WA police reward sober drivers with $20 vouchers
Manjimup police are handing out 100 twenty-dollar vouchers to drivers who pass breath tests during September.
Officers in the small WA town of Manjimup are trying a new approach to road safety. Manjimup sits 290 kilometres south of Perth.
Officers reward drivers who blow zero on breath tests. The program offers $20 vouchers during September when more people are on the road for football finals and school holidays.
Sergeant Tyler Winter said the goal is to build positive interaction and reward safe behaviour. A criminologist from Australian Catholic University agreed the approach was novel but said vouchers would likely build community goodwill more than cut drink driving.
He noted that immediate feedback does work, pointing to electronic speed displays that show smiling or frowning faces. The $2,000 voucher fund came from Holyoake, a drug and alcohol support service.
- Manjimup
- Location
- 290 kilometres south
- Distance from Perth
- 100 at $20 each
- Vouchers available
- Holyoake drug and alcohol support service
- Funding source
Why it mattersThe experiment tests whether rewarding safe driving works better than punishment alone. The data will guide future road safety campaigns.
AustraliaWestern Australian drivers in Manjimup may earn vouchers, and the results could shape how police across WA approach drink driving prevention.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 8 d ago
