Tamworth region Christmas and New Year's 2021-2022: Peel Highway Patrol police catch hundreds breaking road rules during double demerits

Officers caught 25 drink drivers on the roads in the past 10 days of double demerits, and 38 people tested positive for drugs while behind the wheel, amid almost 8000 breath tests.

Peel Highway Patrol manager Inspector Kelly Wixx said police were alarmed to see those statistics.

"That is horribly concerning to police, I just don't think drivers are aware of the dangers while driving with drug impairment," she told the Leader on Monday, just hours before the targeted operation wrapped up.

"Your poor decisions can have horrible, horrible ramifications."

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Inspector Wixx said two drink drivers - one with a reading four-and-a-half times the legal blood alcohol limit - were found to have children in the car with them at the time.

"This is why I stress the point that you as the driver are responsible for not only yourself but also every other person in your car and every other person on the road," she said.

Between Christmas Eve and January 2, Peel Highway Patrol officers uncovered 451 speeding offences, 519 other traffic violations, 18 people not wearing seatbelts and four people using their phones while driving.

Double demerits were enforced through that entire period, ending at midnight on Monday, and it's bad news for rule-breakers, Inspector Wixx said.

"Out of all the tickets and infringements that were issued, a significant portion are going to lose their licences," she said.

The operation spanning the Christmas and New Year period was focused on the 'four Ds', which are drink, drug, dangerous and distracted driving.

Inspector Wixx urged the community to continue to be cautious and show common sense in the city and out on country roads despite the end of the police operation, especially with heavier traffic expected to flow into town during Tamworth Country Music Festival on January 14.

"Police are still going to be out and about targeting these offences," she said.

"I don't want people to become complacent."

There were no fatalities in the region across the festive season to Monday afternoon.

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