An investigation will aim to uncover whether "cooker culture" born out of COVID-era rule avoidance is driving a soaring NSW road toll.
More than 1270 lives were lost on Australian roads in 2023, up seven per cent in a year and the second highest annual toll since 2011.
Almost one-third of those deaths occurred on NSW roads.
NSW Roads Minister John Graham said so-called "cookers" – a disparaging term for people with fringe, anti-authority views – flouted the rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and were now doing so on the state's roads with catastrophic consequences.
"We are looking at why the road toll is rising," he told a parliamentary budget estimates hearing on Tuesday, adding speeding, driver fatigue and drink- and drug-driving continued to be areas of concern.
"But we are concerned post-COVID that we're seeing people who might have ignored the rules during COVID (and) might have flouted the rules during COVID doing so on our roads."
Citing evidence from the NSW Centre for Road Safety, Mr Graham said it was possible that just three per cent of drivers were responsible for 25 per cent of road incidents.
"The question is post-COVID - do we have a small number of drivers flouting the rules?" he said.
"A very small number of people might be responsible for a large number of incidents."
Mr Graham said a worrying disregard for road rules involved drivers refusing to wear seatbelts, excessively speeding and even handing in their number plates using the argument they were "sovereign citizens" and not subject to laws.
"Seventeen per cent of people have been killed because they're not wearing their seatbelt and my view is a seatbelt is not a restraint on your civil liberties," he said.
"If it's a result of cooker culture, we want to know and we'll take action."
Data compiled by Ipsos to track attitudinal changes post-COVID and presented to a road-safety forum in Sydney in February highlighted an increase in what the research firm termed "disconnected” drivers.
The cohort, aged mainky between 25 and 39 years, had a high risk profile with issues related to speeding, mobile phone use and drink driving.
Opposition roads spokeswoman Natalie Ward criticised the government over its delay in implementing a bill that would enable existing mobile-phone detection cameras to enforce seatbelt laws.
Mr Graham defended the July start date, saying the government supported a warning period for drivers.
"It will put some pressure on the scheme now to have these measures snap into force on the first of July."
