Tomorrow marks the 40th anniversary of the introduction of random breath testing across NSW roads.
Prior to random breath testing, the state’s annual road toll regularly surpassed 1200 fatalities, and authorities recognised that measures needed to be introduced to address the issue.
In 1982 NSW became one of the first jurisdictions in the world and the first in Australia to introduce random breath testing.
Before RBT, police could only stop a motorist due to their manner of driving.
In the first five years following the introduction of RBT, road fatalities fell from 1303 in 1980 to 1067 in 1985.In 1980, the percentage of road fatalities linked to drink driving was 30 per cent.
Of the 275 road fatalities recorded in NSW last year (2021), 17 per cent were attributed to drink driving – cutting the percentage by almost half and reducing the number of alcohol related fatalities by 88 per cent.
Deputy Premier Paul Toole said community attitudes have shifted over the last four decades.
“The statistics speak for themselves – since RBTs were introduced, thousands of lives have been saved,” he said.
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