‘Highly visible': Double-demerit warning
Double demerits and other penalties for drivers will be in effect from Friday midnight through the end of the King's Birthday long weekend, as police ramp up public holiday crackdowns.
The double-demerit system will come into effect in NSW from 12.01am on Friday, June 6, and end at 11.59pm on Monday, June 9 for speeding, illegal use of mobile phones, not wearing a seatbelt and riding without a motorcycle helmet.
Police may also give additional demerit points if certain driving and parking offences are committed in a school zone.
The ACT will also implement a similar double-demerit point system, with a single extra demerit point for all other traffic offences. A double-demerit system will be observed by NSW Police for the long weekend. NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
Victoria Police is cracking down on dangerous driving behaviour over the long weekend, with the road safety blitz – Operation Regal – launching on Friday.
Police say the number of lives lost on the road has surged to a 16-year high, with 37 fatalities recorded just in May.
There have been 136 lives have been lost on Victorian roads this year, up by 14 per cent on the same time last year
Road Policing Command Acting Assistant Commissioner David Byrt said the amount of road trauma the team had experienced halfway into the year had been 'extremely concerning'.
'Whether you're travelling across the state this weekend or heading to the alpine regions, please take extra care on the roads and be sure to drive to the conditions,' he said.
'We'll be highly visible and enforcing across the state's roads this long weekend, cracking down on any dangerous driving behaviour that puts other road users at risk.' Victoria Police has noted a 16-year high in road fatalities. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia
Police have warned that speeding and distracted motorists will be their key focus over the King's Birthday long weekend, which has been identified as a high-risk period on Victoria's roads.
Major arterials and highways leading to holiday hotspots will be targeted, including the alpine areas, with the snow season expected to begin from this weekend onwards.
Drivers and motorists are also urged to avoid driving while impaired, as drug and alcohol testing will be conducted anywhere and at any time.
'We're appealing to everyone to make road safety their No.1 priority every time they get behind the wheel or are out using our roads to eliminate this unnecessary and avoidable trauma,' Mr Byrt said.
'We'll be highly visible and enforcing across the state's roads this long weekend, cracking down on any dangerous driving behaviour that puts other road users at risk.' Operation Regal will be in full effect during the long weekend, as Victoria Police cracks down on speeding and distracted drivers. Picture NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia
Other states like South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory will not be imposing a double-demerit scheme for the long weekend, but road safety campaigns will be conducted.
Tasmania Police has warned drivers and pedestrians to exercise safety and caution during Hobart's Dark Mofo musical festival, which kicks off on Friday.
'This year already, three pedestrians have died on Tasmanian roads, with a further 14 seriously injured,' Inspector John Toohey said.
'We're asking everyone to stay alert, avoid distractions such as phones or headphones and only cross at designated crossings.
