Hallelujah....the RTA gives us something!
Hold the phone....stop the presses.
For those Cronulla Sharks fans, there is hope.
For those waiting on Portsea beach for Harold Holt, get the towel ready.
St Jude, thank you very much!!
The most unlikely of unlikelies (if that's a word) has occurred. Believe it or not the RTA, or more specifically the NSW State Government, has given something to the licensed drivers of NSW... an extra demerit point.
From last week, the RTA has given NSW drivers one extra demerit point, two if you can convince them that you are a professional driver.
After years of what I like to call 'bracket creep' where the loss of demerit points have increased for numerous specific traffic offences, yet no increase was made to the 12 demerit points each full licence holder receives, the RTA has finally woken up.
After such unfair tactics of speed zones changing every few hundred metres, of a mulititude of speed zones in a strips of road stretching only a few kilometres, of speed zones changing during different periods of the day, of speed zones changing due to construction work when no construction work is being undertaken, of faulty speed cameras, someone is finally getting the picture.
Someone at the RTA and the NSW Government has finally realised that the above has led to thousands and thousands of honest, hard-working everyday Australians, losing their drivers licence because they have exceeded their demerit point allocation, with no recourse of appeal through court system for mitigating circumstances.
A loss of licence has often lead to a loss of a job, a loss of the house and a breakup of a marriage or relationship. This may sound dramatic, but I see such scenarios almost weekly.
But why can't they take it further.
Currently we have the ridiculous scenario of someone who may have held a driver's licence for 40 years without one offence on their record, having a couple of slip-ups back to back during a double demerit period, and their licence is gone.
What consideration do they receive for their 40 years of unblemished driving..........a big fat nothing!
Why shouldn't drivers with a good record such as detailed above, build up some 'brownie points' just in case they need them in the future. Now I am not suggesting that a driver gets an extra demerit point for each year they keep a clean record, but how about if a driver has had a clean record for 5 years, why shouldn't he get an extra demerit point for each year he keeps a clean record after that, up to a maximum of say 20 points.
Such a system would allow:
- a driver having to prove he can drive appropriately for a long period ( 5 years) to qualify;
- will reward good drivers with good records, but provide those drivers with a buffer if they do have a bad trot;
- not allow a driver to accumulate a silly amount of demerit points leading to the suggestions that he has carte blanche to do whatever he likes on the road ( although the fines and the disqualifications for serious driving offences make this argument superfulous).
But I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for such a reward or bonus system to be implemented by the RTA or NSW Government.
The addition of a single demerit point in no way negates the injustice that the NSW State Government and the RTA have inflicted on NSW motorists over many years, but how does that saying go... beggars can't be choosers.
