Travelers are urged to drive cautiously this King's Birthday long weekend, with good weather conditions expected to increase traffic volume on busy holiday routes and regional areas.
The Road Safety Commission and WA Police are pressing drivers to think carefully about the decisions they make around speed, alcohol, seatbelts, fatigue, mobile phone use and other distractions this school holiday period.
Double demerits will be in place from 12.01am on Friday, September 26 to 11.59pm on Monday, September 29.
School holidays continue until October 12.
Road Safety Commissioner Adrian Warner said while WA Police would continue a strong presence on roads, the responsibility to drive safe is in everybody's hands.
"So far this year, 136 lives have been lost on WA roads," he said.
"One life lost is one too many, but we can all make the decision today to make better choices that might just save another family from the terrible grief that comes from road trauma.
"It's about the small decisions you make behind the wheel, driving at or under the speed limit and to the road conditions, leaving enough space between cars, making sure everyone in the vehicle wears their seatbelt and wears it correctly, put the phone away and plan more travel time than you need, if you're rushing to get to where you're going, then you're already late, so just slow down and enjoy the journey.
"As we come into this busy period let's all do our part to arrive home safe this long weekend and into the school holidays."
This double demerit period is the last chance for drivers to actively change dangerous driving behaviours around phones, seatbelts and speeding before the state's safety cameras begin infringements on October 8.
Between February 1 and August 31, the cameras detected more than 277,000 mobile phone, seatbelt and speeding offences with more than 60,000 caution notices sent for mobile phone and seatbelt offences.
Acting Commander Glenn Spencer, Road Policing Command, reminds road users to prioritise safety throughout the upcoming holiday period.
"Increased traffic means increased risk, and the WA Police Force will have a strong presence on our roads this school holidays, targeting the 'The Fatal Five' dangerous driving behaviours which we know are overrepresented in fatal and serious crashes," he said.
"These are not minor offences; they are actions that cost lives.
"Our message is simple: slow down, stay alert and help us keep West Australian roads safe for everyone."
