large fines for minor driving offences in a newly announced election policy from the NSW government.
Good drivers will be given a one-off chance to escape a fine for offences including low-range speeding, disobeying no left or right-hand turn signs or driving in a bus lane.
Those drivers look to save up to $2200 for driving in a bus lane, $124 for speeding where the limit was exceeded by less than 10km/h and $275 for ignoring a no left or right-hand turn sign.
P-platers who have lost their display plates will also be eligible for the scheme, Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward told reporters on Wednesday.
Drivers will still receive a demerit point and the incentive can only be applied once every three years.
The government's pledge comes one day after NSW Labor revealed its own election promise to reward motorists, offering to remove a demerit point after 12 months of good driving.
NSW Labor leader Chris Minns said the government had put the policy together in response to the opposition's announcement, describing it as a "last minute" job.
Defending the policy, Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward said the government's policy prioritised safety, and the opposition proposal did not.
"If you have a clear record for three years and you have a minor infringement, then we will allow you to apply to waive that fine," Ms Ward told reporters on Wednesday.
"The demerit stays in place.
"What that does is recognise that there are otherwise good drivers out there who have a good record who deserve a little bit of leeway."
It also follows Treasurer Matt Kean and Ms Ward criticising Labor's policy, saying two-thirds of fatal accidents involved low-range speeding.
"I don't think they're big enough to acknowledge that Labor's policy announced yesterday had wide support support from the community (and) was supported by the NRMA," Mr Minns told reporters.
Opposition roads spokesman John Graham called the government's policy the world's fastest U-turn, adding he believed Labor had the superior plan.
Labor's scheme will reward good drivers, while the government's policy would give incentives to law breakers, he added.
"The government scheme (says) to formerly well-behaved drivers if you break the law, you'll be given an incentive," Mr Graham said.
"We've got to drop the road toll and we've got to lift road safety."
Labor's scheme is designed to incentivise drivers after the removal of mobile speed camera warning signs led to an escalation in the number of fines issued across the state.
The number of mobile digital speed camera fines issued when the speed limit was exceeded by 10km/h or less, increased from 3222 in October 2020 to 27,855 by February 2021, Revenue NSW data shows.
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