What the Tasmanian Liberals will do:

Implement Double Demerit points on Public Holidays to encourage safe driving on long weekends and public holidays on Tasmanian roads.

The Tasmanian Liberals believe that it is time for Tasmania to join other Australian States in adopting a Double Demerit Point system for public holidays, including:

• On long weekends – when either a Monday or a Friday is a public holiday;
• Christmas – from 23 December until 2 January; and
• Easter – from midday on the day before Good Friday until midnight on Easter Tuesday.

Offences which would be covered include:

• Speeding;
• Not wearing a seat belt;
• Not wearing a motorcycle helmet; and
• Riding in the back of utilities, trucks, etc.

The Tasmanian Liberals believe that all measures to decrease speeding and dangerous driving during holiday periods and long weekends must be considered, and they should be adopted if they have proven successful elsewhere.

Experience in NSW and WA, which have both had Double Demerit systems for a number of years, has shown that fatal crashes and crashes overall decrease during Double Demerit point periods.

The Double Demerit point period would be advertised widely in the three Tasmanian daily newspapers on the day preceding the period, and on television and radio. As this Double Demerit initiative is centred on road safety, fine penalties would remain the same during the periods, and after three years, the Double Demerit point system would be reviewed by the Road Safety Council or other properly qualified people to assess its effectiveness.