Plan to wipe a demerit point for well-behaved NSW motorists

Roughly 1.7 million drivers in NSW may have one demerit point wiped away earlier than expected.

It was an election promise, but the premier has brought the trial forward, meaning safe drivers will have demerits scrubbed six months early.

The penalty for doing the wrong thing on our roads is demerit points.

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Hit 13 and your driving days are over.

Under the trial, motorists with at least one demerit point from January 17 this year will have one demerit removed if they remain offence-free for 12 months.

Normally it takes three years to lose a demerit.

Learners and P-platers are excluded.

Premier Chris Minns, said it was an incentive for motorists.

"I'd much rather be in a position where someone didn't collect a demerit point or a fine in the first place but is incentivised to do the right thing on NSW roads," Minns said.

NSW Roads Minister John Graham, said its "the right time to try something new".

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"We'd seen record fines over the last couple of years and still we saw the road toll rising," Graham said.

But not everyone is happy, with critics saying it simply rewards bad drivers.

They want tougher action on speeding given it's the key cause of road toll deaths.

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Harold Scruby from the Pedestrian Council said the scheme will reward rule breakers.

"Speed kills 40 per cent of people on our roads and in this state we've dumbed it down in so many ways and now we're doing it by rewarding people who've already broken the law," Scruby said.

The scheme still needs to be legislated in Parliament before it can be introduced.

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