Seven people lost their lives on NSW roads during Operation Safe Arrival, 21 fewer than the same time last year.
Safe Arrival, the annual Christmas/New Year road safety operation, began at 12.01am on December 21 and ended at 11.59pm yesterday, January 1.
Twenty-eight lives were lost during Operation Safe Arrival 2017/2018.
Assistant Commissioner Michael Corboy of the Traffic & Highway Patrol Command, said a highly-visible police presence was key to fewer lives being lost on NSW roads.
Assistant Commissioner Corboy said the closing days of the operation were highlighted by some extraordinarily bad choices made by drivers.
He said police were disturbed about the number of young male provisional licence holders who were detected travelling more than 45km/h above the speed limit during Safe Arrival.
On December 27 a Provisional driver has had his licence suspended after he was caught speeding along the Princes Highway at Waterfall.
About 6.10pm officers from Sutherland Shire Highway Patrol were monitoring traffic on the motorway when they s detected a Honda Integra Type R allegedly travelling at 178km/h before officers stopped the P2 male driver and spoke to him.
The man was issued a $2435 fine carrying 12 demerit points, his licence was suspended on the spot for six months and his vehicle’s registration plates were confiscated for three months.
“Some of the decisions made by drivers in NSW have left even the most seasoned highway patrol officers flabbergasted.
“We had situations where inexperienced drivers were detected at almost double the speed limit, others where infants were not properly restrained – what does it take to get the message through?
“Travelling at the signposted speeds and ensuring everyone in the vehicle wears a seatbelt reduces the risk of being seriously hurt if you are involved in a crash.”
Meanwhile, the NSW Roads Minister Melinda Pavey was “heartened” to report 33 fewer lives were lost on the roads in 2018, compared with 2017, marking the biggest reduction in five years.
Mrs Pavey said the result was encouraging but appealed to road users not to become complacent behind the wheel.
“It’s heartening to see that the road toll as a whole has dropped and we are committed to ongoing action, but road safety is a two way street, we all need to be our best selves when driving,” Mrs Pavey said.
“It’s also encouraging to see a reduction by more than an thousand (1160) in serious injuries from crashes.
This result is the lowest since records were first collated in 2005, with decreased hospitalisations experienced across all road users.”
Other reductions in the road toll this year were deaths from speed related crashes, down from 167 to 138, and a decrease in fatalities from heavy truck crashes from 79 to 53.
“Our other big killers – fatigue, drug and alcohol impairment and not wearing a seatbelt again featured in our top contributing factors.
