NSW Premier Barry O’Farrell announced today more than 400,000 motorists have been rewarded with half price drivers’ licences as part of the ‘Fair Go for Safe Drivers’ incentive scheme – and the new figures show women are safer than men on our roads.

“Each year, hundreds of motorists are killed or injured because of dangerous, selfish and stupid behaviour on our roads,” Mr O’Farrell said.

“To reward safe motorists and encourage others to obey the law on our roads we launched the ‘Fair Go for Safe Drivers’ scheme in July last year.

“We all know that slowing down on the roads could save your life – it can also save you money.

“The scheme rewards motorists with a clean driving record for five years with a 50 per cent reduction on the price of their drivers’ licence renewal.

“The latest figures released today show that since the launch of the scheme 408,000 people have been rewarded for driving safely.

“More women than men are being rewarded for their safe driving. The figures show 223,904 women have received the discounted licence while 184,443 men have done so.

“Motorists in regional NSW are more likely to receive the 50 per cent discount than their city counterparts.

“The new figures show Port Macquarie drivers are the state’s safest with almost 2,700 residents receiving the discount – more than anywhere else in the state.

“Drivers from Dubbo and Orange are not far behind with 2,607 Dubbo motorists and 2,474 drivers from Orange receiving a discounted licence.

“In the Sydney metropolitan area Castle Hill, Baulkham Hills and Blacktown are the areas where most people have obtained the discounted licence.

“The ‘Fair Go for Safe Drivers’ scheme provides a discount of up to $81 on a licence renewal.

“It’s our way of saying thank-you to motorists who do the right thing and encouraging better driving behaviour in others.

“The 50 per cent discount applies whether the licence is renewed for one, three or five years. Pensioners are unaffected as they pay nothing for their licence.

“The NSW Liberals & Nationals Government takes road safety very seriously and there are now more highway patrol cars on our roads than ever before.

“We have delivered on our pre-election commitment and established a dedicated, specialised and trained Highway Patrol team with a high-profile presence on our roads.

“The Highway Patrol fleet now has more than 500 vehicles and an authorised strength of more than 1,300 officers.

“Over the holiday period police will be out in force, targeting drink and drug driving, speeding, fatigue, seatbelt use, mobile-phone use and other types of dangerous driving.”

‘Fair Go for Safe Drivers’ – Top 10 locations: