On Thursday, a court heard an 18-year-old behind the wheel of a ute which crashed, killing five teenagers, had previously lost his license twice for speeding offences.
Tyrell Edwards was on Wednesday charged with five counts of dangerous driving occasioning death after the crash in Buxton, south-west of Sydney.
Picton Local Court has heard Mr Edwards served two three-month suspensions for speeding in the 18 months before the crash on Tuesday night.
The Bargo man was refused bail in court and has not entered a plea to the charges.
Tom Daher's mission
The incident has sparked renewed calls from authorities for care on the road, with 188 fatalities recorded across NSW in the eight months to August 2022.
Tom Daher, a road safety campaigner who lost his father to a horrific crash, says a three-month ban for a P-plater with a history of speeding is "not enough".
Mr Daher believes the "cycle" of recidivist drivers losing their license, sitting out their suspensions and getting back on the road must end.
A member of Road Trauma Support Group NSW (RTSG), Mr Daher says an "arrogant, total disregard" for the law killed his elderly father, Tannous, as he was gardening outside his home in 2017.
The 82-year-old was run down when a truck being driven down the wrong side of the road crashed through his front yard in Sydney's west.
"The person who killed my dad had lost his license on five different occasions."
A call for reform
The RTSG is calling for reform to laws dictating how repeat offenders in NSW can regain their licenses.
One change they want to see is expanding the definition of a "repeat serious traffic offender", which incorporates someone who has committed two jailable offences in the past five years.
Mr Daher says people who constantly commit offences resulting in demerit point suspensions — such as speeding, running red lights or mobile phone use — should also be included.
"It is not acceptable that a driver can constantly lose their license on numerous occasions and simply sit out their suspension and re-apply, only to lose it again," he said.
"And the cycle just repeats."
Mr Daher says a three-month ban for a young driver who had previously been suspended doesn't pass the pub test.
"I don't think it is enough, especially if it is a second offence," he said.
"If you're a repeat offender for speeding, definitely three months is not enough, especially if you're a P-plater."
In NSW, a driver on a provisional license can be suspended for at least three months for any speeding offence.
Drivers on their P-plates will receive at least four demerit points when caught speeding in NSW.
Penalties differ from state to state
Across state lines, the number of demerit points and penalties for driving offences vary for learner and provisional drivers.
In South Australia, a P-plater faces a suspension of six months for breaching a condition or accumulating four or more demerit points.
One condition for holding a provisional license in the state is that the driver cannot exceed the speed limit by 10kph or more.
For a second offence, that disqualification period increases to 12 months.
In Queensland and Victoria, provisional drivers who exceed their demerit points can choose to take a minimum three-month ban or agree to continue driving under a 12-month "good behaviour" period.
If a driver in those states breaches the good behaviour condition, the original ban they would have copped is doubled.
For Mr Daher, it's the rules in his home state he is most concerned with.
Another change he would like to see implemented is to make repeat offenders attend a victim impact panel as part of the process to reapply for their license.
He says hearing stories from people who "paid the ultimate price" would help drivers understand the consequences of their actions.
"They need to understand the consequences of their actions," Mr Daher said.
