Arabic version: شرطة مانجيموب تقدم قسائم بقيمة 20 دولاراً للسائقين الممتنعين عن الكحول
According to ABC News, Manjimup police are giving $20 vouchers to some drivers who return a zero reading in breath tests during September, as part of a local road safety initiative focused on the football finals period.
Police in the southern Western Australian town, 290 kilometres south of Perth, will distribute 100 vouchers during traffic stops. Officer-in-charge Sergeant Tyler Winter said the timing was deliberate because football finals and the approaching school holidays bring more people onto the roads. He said officers wanted to recognise good behaviour in response to the year’s road toll, with vouchers potentially offered to drivers who are following the law and blow zero.
Sergeant Winter said the approach came from the local road safety committee and was intended to create positive interactions while reinforcing safe choices. The initiative reverses the usual no-tolerance focus on drink driving by rewarding motorists who stay sober rather than only penalising those who break the law.
Australian Catholic University criminologist Matthew Morgan described the program as novel but said its impact still needed assessment. He said it could be more effective at building rapport between police and the community than at reducing drink driving. Dr Morgan noted that drivers can respond to immediate feedback, citing roadside electronic speed checks that display smiling or frowning faces depending on adherence to the speed limit.
Drug and Alcohol support service Holyoake funded the $2,000 worth of vouchers through its role on the local road safety committee. Team leader Jo Woodruff said police would be asked to collect data, making this first campaign a baseline for possible future programs. WA Police said it supports local Blow Zero initiatives, noting that Moora police had previously run a similar voucher program. With the AFL Grand Final set for the King’s Birthday long weekend in WA, double demerits will apply across the state.
