NSW Police have increased their presence on streets across the state, focusing on drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs following concerning road trauma trends last month.

Traffic & Highway Patrol officers commenced Operation RAID (Remove All Impaired Drivers) at 12.01am on Thursday (8 May 2025) and concluded at 11.59pm on Saturday (10 May 2025).

Police set up hundreds of stationary and mobile random breath and drug testing sites and spoke to motorists about their fatigue levels across the state.

Drink driving, drug driving and fatigue are 3 major contributors to the state’s annual road toll.

In April 2025, 39 people lost their lives in 36 crashes. Four are believed to be alcohol related and seven are believed to be drug related. This is compared to 37 deaths in April 2024.

There have been 131 deaths so far in 2025, which is 19 more than this time last year.

During the high-volume, high-visibility operation, police conducted more than 109,796 breath tests, with 132 drink driving offences detected.

Police conducted 6,841 drug tests with 461 people returning positive tests.

While the operation focused on finding drivers under the influence of alcohol and drugs, the operation saw police also detect 1,373 speed-related offences, 286 mobile phone usage, and 84 seatbelt/helmet-related offences.

Assistant Commissioner David Driver, Traffic and Highway Patrol Commander, said Operation RAID was one of several statewide initiatives run throughout the year to reduce road trauma and serious crashes.

“We have seen 19 more people lose their lives on our roads this year compared to 2024. That is unacceptable and that is 131 lives too many,” Assistant Commissioner Driver said.

“We run these operations to promote road safety, educate drivers, encourage compliance with road rules and reduce loss of life.

“Whilst we saw the majority of motorists comply with the law during the operation, it was disappointing to see some drivers completely disregard the road rules.”

“It is concerning to see any offence occur on our roads, but particularly drink and drug driving combined with high-speed.

“We will continue to run road operations to keep the community safe. Those drivers who break the road rules risk being detected by police, losing their licence, and facing the consequences of their actions in court.”

Incident of note:

About 7.30am on Friday 9 May 2025, police from New England Highway Patrol were patrolling New England Highway, Deepwater, when they stopped a driver due to the manner of driving. The 22-year-old male P-plate driver allegedly returned a positive result to a roadside breath test. He was arrested and taken to Glen Innes Police Station. He underwent a breath analysis and allegedly returned a reading on 0.128. He also allegedly tested positive to cannabis and methamphetamine during a secondary drug test. The man was charged with drive with mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol, and drive with mid-range prescribed concentration of alcohol and illicit drug. His licence was suspended, and he will appear at Glen Inness Local Court on Monday 15 July 2025.

Media Release: NSW Police