Thursday 7 December 2023: The Central Coast has topped the state’s list of the Local Government Areas (LGA) with the highest recorded numbers of drivers caught drink driving.
The NRMA’s Bust the Boozers report has highlighted the LGAs where the most drivers have been caught drink driving. The Central Coast (919) has topped that list.
In greater Sydney, Sydney CBD (579), Blacktown (567), the Northern Beaches (455), Penrith (339) and Canterbury-Bankstown (249) recorded the highest numbers.
The NRMA released the data in the midst of the festive season celebrations and is again warning motorists against drink driving.
In regional NSW, the Central Coast (919), Tweed Shire (430), Newcastle (402), Byron Shire (389) and, Wollongong (377) ranked highest.
The NRMA launched an e-petition in November on the NSW Parliamentary website calling for an increase in Random Breath Testing. To date, more than 23,270 signatures have been gathered. Random Breath Tests (RBT) conducted in NSW remain more than 35% below pre-pandemic levels.
NRMA spokesperson Peter Khoury reminded motorists of the risks of drink driving during the festive season, with many people attending Christmas parties.
“There have been 70 more deaths since this time last year which represents a 27 per cent increase to the Road Toll, so we are again reminding drivers to keep the car at home if you’re attending work Christmas parties and other social gatherings and plan on drinking,” Mr Khoury said.
“We want the public to play its part while at the same time re-iterating our call to the NSW Government to significantly increase the number of RBTs across the state.
“We need a particular focus on regional communities where road fatalities are significantly higher and the temptation to drink and drive can be greater due to a lack of alternative transport options, especially late at night.”
Bust the Boozers outlines that the Austroads best practice model is for at least 1.1 RBT tests per licence holder per year. On this year’s figures this equates to over 7.3 million tests across NSW.
“We know seeing RBTs on the road is the ultimate deterrent to drink driving. The more drivers see them set up on the side of the road testing drivers the more likely they are to not risk drink driving.” Mr Khoury said.
“In Western Australia where the highest number of tests were conducted per license holder in 2022, the rate of detection was the lowest of all states and territories. In the ACT where the lowest number of tests were conducted per license holder, one in 42 drivers blew over the limit."
Drink driving enforcement levels across Australia
| Enforcement | NSW | VIC | QLD | SA | WA | TAS | NT | ACT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. of RBTs in 2022 | 3,825,522 | 2,203,908 | 1,657,920 | 554,774 | 2,179,499 | 150,393 | 65,819 | 35,591 |
| Percentage of positive tests in 2022 | 0.41% | 0.38% | 1.03% | 0.82% | 0.34% | 1.14% | 8.34% | 2.38% |
| RBT per year, per licence on issue | 0.57 | 0.47 | 0.35 | 0.42 | 0.89 | 0.31 | 0.41 | 0.10 |
| Rate of detection | 1 in 242 tests | 1 in 266 tests | 1 in 97 tests | 1 in 122 tests | 1 in 297 tests | 1 in 88 tests | 1 in 12 tests | 1 in 42 tests |