'With many festival events taking place at night and in lowlight conditions, we're hoping to see responsible behaviour; that is, people looking out for each other, obeying traffic signals and being visible in the dark.' Double demerit points are on the cards for Australians hitting the roads for the road for the long weekend coinciding with the King's Birthday. NewsWire/Tertius Pickard Credit: News Corp Australia
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
Indigenous death in custody sparks rallies
Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised this article contains reference to Indigenous people who have died. Australians across the country have flocked to the streets to demand justice following the death of an Indigenous man in police custody in the Northern Territory. A 24-year-old man was restrained by two police officers at an Alice Springs Coles on May 27. Police said there had been reports of an altercation between the man and a security guard. He stopped breathing while on the ground at the shopping centre, and he died about an hour after he was restrained, the NT News reported. There have been 12 Indigenous deaths in custody this year, while there have been 597 since the establishment of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in 1987. Protesters march in Sydney CBD to demand justice over the recent death of a 24-year-old man in police custody in the Northern Territory. NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: NewsWire A string of rallies have been planned across the country following the 24-year-old's death, demanding an investigation independent of the NT Police force, for CCTV and body cam footage to be released to the man's family, and a public apology from NT Police. Crowds gathered outside Town Hall in Sydney's CBD on Saturday night, holding up Indigenous flags. Signs printed with 'Stop black deaths in custody' were also held up among the large crowd. Police could be seen on horseback at the protest. Protesters also rallied against the number of Indigenous deaths in police custody nationwide. NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: NewsWire Lawyer George Newhouse, representing the man's family, said he was 'angry there are mothers grieving' in the Northern Territory, according to reports by the ABC. 'I am angry there was a disabled young man calling out for his mother in Coles last week,' Mr Newhouse told the crowd. Senator Lidia Thorpe said 'no one should live in fear of being killed by police and in prisons'. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia An organiser of the Sydney rally, Paul Silva, called for justice in a post to Instagram. 'We demand truth. We demand accountability. We demand justice,' Mr Silva posted. Independent senator Lidia Thorpe called for justice for the 24-year-old in a post to X on Friday. 'Justice for Warlpiri Mob, and the Yuendumu community, who are grieving yet another young man's life taken,' Ms Thorpe wrote. 'No one should live in fear of being killed by police and in prisons.' Additional rallies are slated to take place in Adelaide and Perth on Sunday. mental health helplines
7NEWS
10 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Caroline Springs Square in Melbourne thrown into lockdown after machete-wielding teens spotted, days after ban takes effect
A Victorian shopping centre was thrown into lockdown after a group of teenagers were seen with machetes — less than two weeks after the state's ban on the weapons came into effect. About five or six teenage boys, reportedly armed with machetes, were spotted arguing inside Caroline Springs Square Shopping Centre in Melbourne about 6.40pm on Friday, police said. Shop owners scrambled to flee upon seeing the weapons. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today 'I was so scared, I quickly shut down the café,' one told 7NEWS. 'When we saw the knives, we were scared and ran far away,' another witness said. CS Square Centre management told The Age it had initiated a lockdown in response to the incident. By the time police arrived, the teens had already fled the scene. Shop owner Bhanush Sharma told The Age the lockdown lasted around 25 to 30 minutes. No injuries were reported, police confirmed. Less than two weeks ago, Northland Shopping Centre was also placed into lockdown on May 25, after rival gangs armed with machetes chased each other through the complex. The Victorian government fast-tracked its planned machete ban, . However, the ban on possession will not take effect until September 1. Those caught with a prohibited weapon in Victoria can face up to two years in prison or a fine of more than $47,000.
ABC News
13 hours ago
- ABC News
Police release image after hit-run in West Melbourne left pedestrian with two broken legs
Police are appealing for assistance after a Chinese national on holiday in Melbourne was struck in an alleged hit-run and left with two broken legs. Emergency services responded to reports of a blue Subaru Liberty hitting a male pedestrian near the intersection of King and Batman streets in West Melbourne about 10pm on Wednesday, May 28. Melbourne Highway Patrol Senior Constable Mitchell McWilliam said the vehicle had been travelling north along King Street, when it hit a man who had been crossing the road from a median strip. He said CCTV footage showed the driver of the Subaru briefly applied the brakes, before taking off. "The driver has not stopped at all, not provided any assistance and continued north on King Street out of the city, leaving the scene of the accident and leaving that person on the side of the road," Senior Constable McWilliam said. He said the 30-year-old man had sustained two broken legs, and remains in hospital after undergoing surgery. "[The pedestrian] is over from China, visiting some family he's got living here," he said. "He was planning on spending a couple of weeks in Australia and visiting family and having a good time, and as a result of this now he's stuck in hospital with some pretty life-changing injuries." Police have released CCTV footage and an image of the car believed to be involved, in the hope of tracking down the driver to get their version of events. "The person that's done this knows that they've done this and I'd like to have them have a really hard think about what type of person that makes them to leave someone for dead in the gutter — it's pretty low," Senior Constable McWilliam said. Anyone with information or dashcam footage should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or via
