Maitland drivers have been on their best behaviour for the first three days of the annual NSW police road safety operation.
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Instances of speeding, drink driving and other traffic infringements are significantly down in the Central Hunter area compared to the same stage of Operation Safe Arrival last year.
Seatbelt infringements were the only category to increase.
The operation began on Friday with 120 drivers stopped for speeding, down from 246 in 2013.
Other traffic infringements also decreased from 181 to 145.
Only five drivers had been detected drink driving, down from 18 last year.
Northern Region traffic operations Sergeant Steve Rudd said there had been significant reductions across a number of the major categories of driving offences in the Central Hunter.
But Traffic and Highway Patrol commander Assistant Commissioner John Hartley said police had seen some disappointing driver behaviour across NSW.
This included drivers and passengers taking outlandish risks while driving.
“The common element of all these events is drivers or passengers choosing to take unacceptable risks with their own lives and/or those in their vehicle,” he said.
“Risks bring consequences and those consequences could be anything from scaring all those in the vehicle due to a near miss, right through to injuring or killing someone in a crash.
“This sort of carelessness and lack of concern for another human life is rather galling.”
The operation runs until January 4.
The NSW holiday road toll stood at two after the death of a 57-year-old woman in a two-car collision at Prestons, in Sydney, on Sunday.
The national holiday toll stood at 10, three less than the same period last year.
After three days of the operation, NSW police had detected 3714 people speeding, an increase of 1481 from 2013.
Police have conducted 163,595 random breath tests and charged 218 people with drink driving.
Double demerits will be in place from tomorrow until January 4 for speeding, seatbelt and motorcycle helmet offences.
The numbers after day 3 (Sunday)
Seatbelt offences: 2014 - 5, 2013 - 3
Speeding offences: 2014 - 120, 2013 - 246
Drink-driving offences: 2014 - 5, 2013 - 18
Other traffic offences: 2014 - 145, 2013 - 181